‘I take the blame,’ says Girlz coach after Spain loss
A perfect plan can fail because of poor execution, so a team’s loss is not necessarily always a coach’s fault.
But as the man at the helm making the decisions, Head Coach Lorne Donaldson has accepted full responsibility for his senior Reggae Girlz’s 0-3 loss to Spain in their opening Nations Cup contest in Australia.
Donaldson admits that the Girlz’s performance reflected badly on the coaching staff, mainly because they were unable to get a proper training session in and, as such, were punished by a well-oiled Spanish machinery.
The number seventh-ranked Spain outclassed the 44th-ranked Girlz in every aspect of the game, but only managed to get goals from Maite Oroz (18th), Esther Gonzalez (45+2) and Fiamma Benitez (78th) at the Central Coast Stadium in Gosford, on Thursday.
In fact, the Girlz, who saw 26 per cent of possession, only had two shots at goal.
Those efforts came from Paige Bailey-Gayle’s weighted 42nd-minute freekick which was headed on by Victoria Williams, but kept out by Spain’s custodian Enith Salon, while a tame follow-up effort on the rebound by Allyson Swaby, was easily mopped up by the defenders.
“We weren’t any good [and] it is as simple as that, so as coach, I take the blame because we just didn’t get them ready to play. No excuses. Our set-up and organisation was off and, as I said, I take full responsibility for that because we just didn’t do a good job with that,” Donaldson told the Jamaica Observer.
“We made some silly mistakes at the back so at the next training session, we will look at the players individually and collectively to see what we have to work with combination-wise because after this tournament we will have enough time to iron out some issues. So it is just for us as coaches to put them in a better position and get them ready to play,” he added.
Still, with two more games to come against 28th-ranked Czech Republic and 12th-ranked host Australia on February 18 and 22, respectively, Donaldson maintains it presents a great opportunity to correct the errors and possibly put in a better shift, especially with preparations for the Fifa Women’s World Cup, now in high gear.
The Girlz’s opponents for that July 20 to August 20 showpiece in Australia and New Zealand includes Brazil and France.
“It is just kind of like the World Cup where we will play three tough teams, so we always expected great competition to see where we are in our preparation. That’s why we are here,” Donaldson said.
— Sherdon Cowan
