PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago — Jamaica head coach Steve McClaren has defended his starting line-up after their 1-1 draw with Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) in their penultimate FIFA World Cup qualifying match here.

It was a result that left supporters frustrated and questioning several key decisions.

With qualification on the line, McClaren opted to start Rumarn Burrell up front instead of striker Shamar Nicholson, who he said, in a previous press conference, scores crucial goals, especially against Caribbean opponents.

Burrell struggled to impact the match, in part due to limited service from midfield, and despite eventually being substituted, Nicholson was left on the bench.

Another surprise selection saw Mason Holgate deployed at right back ahead of the more established Dexter Lembikisa. Holgate endured a difficult evening, repeatedly tested by T&T winger Tyrese Spicer, who found success down the left flank.

McClaren stood by his choices, saying they were guided by the need to protect players carrying yellow cards ahead of their decisive home game against Curaçao in Kingston on Tuesday.

“The key for me is that we’ve got all the players available,” McClaren said. “We tried to protect the players with yellow cards, so we had them available for the game on Tuesday. We thought we’d done that, that we’d managed a win but that’s football.

“Tuesday, we’ve got the full squad to pick from.”

Reflecting on the performance, McClaren said he felt Jamaica had done enough to secure the three points before T&T’s late pressure paid off.

“Obviously, after scoring first, and the way we defended, I thought we’d hold on. Trinidad took risks, which they had to do — a lot of risks, a lot of balls into our box and just one slip up and it cost us the equaliser,” he said.

“The players, we talked before the game about the will to fight, want to win. They certainly had that. Got the goal, and more or less, Trinidad had to take risks. Put the fullbacks forward, put an extra striker on, balls into the box. It always happens — a loose ball and an equaliser but we knew it would [come down to] the last game, and so it will be.”

While McClaren focused on his team’s resilience, T&T Head Coach Dwight Yorke had a different impression, suggesting Jamaica approached the match cautiously and relied on gamesmanship to disrupt their game.

“We felt that Jamaica wasn’t really going to come and have a go at us,” Yorke said. “With our analysts, we felt that Jamaica was always looking to draw and get a point, to eliminate us out of the competition and take their chances at home in their last game.

“It’s a game that they definitely didn’t want to lose and they played that way. They played not the Jamaican way that you would think. Jamaica plays a certain type of way, but they were dropping all over.”

Yorke said Trinidad and Tobago deliberately responded with physicality and aggression in midfield.

“So we felt, to be aggressive against them in midfield,” he said. “They’re a physical team. That’s one of their threats, as well as their two wide players who are a threat. So we thought we’d go physical in there, especially over the first 45 to 60 minutes, to try and rattle them and we did. We dominated them in the first half.

“If you look back at the first half, they were hanging on and playing for time and breaking the game up. I’m a bit surprised by that but, you know, that’s just to show our strategy and our planning was spot on.”

The result leaves Jamaica needing a victory over unbeaten group leaders Curacao on Tuesday in Kingston to guarantee automatic qualification from Group B.