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Boyz face Costa Rican challenge
Boyz hunt momentum against Costa Rica
BY IAN BURNETT Sport Editor
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
JAMAICA’S senior Reggae Boyz continue their buildup towards the start of the 2014 World Cup Finals when they entertain Costa Rica in a friendly international at the National Stadium at 8:00 tonight.
The Reggae Boyz, ranked 54th on the FIFA list, are a confident bunch, having registered three victories from as many engagements this year. They opened the season with 1-0 and 3-0 victories over Cuba at the National Stadium and the Montego Bay Sports Complex, respectively, before journeying ‘Down Under’ to inflict a 3-2 defeat on New Zealand.
Renae Lloyd (partly hidden) holds on to the bib of Troy Smith during a training session at the National Stadium on Monday evening. (Photo: Jermaine Barnaby)
Renae Lloyd (partly hidden) holds on to the bib of Troy Smith during a training session at the National Stadium on Monday evening. (Photo: Jermaine Barnaby)
#slideshowtoggler, #slideshowtoggler a, #slideshowtoggler img {filter:none !important;zoom:normal !important}
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Today, they are expected to face their toughest test to date with the 59th-ranked Central Americans, who are also in preparation mode for their World Cup Qualification campaign.
Assistant head coach Alfredo Montesso, who had a stint in Costa Rica, knows the opposition very well and is eyeing a much-needed test for his charges.
"I worked in Costa Rica so I know pretty much these players, some of whom come from the Under-20s who finished fourth at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2009.
"Some of the more senior players will not be here because it is not a FIFA date, but there is a core of players who have been doing well and are unbeaten in the last couple of games," Montesso told the Observer at the end of a training session at the National Stadium on Monday.
The Brazilian, who guided the players through their paces in the absence of head coach Theodore Whitmore, noted that this Costa Rican side, popularly called 'Los Ticos', has been gaining much needed experience playing against some of the top countries in the world.
A three-time senior World Cup Finals participant, Costa Rica were edged out of the South Africa Finals, 2-1, by two-time champions Uruguay when they were being coached by Rene Simoes in 2009.
Since then, this era, under the guidance of Colombian coach Jorge Luis Pinto, has been characterised by friendlies against top-ranked teams, such as Spain, with whom they drew 2-2 at home late last year.
They were also beaten 1-0 by the most successful team in world football, Brazil, also at home, late last year. The drew 0-0 with Argentina last March, before losing 0-3 to the same opponents in the Copa America in Colombia.
Since this year, they have beaten Wales, 1-0, in Wales, and Venezuela, 2-0, in that South American country.
"It will be a wonderful opportunity for the Jamaicans to come out and support the Reggae Boyz and to see what they have been doing over the last couple of months, and also to build the players because the dream is there as we look to get the team in the best shape possible for the World Cup qualifiers in June," Montesso added.
He said he expects the Costa Ricans, who were scheduled to arrive in the island last night, to be "tight in midfield" as they try to "use the wings a lot", backed up by great emphasis on dead-ball situations.
"That's their philosophy," declared Montesso.
Nonetheless, the assistant coach believes the game will be a continuation of building for the start of the World Cup Qualifiers on June 8 against Guatemala here at the National Stadium.
"Result is important for us, but we just cannot analyse the result of the games and not the performance of the team," he offered.
"I think we must improve on what we're doing in possession of the ball, the organisation of the team and be better at marking the opponents. These are things we must do better in each game so that we can improve all the time."
He also noted that the players "must be prepared to attack when we are marking (defending), and be prepared to defend when we are attacking. That is the concept that we are trying to build in the team, but we can only do that if we are organised on the field.
"This is the key we are looking for in the game and, of course, the result, which is also important to build the players' confidence going into the World Cup Qualifying campaign."
History favours the visitors in their head-to-head match-ups with the Reggae Boyz, except for the friendly games. The teams first met on March 24, 1963 in a CONCACAF Championship in El Salvador in which Costa Rica blanked Jamaica, 6-0.
Since then, Jamaica have managed just four wins, 10 losses and seven draws, while registering a miserly 14 strikes, compared to 43 conceded.
In non-friendly internationals, Jamaica have realised just one win, that famous 1-0 triumph courtesy of Deon Burton in a World Cup Qualifier at the National Stadium on September 14, 1997.
However, in nine friendly games, Jamaica have held sway. They first met in a friendly on July 4, 1993 in a 1-1 result here, then the Jamaicans recorded two 2-0 victories, also in Jamaica, in 1995 and 1996.
