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FOLLOWING their 2-3 loss away to Pao de Azucar on Thursday, the coaching staff of Jamaica's Under-20 footballers is not really disappointed as the game points them into the direction in which they need to go.
Brazilian coach Luciano Gama said the Boyz were fed a lot of information in a short space of time and he was not surprised they were a bit confused.
"We put a lot of information in their minds so it's normal for them to be confused at some point.... things like pressing the ball, closing down and coming back to mark, but this is normal," said physical trainer Luciano Gama, the son of head coach Walter.
"So in the next few days we will be working more on those and I'm sure they will correct that," he said reassuringly.
"The reaction in the first game was good. We know we still have a lot of improvement to do but the game gave us the direction we need to go," Luciano pointed out.
"We know the game is different from the practice and we saw the mistakes and the good things they did and we are happy with the first impression," he added.
The young Reggae Boyz are on a three-week training stint in Brazil in preparation for the CONCACAF Under-20 World Cup Qualifiers in Guatemala at month's end.
Jason Wallace handed the young Reggae Boyz the lead in the 11th minute before Munilo Picallo equalised for the host on 36 minutes.
Diego Luiz then fired Pao de Azucar in front in the 67th minute, but St James High School student and Village United striker Allan Ottey tied the game for the young Boyz six minutes from time. And just when it looked like Jamaica would start their first match with a draw, Nichallas Valqueles popped up and found the winner for the Brazilians in the 88th minute.
The Jamaicans played two different teams in each half and despite a somewhat scrappy performance, the coaching staff was not too disappointed.
Luciano said they will continue to be patient with the team and try to improve their game step by step. "We know what they need to do to improve on the points we saw today... but we are not going to be ready in two to three days. But we need to work a lot to be ready for Guatemala," he stated.
The host controlled the game from the opening whistle, with Valqueles posing the first real threat with a shot just wide of the target after eight minutes.
But the Jamaicans took the lead three minutes later, against the run of play, when the Azucar goalkeeper fumbled Kemar Lawrence's corner and Wallace was on hand to bundle the ball over the line.
Two minutes later, Azucar nearly equalised when Luiz dribbled around Jamie Hyde, but his strike was well blocked by Kemar Foster in goal.
As the Brazilians dominated midfield and the young Boyz struggled to get their passes together, Luiz missed another great chance when he fired wide from inside the six-yard area in the 24th minute.
Jamaica came into their own after that and Excelsior schoolboy Neco Brett saw his weak shot from the edge of the box fail to really trouble the goalkeeper in the 28th minute.
Ten minutes later a good counter-attack by Wallace and Craig Foster nearly produced a goal, but the final pass from Foster was a little off and the ball was directed out for a spot-kick.
The Brazilians made them pay a minute later when the Jamaicans lost possession in their final third and Luiz crossed to Picallo at the far-post to stab into an unguarded net.
After the break and with the introduction of a new 11 the Jamaicans started brightly, and after two minutes Dino Gardener had a shot from six yards blocked for a corner from Kemar Beckford's right-sided cross.
Two minutes later, Beckford played through Denmark Gillings on goal but he shot wide of the target from inside the box.
Then in the 55th minute a superb cross from the left by Ackeemo Palmer found Beckford, but he could not direct his volley on target.
But Azucar came storming back after the hour with two great strikes that forced two great saves from goalkeeper Gregory McCogg.
Then from one of the resulting corners Richardo Israel had to clear a ball off the line in the 63rd minute. Two minutes after Luiz missed a clear header, but their constant pressure would eventually pay off when Luiz latched on to a pass from Andrey Alaya and curled a shot which deflected off the retreating Israel past McCogg in goal.
Ottey pulled the Boyz level when he rose above the Azucar's defence to head home a corner from Gardener.
However, the host were to steal the win at the death when Picallo slipped a ball through for Valqueles who rounded McCogg and slotted home from a tight angle.
Azucar's coach Ricardo Salve said the Jamaicans were very quick and strong defensively, but needed to pass the ball better when they are on the offensive.
