WHILE Head Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson and Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz are pleased to have taken a 1-0 win over Honduras in their Concacaf Nations League opening game on Friday night, they know there needs to be improvement in their performances.

At points throughout the game, especially in the first half, spectator groans of disapproval of mistimed tackles, misplaced passes, backward passes, and poor touches on the ball were clear enough for everyone at the National Stadium in Kingston to be aware of.

These were largely targeted at centre midfielder Joel Latibeaudiere and his debuting partner Kasey Palmer.

Latibeaudiere debuted for Jamaica in a 2-1 loss to Qatar during an international friendly ahead of the Gold Cup last summer and has played every game at the base of Hallgrímsson’s midfield since. But while he is a centre back for Coventry City in the English Football League Championship, he is honest with himself about the work he needs to do for growth and is upbeat about what the future holds for him in this new role.

“The coach spoke to me about this new role,” Latibeaudiere told the Jamaica Observer after the game. “I’ve been told Jamaica hasn’t had that holding, sitting midfielder for a long time. That’s what’s missing and that’s what I’m trying to become.”

Neither Latibeaudiere nor Palmer had stellar starts to the game, and while the former says he did not feel jitters, both players knew there was a weight of expectation on them in front of home fans for the first time in their senior international careers, and in a competitive game.

“It was tough,” Latibeaudiere said. “I wasn’t at my best and I got it wrong in the first half. Not playing behind, working the space behind the two strikers, I was making it easy for them. I know that, but I grew into the game and in the second half I was much better.

“It was Kasey’s debut today, playing for the first time in front of the home fans. I thought he grew into the game as well but they [Honduras] were good in midfield. We knew they were physical but we made some tackles in there, we played some good balls and, in the end, we won the battle.”

Hallgrímsson agrees with his assessment, even if he did not want to say anything about specific performances of his players.

“I really don’t want to talk about individuals’ performances in an after-match press conference before I look at the game again,” Hallgrímsson said. “I think we were off in midfield in general. In the first half we invested too many plays in the build-up, lacking the connection between defence and the attack. We didn’t find the players we wanted on the ball; we tweaked that a little bit at half-time. The second half was much better and then it was about keeping a clean sheet [after Demarai Gray’s 64th-minute goal].”

As the game wore on and fans grew impatient, Honduras grew in confidence but was caught out by a fast counter-attack wherein defender Ethan Pinnock found Bobby Decordova-Reid with a long pass. He then quickly played in Gray who finished at the far post for his third goal in six games for Jamaica. That lifted the confidence of the team, and also its approach to seeing out the game.

“We changed the tactics in the second half, thinking of closing the cage and not allowing them in,” Hallgrímsson said. “I think that was, in the end, good. There were some tired legs, players that come in who are in a kind of mixed fitness. Some are playing regularly, some haven’t played much, some were tired in the end — and we needed to adapt to that. But the midfield, we fixed it in the second half and I thought the last 20 or 25 minutes, Lats [Latibeaudiere’s nickname] was fantastic. He was closing players down so he kind of grew in the game, but I don’t want to talk about individual performances before I watch the game again.

“It was many chapters in the game; we had some good spells and some bad spells in the match. I think it was a good performance when we, overall, add it together — but we can improve in the defending and attacking. It’s a lot of things we can work on but a 1-0? I love a 1-0.”

Although the crowd was tough on him, Latibeaudiere ended the game high on confidence and positivity, even joining teammates in going over to the fans on the opposing side of the technical area to applaud them for their support. He was one of the first players into the mixed zone after the game, and one of the last to head to the bus, after staying behind for numerous interviews.

Perhaps it is this positivity why Hallgrímsson has already shown so much faith in him, at 23 years old. That faith is returned by Latibeaudiere.

“For the young ones, just keep training hard because the coach will give you a chance,” he said. “Whisper’s [Dujuan Richards] playing. He’s 17. He’ll give you the chance as long as you’re putting in that work and the work ethic is there. So, keep believing.

“We just need more time together; it’s still a fresh team. A lot of players that are playing are not playing together. We all play at different clubs; we have different systems. It’s important that we get that time to build and have that togetherness.”

Although Hallgrímsson says he is cautious about overusing players in close fixtures, it is expected that Latibeaudiere starts in midfield on Tuesday against Haiti at the same venue at 7:00 pm.