DESPITE an unconvincing display from Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz, Rudolph Speid says he was satisfied with the team’s performance against Grenada which secured his first win as interim head coach.

The predominantly locally based Jamaicans got the better of the hosts 1-0 on Sunday in the international friendly at Kirani James Athletics Stadium in St George’s.

Tivoli Gardens FC forward Nickalia Fuller, in his second international appearance, scored the winning goal in the 81st minute for the visitors.

Aside from defender Damion Lowe, who captained the team, the squad was missing most of its regulars as the friendly fell outside of the international window, which meant clubs in Europe and America weren’t obliged to release the players.

The match was used as preparation for March’s inter-confederation play-offs — Jamaica’s last hope of qualifying for this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

Speid was pleased with the effort displayed by the heavily changed team.

“What we were looking for was to see if the players will play like how we trained, and I think, largely, we would have achieved that,” he said. “[They] moved the ball around, felt comfortable on the ball, and that is what is pleasing for us. We’ll have to go back and look at the tape to review what transpired, because it’s difficult when you’re coaching to see everything. So we’ll see if all of our, whatever tactics we had tried to employ, were implemented and who was doing them fairly well,” he said.

Although playing against the world-164th-ranked Grenadians, Speid hailed his opponents for making life difficult.

“We have been the number one team in the Caribbean for a long period, [but] our ego has been bruised. People believe that we are ripe for the picking now so they are going to come after us, and I really appreciate the effort that Grenada put out,” he said.

“It’s something that we need going into the qualifiers. It was a welcomed match, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way except for them to fight us very hard — and they did. I must give them credit, the coach and the players. They really gave us a hard time.”

Speid is hoping Jamaica will be able to secure other friendlies before they travel to Mexico where they will battle New Caledonia of Oceania in the play-off semi-final on March 26. If victorious, they are set to face DR Congo of Africa in the final on March 31.

— Daniel Blake

Jamaica’s starting XI : Amal Knight, Kyle Ming, Damion Lowe, Stephen Young, Ronaldo Webster, Kevon Lambert, Jahshaun Anglin, Nickyle Ellis, Jourdian Fletcher, Dwayne Atkinson, Warner Brown

Subbed on: Nickalia Fuller, Cory Burke, Deshane Beckford, Nico Brown, Adrian Reid, Shamar Watson, Dwight Merrick

SPEID…people believe that we are ripe for the picking now so they are going to come after us, and I really appreciate the effort that Grenada put out