"They are strong, fast and mark very well... but they need to pass a little better to attack better," he told the Observer through a translator.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1GQiaheEy
Brazilian coach Luciano Gama said the Boyz were fed a lot of information in a short space of time and he was not surprised they were a bit confused.
"We put a lot of information in their minds so it's normal for them to be confused at some point.... things like pressing the ball, closing down and coming back to mark, but this is normal," said physical trainer Luciano Gama, the son of head coach Walter.
"So in the next few days we will be working more on those and I'm sure they will correct that," he said reassuringly.
"The reaction in the first game was good. We know we still have a lot of improvement to do but the game gave us the direction we need to go," Luciano pointed out.
"We know the game is different from the practice and we saw the mistakes and the good things they did and we are happy with the first impression," he added.
The young Reggae Boyz are on a three-week training stint in Brazil in preparation for the CONCACAF Under-20 World Cup Qualifiers in Guatemala at month's end.
Jason Wallace handed the young Reggae Boyz the lead in the 11th minute before Munilo Picallo equalised for the host on 36 minutes.
Diego Luiz then fired Pao de Azucar in front in the 67th minute, but St James High School student and Village United striker Allan Ottey tied the game for the young Boyz six minutes from time. And just when it looked like Jamaica would start their first match with a draw, Nichallas Valqueles popped up and found the winner for the Brazilians in the 88th minute.
The Jamaicans played two different teams in each half and despite a somewhat scrappy performance, the coaching staff was not too disappointed.
Luciano said they will continue to be patient with the team and try to improve their game step by step. "We know what they need to do to improve on the points we saw today... but we are not going to be ready in two to three days. But we need to work a lot to be ready for Guatemala," he stated.
The host controlled the game from the opening whistle, with Valqueles posing the first real threat with a shot just wide of the target after eight minutes.
But the Jamaicans took the lead three minutes later, against the run of play, when the Azucar goalkeeper fumbled Kemar Lawrence's corner and Wallace was on hand to bundle the ball over the line.
Two minutes later, Azucar nearly equalised when Luiz dribbled around Jamie Hyde, but his strike was well blocked by Kemar Foster in goal.
As the Brazilians dominated midfield and the young Boyz struggled to get their passes together, Luiz missed another great chance when he fired wide from inside the six-yard area in the 24th minute.
Jamaica came into their own after that and Excelsior schoolboy Neco Brett saw his weak shot from the edge of the box fail to really trouble the goalkeeper in the 28th minute.
Ten minutes later a good counter-attack by Wallace and Craig Foster nearly produced a goal, but the final pass from Foster was a little off and the ball was directed out for a spot-kick.
The Brazilians made them pay a minute later when the Jamaicans lost possession in their final third and Luiz crossed to Picallo at the far-post to stab into an unguarded net.
After the break and with the introduction of a new 11 the Jamaicans started brightly, and after two minutes Dino Gardener had a shot from six yards blocked for a corner from Kemar Beckford's right-sided cross.
Two minutes later, Beckford played through Denmark Gillings on goal but he shot wide of the target from inside the box.
Then in the 55th minute a superb cross from the left by Ackeemo Palmer found Beckford, but he could not direct his volley on target.
But Azucar came storming back after the hour with two great strikes that forced two great saves from goalkeeper Gregory McCogg.
Then from one of the resulting corners Richardo Israel had to clear a ball off the line in the 63rd minute. Two minutes after Luiz missed a clear header, but their constant pressure would eventually pay off when Luiz latched on to a pass from Andrey Alaya and curled a shot which deflected off the retreating Israel past McCogg in goal.
Ottey pulled the Boyz level when he rose above the Azucar's defence to head home a corner from Gardener.
However, the host were to steal the win at the death when Picallo slipped a ball through for Valqueles who rounded McCogg and slotted home from a tight angle.
Azucar's coach Ricardo Salve said the Jamaicans were very quick and strong defensively, but needed to pass the ball better when they are on the offensive.
"They are strong, fast and mark very well... but they need to pass a little better to attack better," he told the Observer through a translator.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1GQiaheEy
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