REBECCA Spencer became Jamaica’s first goalkeeper, whether male or female, to keep a clean sheet at a senior World Cup tournament as the Reggae Girlz drew 0-0 with France at the Fifa Women’s World Cup in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday.

Spencer had 43 touches and made five saves throughout the game to give the Reggae Girlz their first-ever point at a Fifa Women’s World Cup, in a game Jamaica went into as underdogs.

Her goalkeeping capped off a solid defensive display by Jamaica who came under increasing pressure from the France attackers, especially in the second half.

She says the team’s accomplishment was down to how focused they were on the day.

“We were so good defensively,” she said after the game. “Anything they threw at us, we managed to defend. Everyone concentrated from one to 90 [minutes]. When things started getting tough for us, we still dug deep. There were some tired legs out there but we were brilliant.”

Spencer says the team knew it was important not to pay attention to public doubts about their ability to get anything from the game.

“It just shows what we’re about,” she said. “A lot of people have put us down over the last few weeks but our aim was just to get something out of this game. It’s a long tournament so we need to focus on the next game.”

Her coach, Lorne Donaldson, was proud of her performance after the game, describing her as a warrior. He credits her commitment to the team and recalled how she refused to take time off to rest after completing her Women’s Super League season with Tottenham Hotspur in England earlier this summer.

“She hardly took a break right after her season,” Donaldson said. “She just wanted to get right back into it. I saw that in Jamaica and I had a word. I said, ‘Becky, are you doing too much?’

“She said, ‘No, I’m ready.’ But she was fantastic.”

The Reggae Girlz now turn their focus to their next Group F game against Panama.

Spencer says the plan is to execute the same defensively in this game, but to also be sharper in attack.

“We’ve got to stick to what we do defensively, and [in] attacking we need to put away our chances,” she said.

Donaldson shared similar sentiments about focusing on getting the job done.

“We’ve got to just keep getting points,” he said. “It’s three games. We’ll just try to accumulate points and try to get ourselves in a good position.”

The game against Panama takes place in Perth, Australia, on Saturday at 7:30 am (Jamaica time).