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U-23s depart for Olympic qualifiers in Aruba
SEAN A WILLIAMS, Assistant Sports Editor
Friday, September 07, 2007
AT yesterday's final training session at Spanish Town Prison Oval, Jamaica's Under-23 footballers placed special emphasis on ball possession and attacking manoeuvres before departing the island today for Aruba for their first-round Caribbean Olympic Games qualifying tournament.
Coach Wendell Downswell had said publicly he was disappointed with the team's lack of "ball possession", especially in their final friendly against National Premier League outfit Harbour View on Tuesday, despite a 2-0 win.
"There were some aspects that we were pleased with but were disappointed by our ball possession, especially from the defensive third. We have to try to minimise this especially at the international level... we worked on that yesterday (Wednesday) and we did some work on our finishing and decision making," Downswell said yesterday.
He said he intends to continue the work when the team arrives in Aruba ahead of their first game on Sunday against Antigua and Barbuda.
"When we go over there we will intensify what we have worked on... which is ball possession, offensive movements and finishing, so to speak," Downswell said.
The veteran coach and former national forward said he was generally satisfied with the progress of the players after a late start to their final preparations following Hurricane Dean.
"I must commend the players for their positive response after a late start due to situations beyond our control...," Downswell said.
Even though Downswell has been tough with the players as he sought to improve on the team's weaknesses, he was full of praise for their response, their upbeat nature and the coming of age of the Under-20 players who represent 50 per cent of the 18-man squad.
"Overall the players are very upbeat and we are particularly impressed with the Under-20 players... it has been a long time that we have seen so many players making the transition from one level to the other, and this augurs well for us for the 2010 (World Cup) campaign," he argued.
The Under-20 players - members of the Pan Am Games silver medal-winning team - who made the final cut are Edward Campbell, Keammar Daley, Ricardo Cousins, Eric Vernon, Dwayne Kerr, Dwayne Miller, Obrian Woodbine, Troy Smith and Ajuran Brown.
Jamaica will also face hosts Aruba and Barbados in the week-long tournament as they seek to make an unprecedented appearance at the Olympic Games to be staged in Beijing, China, next year.
The Caribbean qualifying tournament will feature 22 nations from the region in six groups for the first round qualification, and the six group winners will advance to the second round that consists of two three-team groups. Both second-round group winners will progress to the CONCACAF U-23 Final Round Tournament.
The winners of two Central American groups will advance to the CONCACAF tournament, along with two Caribbean teams, Canada, Mexico and USA.
The two second-place finishers from each Central American Group will meet in a home-and-away play-off series with the winners also progressing to the CONCACAF final round, where two teams will qualify to the 2008 Olympic Games.
Jamaica's contingent consists of Carlton Dennis (head of delegation), Wendell Downswell (coach), Sean Samuels (assistant coach/trainer), Juan Pablo Camargo (masseur), Dr Cathy Maddan (team doctor), Howard Bell (team manager).
Squad - Goalkeepers Dwayne Kerr (Reno), Dwayne Miller (Harbour View); defenders Xavian Virgo (Boys' Town), Keneil Moodie (Seba United), Jermaine Taylor (Harbour View), Ajuran Brown (August Town), Troy Smith (Village United), Obrian Woodbine (Reno), Adrian Reid (Portmore United); midfielders Nicholy Findlayson (Reno), Mario Harrison (Reno), Edward Campbell (Village United), Eric Vernon (Portmore United), Ricardo Cousins (Portmore United), Bryan Bayliss (Portmore United); forwards Steven Morissey (Portmore United) Keammar Daley (Meadhaven), Donovan Davis (St George's FC).
Match Schedule:
Date Game Time (Ja)
Sept 9 Antigua & Barbuda vs Jamaica 5:00 pm
Sept 9 Aruba vs Barbados 7:00 pm
Sept 11 Jamaica vs Barbados 5:00 pm
Sept 11 Aruba vs Antigua & Barbuda 7:00 pm
Sept 13 Barbados vs Antigua & Barbuda 5:00 pm
Sept 13 Aruba vs Jamaica 7:00 pm
SEAN A WILLIAMS, Assistant Sports Editor
Friday, September 07, 2007
AT yesterday's final training session at Spanish Town Prison Oval, Jamaica's Under-23 footballers placed special emphasis on ball possession and attacking manoeuvres before departing the island today for Aruba for their first-round Caribbean Olympic Games qualifying tournament.
