Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz suffered a disappointing 0-3 loss to Mexico on Friday but assistant coach Deon Burton is focused on using the experience as a learning opportunity to improve the team’s performance in the second and final friendly match on Tuesday in Houston, United States.

The Reggae Girlz, who had been riding high on a four-match winning streak and had swept two-match friendly series against South Africa and Peru, were hoping to continue their momentum against Mexico. However, they struggled to find their footing against a well-organised and determined Mexican side.

Mexico dominated all areas of the pitch, controlling possession, tempo, and creativity. Their superiority was reflected in the scoreboard within the first 40 minutes, as Alexia Delgado (23rd minute), Christina Burkenroad (32nd minute), and Rebeca Bernal (37th minute) scored before the half-time whistle at the CPKC Stadium in Kansas City.

The statistics highlighted the disparity between the two teams, with Mexico outshooting Jamaica 21-4, including eight shots that troubled Reggae Girlz goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer.

Burton acknowledged that the team was “a little bit off” in some phases of the game.

“We will obviously go back and look at the tape and see where we made mistakes and try to learn from them and try to nullify them in the second game. That’s what we can do, we learn from our mistakes and move on,” Burton said.

“We all agreed that we were a little bit off it in some areas of the game, so everyone held their hands up and took responsibility for individual areas. But like I said, it’s a learning experience, and we move on to the next game,” the former Reggae Boyz striker said.

Despite the loss, Burton expressed pride in being part of the tour, stating: “It is great honour to be able to come here and be a part of this tour and we are going to take a lot away from it, we’re halfway through the tour, and we go again Tuesday evening, and we’ll be ready to go in Houston.”