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Jerry against England's Gerrard
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Reggae Boyz interim head coach Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore declared that his team is more famished for a victory against Honduras when both meet in a high stakes CONCACAF Semi-Final Round World Cup Qualifier at the National Stadium tomorrow at 7:00 pm.
Jamaica, with a paltry four points from as many games, must defeat the high-flying Central American outfit if they cherish the thought of advancing from their tough Group B to the final Group of Six which will be contested next year.
Honduras, leaders of the group with nine points after blowing away Canada 3-1 on Saturday, are eager for a win which would propel them to the next stage of the qualifying play-offs, so it is expected that they will be fully fired up for Wednesday's contest. But not as fired up as the Boyz, according Whitmore's tone on the telephone yesterday.
"Although they want to win, I don't think the Honduras team is as hungry as us because we need this win more than they do and we will show that," said the former Jamaica standout.
"Honduras are on the verge of qualifying and they would want to do it here, but we definitely need these three points," Whitmore added.
In looking back at the Boyz's life-saving 1-0 win over CONCACAF kingpins Mexico on Saturday which pumped oxygen back into Jamaica's wilting South Africa 2010 World Cup campaign, Whitmore noted that he expects Honduras to be a tougher opponent.
The two-goal hero in a 2-1 win for Jamaica against Japan in the France 1998 World Cup Finals, Whitmore vowed that the people of Jamaica can rest assured that the home team will be stronger and better for tomorrow's encounter.
Jamaica must not only defeat Honduras, but Canada here in Kingston on November 19 if they hope to progress in these qualifiers.
Meanwhile, there was disquiet in some quarters when it was realised that Norway-based midfielder, Rudolf Austin, would miss tomorrow's game due to yellow-card suspension, but Whitmore was quick to find his replacement when he summoned Harbour View's dashing midfielder, Jermaine Hue.
Whitmore also considered veteran Andy Williams for the job, but said it would not be practical to bring in the US-based player at this time.
"To organise a flight for Andy Williams to come at this late time would be more difficult. Jermaine Hue is already here and waiting, so that is why I decided to call him," he said.
Whitmore, on his second stint as interim coach after guiding the Boyz to victory in two friendlies against El Salvador (3-0) and Guatemala (2-0), conceded that Austin's presence in the team will be missed, but he is more focused on finding the most suitable plan going into battle.
"This (Austin) is a great loss for us, but this means that we will have to now sit and see how best we can work a way out, because at the end of the day we want these three points and nothing else," he noted.
Whitmore, who was an assistant to the sacked Brazilian Rene Simoes, said
at the end of the two remaining training sessions before the game, he would have his plan worked out.
"There are a few things that we have to look at this (yesterday) evening at the training session before we can make a final decision. We still have another training session (tomorrow), so I just want to go out on the pitch and get the team functioning in areas where we need to work on and then we will take it from there," he noted.
Austin picked up both his yellow cards against Mexico - firstly in the 30th minute at the Azteca last month and in the 62nd minute on Saturday.
Hue, Austin's replacement, was a member of the squad for Jamaica's first three Semi-Final Round Qualifiers after receiving a late call-up by Simoes. But like Williams, Hue was not selected by Whitmore as preparation mounted for the return legs of Mexico and Honduras fixtures.
Hue played in the Boyz's 1-1 draw with Canada in Toronto in August as a 90-plus-minute sub, stayed on the bench in the team's 0-3 defeat to Mexico in Mexico City, but came off the bench in the 55th-minute in the 0-2 loss to Honduras in San Pedro Sula last month.
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