Coach Wendell Downswell had said publicly he was disappointed with the team's lack of "ball possession", especially in their final friendly against National Premier League outfit Harbour View on Tuesday, despite a 2-0 win.
"There were some aspects that we were pleased with but were disappointed by our ball possession, especially from the defensive third. We have to try to minimise this especially at the international level... we worked on that yesterday (Wednesday) and we did some work on our finishing and decision making," Downswell said yesterday.
He said he intends to continue the work when the team arrives in Aruba ahead of their first game on Sunday against Antigua and Barbuda.
"When we go over there we will intensify what we have worked on... which is ball possession, offensive movements and finishing, so to speak," Downswell said.
The veteran coach and former national forward said he was generally satisfied with the progress of the players after a late start to their final preparations following Hurricane Dean.
"I must commend the players for their positive response after a late start due to situations beyond our control...," Downswell said.
Even though Downswell has been tough with the players as he sought to improve on the team's weaknesses, he was full of praise for their response, their upbeat nature and the coming of age of the Under-20 players who represent 50 per cent of the 18-man squad.
"Overall the players are very upbeat and we are particularly impressed with the Under-20 players... it has been a long time that we have seen so many players making the transition from one level to the other, and this augurs well for us for the 2010 (World Cup) campaign," he argued.
The Under-20 players - members of the Pan Am Games silver medal-winning team - who made the final cut are Edward Campbell, Keammar Daley, Ricardo Cousins, Eric Vernon, Dwayne Kerr, Dwayne Miller, Obrian Woodbine, Troy Smith and Ajuran Brown.
Jamaica will also face hosts Aruba and Barbados in the week-long tournament as they seek to make an unprecedented appearance at the Olympic Games to be staged in Beijing, China, next year.
The Caribbean qualifying tournament will feature 22 nations from the region in six groups for the first round qualification, and the six group winners will advance to the second round that consists of two three-team groups. Both second-round group winners will progress to the CONCACAF U-23 Final Round Tournament.
The winners of two Central American groups will advance to the CONCACAF tournament, along with two Caribbean teams, Canada, Mexico and USA.
The two second-place finishers from each Central American Group will meet in a home-and-away play-off series with the winners also progressing to the CONCACAF final round, where two teams will qualify to the 2008 Olympic Games.
Jamaica's contingent consists of Carlton Dennis (head of delegation), Wendell Downswell (coach), Sean Samuels (assistant coach/trainer), Juan Pablo Camargo (masseur), Dr Cathy Maddan (team doctor), Howard Bell (team manager).
Squad - Goalkeepers Dwayne Kerr (Reno), Dwayne Miller (Harbour View); defenders Xavian Virgo (Boys' Town), Keneil Moodie (Seba United), Jermaine Taylor (Harbour View), Ajuran Brown (August Town), Troy Smith (Village United), Obrian Woodbine (Reno), Adrian Reid (Portmore United); midfielders Nicholy Findlayson (Reno), Mario Harrison (Reno), Edward Campbell (Village United), Eric Vernon (Portmore United), Ricardo Cousins (Portmore United), Bryan Bayliss (Portmore United); forwards Steven Morissey (Portmore United) Keammar Daley (Meadhaven), Donovan Davis (St George's FC).
Match Schedule:
Date Game Time (Ja)
Sept 9 Antigua & Barbuda vs Jamaica 5:00 pm
Sept 9 Aruba vs Barbados 7:00 pm
Sept 11 Jamaica vs Barbados 5:00 pm
Sept 11 Aruba vs Antigua & Barbuda 7:00 pm
Sept 13 Barbados vs Antigua & Barbuda 5:00 pm
Sept 13 Aruba vs Jamaica 7:00 pm
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