NATIONAL Under-17 Head Coach Altimont “Freddy” Butler says it will take time before the team buys into his plans, after going down 0-1 to Trinidad and Tobago in a friendly at UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on Friday.

The young Reggae Boyz dominated possession for the 90 minutes but found it difficult to create goalscoring opportunities. Their best chance fell to Captain Giovanni Taylor who saw his 26th-minute effort saved.

Trinidad won the match with a strike in stoppage time, courtesy of Jamaica-based Akel Vespery who played for Munro College in Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association football competition.

Though not bothered by the defeat, Butler says he was disappointed to see some bad habits creep into the team.

“It wasn’t about the result or anything because we’re still trying to learn character and characteristics of our players. It was good for me to see them in an international game, it was bad because I don’t know the players — I don’t even know half their names,” he said.

“But in terms of our performance, I think the objective we tried to do was get them to connect. As the game went on we went back to the [habit] of Jamaican footballers where we just kick away the ball and don’t possess.”

However, Butler says he’ll be able to find the solution in the near future.

“It comes with time because we have to challenge the players to believe in themselves that we can possess the ball a bit more. As the game went on, even though it was a game we dominated, we got tired and the habitual is that long ball — and we went back to habitual. It comes with time and training. It’s two training sessions where I’m still trying to figure out the players but with time, we’ll try to change that,” Butler said.

Trinidad Head Coach Shawn Cooper hailed his team for their performance, despite being underdogs.

“I [saw Jamaica] brought in eight foreign-based players. This squad we brought here is a squad with some of them [having] no international experience — not even travelling or playing games at this level — so when you look at the exposure that both teams have, it’s chalk and cheese.

“So in this game, you have to find a way to win. And sometimes you soak the pressure and then you go on the counter because, after a while, they will get complacent and all you need is one chance — and that’s what we got and we took it,” Cooper said.

The two countries are set to battle again on Sunday at 9:00 am at the same venue.