Despite starting their Concacaf World Cup qualifying campaign with a win, Reggae Boyz Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson says major improvements are needed after their 1-0 victory over the Dominican Republic at the National Stadium on Thursday .

The lone goal of the contest was scored in the 16th minute by talisman Shamar Nicholson, who tapped home from close range after a swift counter-attacking move led by the speedy Renaldo Cephas.

Even with the pair of Nicholson and Michail Antonio up front, the national senior men’s team struggled to create clear-cut chances throughout the game but could have added a second in the 73rd minute when Cephas won a penalty after being brought down in the box.

However, Bobby Decordova-Reid was unable to convert as his effort hit the post and stayed out.

Minutes later, Cephas had a brilliant solo run but was unable to finish off the move.

Hallgrimsson believes the team’s overall performance left a lot to be desired.

“Attacking-wise, we were very slow, everything we did was low tempo. In the second half we got better, we created more chances with build-up play and creation but in general, it was too slow for my taste,” he said.

“These strikers, with all their individual quality, are not used to play in a two-striker formation so we need time to get them to sync a little bit better but in general, with the ball we were not good. Even defending [in the] first half was slow tempo so we gave them [Dominican Republic] the time they needed to be good so we need to up the tempo in everything we do.”

Hallgrimsson also rued the important chances missed, including the penalty.

“We should have finished it off [because] when you’re winning 1-0, it’s always uncomfortable because it only needs a corner or free kick and the ball goes in, so you never feel relaxed. We should have killed the game off with the chances we got but the [performance] wasn’t good enough today. We can do much better than we did today,” he said.

However, Jamaica’s head coach believes starting on a winning note was vital and also hailed their opponents for making life difficult.

“Like I said in my pre-match press conference, this Dominican Republic team is a good team. If we’re not careful, they can hurt us so we needed to suffer at times. It’s a very good job the coach has been doing with his team, we’ve followed their progress so I want to give them a lot of credit for their performance today. It’s really an exciting team for the future,” he said.

“Given that a lot of these players are coming back from not playing, it was kind of a given that some of them would not be ready for a competitive match right away. We can for sure improve from this performance but the most important thing is we got the win, we got the three points, we kept a clean sheet and that’s the most important thing.”

Hallgrimsson also credited man of the match Cephas for his valuable contributions throughout the contest.

“He’s surprising us more and more, incredible speed and his confidence is quite good. So we just need to create space for him to use and in games against good teams when we’re suffering, it’s good to have a player like Cephas. What impresses me about him is his personality, he’s humble, he’s hard-working, he wants to learn a lot of things so that impresses us,” he said.

Though in just match week one, Jamaica are currently second in Group E but only on goal difference with Guatemala hammering Dominica 6-0 on Wednesday.

The Reggae Boyz depart the island tomorrow for their contest with Dominica at Windsor Park on Sunday as they look for back-to-back wins.

Only the top two from the group advance to the final round of qualifying.