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IAN BURNETT, @ THE CONCACAF GOLD CUP in the USA
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Miami, USA - In a literal last attempt to sneak into the quarter-finals of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup football tournament, Jamaica's head coach Theodore Whitmore has promised more changes to the starting 11 going into tomorrow's 'win-or-go-home' game against El Salvador at the Florida International University Stadium (FIU).
Columbus, Ohio - Costa Rica's Walter Centeno (left) shields the ball from Jamaica's Omar Cummings during their CONCACAF Gold Cup match on Tuesday night. Costa Rica won 1-0. (Photo: AP
Jamaica are at the bottom of Group A without a point, behind Canada - who have virtually assured themselves a place in the next phase, on six points - and Costa Rica and El Salvador
on three.
A victory for Jamaica, especially by two clear goals or more, could see them finishing second, depending on the result of the first game between Canada and Costa Rica. The team could also advance as one of the two best third-placed teams.
"The Canada-Costa Rica game is a good result in a sense," Whitmore admitted yesterday morning prior to the team's departure via a Miami Air International chartered flight from Columbus, Ohio to Fort Lauderdale.
"But my worry is that we're playing good and creating a lot of chances but... failing to put away any of those chances... and this will be a major factor going into this last game against El Salvador," Whitmore said.
Jamaica play at 9:00 pm (8:00 pm Jamaica time), with Canada and Costa Rica meeting two hours earlier, and Whitmore hinted at an all out attack.
"To be honest it was a good performance... and we're still looking to use Fuller (Ricardo), Shelton (Luton) and Cummings (Omar) in attack. We plan to replace Austin (Rodolph) with Morrison (Jason), and I plan to give Oneil Thompson his first start and Jamal Campbell-Ryce as well."
Jamaica suffered a heart-breaking 0-1 loss to Costa Rica in their latest game in Columbus, a game that they appeared to have had the upper hand until American referee Jair Marrufo tilted the balance in the Central Americans' favour with the harsh ejection of Austin on 35 minutes.
The Costa Ricans eventually got their winning goal on 64 minutes through Celso Borges.
Whitmore admitted the loss of Austin forced him to make adjustments at the interval, though the Jamaicans were on top at the time.
"After the red card I decided to bring on 'Bigga' (Thompson) and Jason in more holding roles to free up Cummings, 'Peel Head' (Demar Phillips) and 'Teddy' (Jermaine Johnson) in a counter-attacking game and it really worked for us, but it's just that again we didn't capitalise on our chances... we had planned to stay behind the ball and hit them on the counter-attack," he explained.
In the first game against Canada, which the Boyz also lost 0-1, Johnson proved a menace to the Maple Leaf boys and was a threat throughout, but in Tuesday's game he almost went missing in action, having been bogged down with defensive responsibilities. The coach explained the reason for the wily player's ineffectiveness.
"When we went down to 10 players, most of the times he was forced into more of a defensive role...We want to attack in our next game, so I think I will carry him off the bench for the last 20 to 25 minutes... I think he will be more effective that way."
Added the coach: "Johnson is not a hundred per cent fit, so his game is for a 10-minute spurt and then he relaxes, so basically that is why we plan to play him coming off the bench in the next game."
Meanwhile, captain Ricardo Gardner, who had a much better game than the opener against Canada, said the team was very disappointed when they went a man down, having had the upper hand until then.
"We tried to keep the ball as much as possible. We got a few chances, so we can't blame anyone but ourselves because we got the chances and didn't put them away," the veteran Bolton Wanderers player said.
And goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, the Los Angeles Galaxy No 1 who has been having an outstanding tournament so far, is mystified by the generosity of the referees in issuing cautions to the Reggae Boyz.
"I don't know if it is a new rule of FIFA because before the first game they told us that we can't play with tape on the socks, which is new to me, so I don't know if it is a new way of refereeing now... you can't touch anybody, it is just cards all around, so I don't know. It's our culture, it's how we play and I don't know if they are trying to crack down on us as a team or just general rough play in football..."
And defender Shavar Thomas was finally granted permission from CONCACAF to join the squad as replacement for absentee striker Marlon King.