In all, Jamaica have won three times, lost just one — that embarrassing 9-0 debacle in Costa Rica in 1999 — while drawing five times.
Los Ticos were last here September 5, 2010 when they suffered a 0-1 defeat, while the last time both teams met, it ended in a 0-0 result in another friendly in the USA.
Whitmore and his technical staff had invited four overseas-based professionals, but only two — the Houston Dynamo pair of captain Jermaine Taylor and attacking midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson — made the trip down for the game.
Arsenal refused to release 18-year-old Nigel Neita, while veteran goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts of Toronto FC asked to be excused due to injury concerns.
At Monday's training session Jacomeno Barrett tended goal on the first team, backed by Taylor and Adrian Reid in central defence, flanked by Xavian Virgo and Troy Smith. Damion Williams, Rohan Reid, Joel Senior, Jermaine Hue and Watson marshalled midfield with Dino Williams roaming in attack.
"The understanding of the game is improving and the players need to know that once we have possession of the ball it will increase our chance to score goals, while reducing the chances of the opponents to score against us, so this is what we are looking for," reiterated Montesso.
Pinto had invited 20 players for this game, including the 20-year-old attacking midfielder Yeltsin Tejeda, who was a member of the Costa Rican team which claimed fourth place at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2009.
They are also scheduled to open their World Cup Qualifying campaign on June 8 at home against El Salvador. Guyana and Mexico account for the other teams in their group, while Jamaica will also face Antigua and Barbuda and USA in its group.
Jamaica's squad is completed by Rashuan Patterson, Andrae Campbell, Camal Reid, Ewan Grandison, Upston Edwards, Alanzo Adlam, Keneil Moodie, Navion Boyd, Mitchily Waul, Richard Edwards, Jorginho James, Montrose Phinn and Renae Lloyd.
Meanwhile, the public is being advised that the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) has put in place special transportation support, including shuttle service combined with the regular service for today's game.
Between 6:00 pm and the scheduled kick-off time 8:00 pm, there will be service from Half-Way-Tree to the National Stadium. At the end of the match, buses will travel directly from the National Stadium to Downtown; Half-Way Tree; Harbour View, Portmore and Spanish Town
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1plrQEV2y
Boyz hunt momentum against Costa Rica
BY IAN BURNETT Sport Editor
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
JAMAICA’S senior Reggae Boyz continue their buildup towards the start of the 2014 World Cup Finals when they entertain Costa Rica in a friendly international at the National Stadium at 8:00 tonight.
The Reggae Boyz, ranked 54th on the FIFA list, are a confident bunch, having registered three victories from as many engagements this year. They opened the season with 1-0 and 3-0 victories over Cuba at the National Stadium and the Montego Bay Sports Complex, respectively, before journeying ‘Down Under’ to inflict a 3-2 defeat on New Zealand.
Renae Lloyd (partly hidden) holds on to the bib of Troy Smith during a training session at the National Stadium on Monday evening. (Photo: Jermaine Barnaby)
Renae Lloyd (partly hidden) holds on to the bib of Troy Smith during a training session at the National Stadium on Monday evening. (Photo: Jermaine Barnaby)#slideshowtoggler, #slideshowtoggler a, #slideshowtoggler img {filter:none !important;zoom:normal !important}
1/1 Today, they are expected to face their toughest test to date with the 59th-ranked Central Americans, who are also in preparation mode for their World Cup Qualification campaign.
Assistant head coach Alfredo Montesso, who had a stint in Costa Rica, knows the opposition very well and is eyeing a much-needed test for his charges.
"I worked in Costa Rica so I know pretty much these players, some of whom come from the Under-20s who finished fourth at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2009.
"Some of the more senior players will not be here because it is not a FIFA date, but there is a core of players who have been doing well and are unbeaten in the last couple of games," Montesso told the Observer at the end of a training session at the National Stadium on Monday.
The Brazilian, who guided the players through their paces in the absence of head coach Theodore Whitmore, noted that this Costa Rican side, popularly called 'Los Ticos', has been gaining much needed experience playing against some of the top countries in the world.
A three-time senior World Cup Finals participant, Costa Rica were edged out of the South Africa Finals, 2-1, by two-time champions Uruguay when they were being coached by Rene Simoes in 2009.
Since then, this era, under the guidance of Colombian coach Jorge Luis Pinto, has been characterised by friendlies against top-ranked teams, such as Spain, with whom they drew 2-2 at home late last year.
