BOTH Jamaica’s Under-17 Reggae Boyz and their Trinidad and Tobago counterparts enter Tuesday afternoon’s second and final friendly match focused on performance rather than the result as they prepare for the Concacaf Championship this month.

The Jamaicans earned a narrow 1-0 victory over the young Soca Warriors in the opening match on Saturday at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.

Substitute Orane Watson got the 77th-minute winner after Nicholas Simmonds missed a first-half penalty kick for the Boyz.

Merron Gordon, Jamaica’s head coach, said a major aim is to make better use of the football in the second match which is slated for the St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) Sports Complex in Santa Cruz.

“I want us to be better with ball retention, keeping the ball a bit more. Sometimes I think we gave away the ball too easily; we didn’t make Trinidad work to get back the ball,” he said while noting the opening contest provided “a good platform to build on”.

Trinidad and Tobago Head Coach Shawn Cooper was satisfied with his players’ show despite the loss, but said the team could have been more compact, even while being more ambitious in attack.

“I think it was a decent performance. What I have been doing is [for the team] to be a little more structured, trying to avoid goals from leaking in.

“I think we needed to put a little bit more numbers forward and to get the lines a little bit tighter,” he explained.

Trinidad’s marquee player Rio Cardines, who represents Crystal Palace in England, is expected to feature on Tuesday after he missed the opener due to issues related to his travel documents.

Cooper said he would have made a difference in game one but noted the technical staff’s focus is on the bigger picture.

“Definitely he would have influenced us going forward but what I really want is for all the guys to get in some game time, to feel what an international game is like,” he said.

Both Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago enter the Concacaf Championship in Guatemala vying for qualification to this year’s FIFA Under-17 Men’s World Cup in Peru.

The Jamaicans are scheduled to get their qualifying campaign started on February 12 against Cuba in Group C. Their next slated challenge is against Guadeloupe two days later, before facing Costa Rica on February 16. T&T are set to clash with United States, Canada, and Barbados in Group F.

Sanjay Myers