Thomas, who flew from Los Angeles yesterday, joined his teammates in a training session at FIU. They are expected to practise at the astro turf game venue today ahead of tomorrow's contest.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...FINAL_GAME.asp
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Miami, USA - In a literal last attempt to sneak into the quarter-finals of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup football tournament, Jamaica's head coach Theodore Whitmore has promised more changes to the starting 11 going into tomorrow's 'win-or-go-home' game against El Salvador at the Florida International University Stadium (FIU).
Columbus, Ohio - Costa Rica's Walter Centeno (left) shields the ball from Jamaica's Omar Cummings during their CONCACAF Gold Cup match on Tuesday night. Costa Rica won 1-0. (Photo: APJamaica are at the bottom of Group A without a point, behind Canada - who have virtually assured themselves a place in the next phase, on six points - and Costa Rica and El Salvador
on three.
A victory for Jamaica, especially by two clear goals or more, could see them finishing second, depending on the result of the first game between Canada and Costa Rica. The team could also advance as one of the two best third-placed teams.
"The Canada-Costa Rica game is a good result in a sense," Whitmore admitted yesterday morning prior to the team's departure via a Miami Air International chartered flight from Columbus, Ohio to Fort Lauderdale.
"But my worry is that we're playing good and creating a lot of chances but... failing to put away any of those chances... and this will be a major factor going into this last game against El Salvador," Whitmore said.
Jamaica play at 9:00 pm (8:00 pm Jamaica time), with Canada and Costa Rica meeting two hours earlier, and Whitmore hinted at an all out attack.
"To be honest it was a good performance... and we're still looking to use Fuller (Ricardo), Shelton (Luton) and Cummings (Omar) in attack. We plan to replace Austin (Rodolph) with Morrison (Jason), and I plan to give Oneil Thompson his first start and Jamal Campbell-Ryce as well."
Jamaica suffered a heart-breaking 0-1 loss to Costa Rica in their latest game in Columbus, a game that they appeared to have had the upper hand until American referee Jair Marrufo tilted the balance in the Central Americans' favour with the harsh ejection of Austin on 35 minutes.
The Costa Ricans eventually got their winning goal on 64 minutes through Celso Borges.
Whitmore admitted the loss of Austin forced him to make adjustments at the interval, though the Jamaicans were on top at the time.
"After the red card I decided to bring on 'Bigga' (Thompson) and Jason in more holding roles to free up Cummings, 'Peel Head' (Demar Phillips) and 'Teddy' (Jermaine Johnson) in a counter-attacking game and it really worked for us, but it's just that again we didn't capitalise on our chances... we had planned to stay behind the ball and hit them on the counter-attack," he explained.
In the first game against Canada, which the Boyz also lost 0-1, Johnson proved a menace to the Maple Leaf boys and was a threat throughout, but in Tuesday's game he almost went missing in action, having been bogged down with defensive responsibilities. The coach explained the reason for the wily player's ineffectiveness.
"When we went down to 10 players, most of the times he was forced into more of a defensive role...We want to attack in our next game, so I think I will carry him off the bench for the last 20 to 25 minutes... I think he will be more effective that way."
Added the coach: "Johnson is not a hundred per cent fit, so his game is for a 10-minute spurt and then he relaxes, so basically that is why we plan to play him coming off the bench in the next game."
Meanwhile, captain Ricardo Gardner, who had a much better game than the opener against Canada, said the team was very disappointed when they went a man down, having had the upper hand until then.
"We tried to keep the ball as much as possible. We got a few chances, so we can't blame anyone but ourselves because we got the chances and didn't put them away," the veteran Bolton Wanderers player said.
And goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, the Los Angeles Galaxy No 1 who has been having an outstanding tournament so far, is mystified by the generosity of the referees in issuing cautions to the Reggae Boyz.
"I don't know if it is a new rule of FIFA because before the first game they told us that we can't play with tape on the socks, which is new to me, so I don't know if it is a new way of refereeing now... you can't touch anybody, it is just cards all around, so I don't know. It's our culture, it's how we play and I don't know if they are trying to crack down on us as a team or just general rough play in football..."
And defender Shavar Thomas was finally granted permission from CONCACAF to join the squad as replacement for absentee striker Marlon King.
Thomas, who flew from Los Angeles yesterday, joined his teammates in a training session at FIU. They are expected to practise at the astro turf game venue today ahead of tomorrow's contest.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...FINAL_GAME.asp
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