They were also beaten 1-0 by the most successful team in world football, Brazil, also at home, late last year. The drew 0-0 with Argentina last March, before losing 0-3 to the same opponents in the Copa America in Colombia.
Since this year, they have beaten Wales, 1-0, in Wales, and Venezuela, 2-0, in that South American country.
"It will be a wonderful opportunity for the Jamaicans to come out and support the Reggae Boyz and to see what they have been doing over the last couple of months, and also to build the players because the dream is there as we look to get the team in the best shape possible for the World Cup qualifiers in June," Montesso added.
He said he expects the Costa Ricans, who were scheduled to arrive in the island last night, to be "tight in midfield" as they try to "use the wings a lot", backed up by great emphasis on dead-ball situations.
"That's their philosophy," declared Montesso.
Nonetheless, the assistant coach believes the game will be a continuation of building for the start of the World Cup Qualifiers on June 8 against Guatemala here at the National Stadium.
"Result is important for us, but we just cannot analyse the result of the games and not the performance of the team," he offered.
"I think we must improve on what we're doing in possession of the ball, the organisation of the team and be better at marking the opponents. These are things we must do better in each game so that we can improve all the time."
He also noted that the players "must be prepared to attack when we are marking (defending), and be prepared to defend when we are attacking. That is the concept that we are trying to build in the team, but we can only do that if we are organised on the field.
"This is the key we are looking for in the game and, of course, the result, which is also important to build the players' confidence going into the World Cup Qualifying campaign."
History favours the visitors in their head-to-head match-ups with the Reggae Boyz, except for the friendly games. The teams first met on March 24, 1963 in a CONCACAF Championship in El Salvador in which Costa Rica blanked Jamaica, 6-0.
Since then, Jamaica have managed just four wins, 10 losses and seven draws, while registering a miserly 14 strikes, compared to 43 conceded.
In non-friendly internationals, Jamaica have realised just one win, that famous 1-0 triumph courtesy of Deon Burton in a World Cup Qualifier at the National Stadium on September 14, 1997.
However, in nine friendly games, Jamaica have held sway. They first met in a friendly on July 4, 1993 in a 1-1 result here, then the Jamaicans recorded two 2-0 victories, also in Jamaica, in 1995 and 1996.
In all, Jamaica have won three times, lost just one — that embarrassing 9-0 debacle in Costa Rica in 1999 — while drawing five times.
Los Ticos were last here September 5, 2010 when they suffered a 0-1 defeat, while the last time both teams met, it ended in a 0-0 result in another friendly in the USA.
Whitmore and his technical staff had invited four overseas-based professionals, but only two — the Houston Dynamo pair of captain Jermaine Taylor and attacking midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson — made the trip down for the game.
Arsenal refused to release 18-year-old Nigel Neita, while veteran goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts of Toronto FC asked to be excused due to injury concerns.
At Monday's training session Jacomeno Barrett tended goal on the first team, backed by Taylor and Adrian Reid in central defence, flanked by Xavian Virgo and Troy Smith. Damion Williams, Rohan Reid, Joel Senior, Jermaine Hue and Watson marshalled midfield with Dino Williams roaming in attack.
"The understanding of the game is improving and the players need to know that once we have possession of the ball it will increase our chance to score goals, while reducing the chances of the opponents to score against us, so this is what we are looking for," reiterated Montesso.
Pinto had invited 20 players for this game, including the 20-year-old attacking midfielder Yeltsin Tejeda, who was a member of the Costa Rican team which claimed fourth place at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2009.
They are also scheduled to open their World Cup Qualifying campaign on June 8 at home against El Salvador. Guyana and Mexico account for the other teams in their group, while Jamaica will also face Antigua and Barbuda and USA in its group.
Jamaica's squad is completed by Rashuan Patterson, Andrae Campbell, Camal Reid, Ewan Grandison, Upston Edwards, Alanzo Adlam, Keneil Moodie, Navion Boyd, Mitchily Waul, Richard Edwards, Jorginho James, Montrose Phinn and Renae Lloyd.
Meanwhile, the public is being advised that the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) has put in place special transportation support, including shuttle service combined with the regular service for today's game.
Between 6:00 pm and the scheduled kick-off time 8:00 pm, there will be service from Half-Way-Tree to the National Stadium. At the end of the match, buses will travel directly from the National Stadium to Downtown; Half-Way Tree; Harbour View, Portmore and Spanish Town
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1plrQEV2y
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