Cayman 0
Jamaica 2
Barnes and Whitmore felt the game went to plan |
In spite of the chaos caused on the Cayman Islands by Hurricane Paloma a huge football match took place on Sunday.
Truman Bodden Sports Complex in George Town, Grand Cayman was the site of the match between the national football teams for Jamaica and Cayman.
The Reggae Boyz arrived in Cayman last Monday. They engaged in numerous training sessions during the week and saw much of Cayman and its football infrastructure.
The Jamaicans also had time for an exhibition match. On Wednesday they played a Cayman Select invitational team at Truman. They won the game convincingly 6-1.
The Reggae Boyz came to Cayman in good form. They recently took down perennial powerhouse Mexico and up-and-coming side Honduras.
They also had extra winds in their sails with the arrival of Jamaican football legend John Barnes. Barnes had a superb career that saw him play for top European teams Watford and Liverpool.
The Cayman team meanwhile also were coming off a good stretch. This year Cayman has made the most progress of any nation in the FIFA standings, climbing some 30 spots.
The side also made it into the second round of the Digicel Caribbean Championships most notably past arch-rival Bermuda.
The match on Sunday would be fiercely contested. From the early going Cayman was determined not to be pushed off the ball.
The game saw plenty of jostling in midfield and the crowd of some 3,000 people could see Cayman was in this game for the long haul.
Armed with a handful of international players in MLS standout Omar Cummings and Rudolph Austin the Jamaicans continuously pressured the Cayman backline.
The Jamaicans would storm the wing and create many a scoring chance. They had to wait unexpectedly long but they soon found the back of the net.
In the 41st minute Cummings slotted home the game’s first goal. A well-placed cross from the right wing swerved into the heart of the defense. However Cummings leaped out from the crowd and put his head onto the ball. The force of his header was too much for keeper Jermaine Brown and the score was 1-0 Jamaica.
The game’s final score would also take time to develop. It wasn’t until the middle of the second half that the Reggae Boyz would effectively put the game away.
In the 64th minute a defensive miscue and a loose ball in the box would be the nail in Cayman’s coffin. An alert Cummings scooped the ball up and passed it to a charging Roland Dean. He got enough of his foot onto the ball to let it sail into the net.
Nevertheless Cayman would stay competitive the rest of the way. Even with the Jamaicans smelling blood and shooting for more the Cayman team would not break under pressure.
The final whistle blew after three minutes of stoppage time. As expected the Jamaican fans would be a boisterous and happy bunch, revelling away into the night. Yet the Cayman crowd would not be too discouraged and gave an audible round of applause.
After the match the contingent of Jamaican officials had mixed reactions. Coach Barnes and Assistant Coach Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore talked of a game that went according to plan.
Jamaica Football Federation officials and Jamaican media personnel saw the game as a bit of a disappointment. They expected the Reggae Boyz to post a lop-sided score and record at least four goals.
Meanwhile Coach Carl Brown and the Caymanian coaching staff spoke of the game being a proud performance. They felt the goals were hard-earned and the Cayman defense being stellar.
Some of the players like Phillip Berry felt the performance was one that Cayman as a whole could be proud of, especially considering that the Jamaicans are professionals while Cayman is essentially an amateur side.
Ultimately Paloma presented a trying time for Cayman. Though the Sister Islands are still in the midst of a struggle at least Cayman’s national sport embodied the grit and determination of its people.
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