CATHERINE HALL, St James — Jamaica’s Head Coach Steve McClaren and his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart Dwight Yorke both said they were satisfied with their teams’ performance in Thursday’s friendly international at Montego Bay Sports Complex.

Jamaica won the game 1-0 as Sue-Lae McCalla scored deep in the second half to register his first international goal in his fourth appearance for the national team. The win was the first for the Reggae Boyz against Trinidad and Tobago on Jamaican soil in 10 years.

“I thought they got stronger and stronger as the game went on,” noted a hoarse-sounding McClaren who said he “lost” his voice over two hard days of training.

“I think in the first half we were a little unsure, a little passive rather than being aggressive, but I think in the second half, one or two things, we changed, and we became more aggressive, and we talked about people coming on, making a difference,” he added about the game which featured mostly locally based players on both sides.

“In every performance you need a platform, you need a rock, and we had that tonight,” he said “We had that with Jamali [Waite] in goal, [Richard] King, [Fitzroy] Cummings and [McCalla] — that diamond was so strong down the middle. I never thought we’d concede — because they dominated — and that’s important to get that platform.

“I thought the subs who came on really kind of changed the game, they gave us energy once we worked out that it was a fall back game. We had to switch the play, and we became more positive in our pressing. I think we deserved to win, and the way that worked as well — not just not just forward, but back — was a credit,” he explained.

Former Trinidad and Tobago striker Yorke, who was named head coach of the national team late last year, was generally pleased with the Soca Warriors’ performance.

“I thought it was a good game and I expected it to be competitive, which it was — again, another opportunity to see how close we are. Jamaica is obviously ahead of us in the ranking. Our target was to try and match them to see how far the gap is between the two teams, and we’re fairly confident in terms of the [display throughout] the game, although the result [didn’t] go our way.

“But I thought it was a pretty decent game from both sets of teams, and it was enjoyable to watch although, you know, we didn’t win the game… I thought we we had some really good moments in the game as well,” the Trinidad and Tobago coach said.

It was Jamaica’s first victory at home since June 6, 2024 when they got the better of Dominican Republic in a World Cup Qualifier.

On Thursday, eight Jamaicans made their first appearances for the senior national team. Four of those were in the starting 11 while another five players were being recalled to the squad.

Jamaica had most of the scoring chances in the contest. Jamaica Premier League top scorer Warner Brown, one of four debutants named in the starting team, had two shots saved in the first half.

Trinidad and Tobago had a good chance late in the first half when a cross from the left wing sailed across the face of the Jamaican goal, but no one got on the end of it. Early in the second half the visitors had another opportunity when substitute Brent Sam headed a ball over the crossbar from close range.

Jamaica came close to opening the scoring in the 71st minute when a cross from Kyle Ming beat two onrushing Reggae Boyz. Just over 10 minutes later, McCalla was well placed to make full use of a flicked pass from Shaniel Thomas to give the Boyz the win.

After the game McCalla basked in scoring his first international goal.

“[It is] a tremendous feeling, you know, to get the first goal for the country. You know, the crowd [offered] a lot of support tonight so, you know, it’s a great feeling to know that the people came out and enjoyed themselves.”

With a big squad at his disposal and a short turnaround between Thursday and the second contest in the two-game friendly series at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex in St Andrew on Sunday, McClaren said he will rotate players.

“We look to Sunday and we’ll have to make some changes. We have to use all the squad, which we did tonight. We had no hesitation in the changes, and they made a real difference, but the solid foundation that we had was the two centre backs and Sue-lae, and they really dominated and allowed us to progress and play,” said the Jamaica coach.