It’s not easy to focus on sports or anything normal after a major catastrophe.
Carter was happy to do the dirty work on the pitch |
Even though Grand Cayman was spared the effects of Hurricane Paloma, the sister islands were not so lucky.
Yet on Sunday, a day after Grand Cayman got the all-clear, its residents did their best to get their minds off everything hurricane-related.
They went in their droves to the Truman Bodden Sports Complex in George Town to witness an epic showdown (albeit a friendly) between their national football team and Jamaica’s.
With a pristine field and facilities plus a determined Cayman squad looking to do their country proud the 3,000 or so onlookers would have no trouble getting immersed in the game.
Even the dignitaries, including the Minister of Sports Alden McLaughlin and Jamaica Football Federation President Captain Horace Burrell, stood in quiet admiration of the crowd that had gathered.
The Jamaicans on the island did their part to hype up the proceedings.
Armed with rattlers, blow-horns and all sorts of noise-makers they made themselves heard.
Soon the national anthems would be played, the line-ups announced and the game of the day underway.
Like Paloma hours before, the first half would be a trying and gusty one. The Jamaicans would pressure Cayman incessantly and hammer away at the Cayman defenses.
Cayman’s backline of captain Tom Elliot, Philip Berry and Horace Nelson would do their best to weather the storm. They cleared balls where they could and tried their best to keep the Reggae Boyz shooting from a distance.
Midfielder Rene Carter also helped out where he could, lunging at attackers and being unafraid to do the dirty work. His tenacity is a sign he’ll be a good national player for years.
Leading the way for the Jamaicans was winger Jermaine Hue. He started with the Under-20 national side and has been in and out of the national team ever since. That experience would serve him well as he played with confidence and poise beyond his years.
Alongside left-back Lance Laing, Hue made constant runs down the left side. He dodged tackles, ran well without the ball and was always in good spots to make a pass or receive one. Almost every scoring opportunity Jamaica had would come from strong runs down Hue’s part of the field.
For the most part Coach John Barnes and his assistant Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore seemed content with the action.
From time to time the two would bark out orders but most often they watched silently alongside the bench.
Another reason for the quiet sideline was that the Jamaicans were physical.
They went hard for every loose ball, pushed off when they wanted and generally antagonized Cayman in all parts of the field.
Those tactics would result in a flurry of cards and fouls for Cayman. All three of Cayman’s defensemen were among those that were booked in the first half.
The referee did his best to keep the chippy affair under control and he could be heard warning players to keep the rough play to a minimum.
Cayman did make the Jamaican defenders break a sweat however. Though their chances were few, Cayman got shots on goal mostly through tried and true scoring duo of Calvin Jefford and Jairo Sanchez.
Though they had nowhere near the impact that they did in the Digicel competition in Cayman they showed the kind of partnership that can steady the Cayman squad into the future.
Cayman’s best chance would come from a free kick outside the box that forced a good save from keeper Shawn Sawyers.
Sawyers has an interesting history with the side. He was called up to the national team in 1998 though he was not on the World Cup team.
His goal-keeping abilities and awareness on the night showed why he has been a fixture for so long.
Meanwhile the crowd would gasp loudly knowing how close Cayman was to scoring a miraculous goal.
Those chances would also keep the Cayman supporters in it. They were stomping their feet, waving their flags and chanting: ‘Let’s go Cayman! Let’s Go!’
Nevertheless the constant pressure on Cayman would reap scoring chances for the Jamaicans.
Their two best chances came on a loose ball in the box which hit off the left goal post and a free kick from just outside the box that forced a quality save from Jermaine Brown.
Brown, who started the game with Tuda Murphy unavailable, was a busy man on the night. His tall, athletic frame could be seen diving and soaring into the air on a regular basis as he desperately swatted shots from goal.
However the Jamaicans would not be denied. Minutes before half-time the Jamaican supporters would have reason to celebrate. In the 41st minute Major League Soccer stand-out Omar Cummings would leap above a crowd and head home a solid cross from the right wing.
Cayman would get another big blow before half-time. Defensive stalwart Elliot would go down in a heap in midfield. Elliot had apparently re-injured his groin, relegating him to the sideline for the rest of the match. The extent of the injury is still unclear.
The spirit of celebration seen in the crowd would carry on into halftime. The Jamaicans in the crowd were in full party mood, dancing in and out of their seats.
Even with their team down, the Cayman crowd was not dismayed. They went about getting their refreshments with an air of relaxation not often seen in tense matches.
The relaxing and celebratory vibe would be quelled temporarily at the start of the second half. Coach Carl Brown went on the field calm and collected, disguising the squall of thoughts swirling in his head.
Coach Brown would say he thought the team played well in the first half. He thought Cayman showed great strength and fortitude and he liked the defensive efforts seen in the backline.
To their credit the Cayman squad came out playing strong. They made good passes and for the most part kept the Jamaicans around midfield.
On the other hand Jamaica’s captain and international standout Rodolph Austin would ensure his side kept the edge in terms of time of possession. His dribbling skills were phenomenal and his passing sound. It was as if he knew when and where to turn.
Any optimism Cayman had about an unexpectedly favourable result would evaporate in the middle of the half. In the 64th minute the Reggae Boyz would ring the death knell.
Substitute Roland Dean would be in the right place at the right time. A defensive miscue involving Horace Nelson caused a loose ball in the box.
Difference-maker Cummings got to the ball and passed it onto a rushing Dean. Dean would use a deft touch and quickly slide the ball into the back of the net.
The Jamaican supporters erupted in celebration and remained in happy spirits the rest of the way.
Yet Brown and the Cayman side never stopped trying. Brown kept urging his team to play hard and tried injecting more effort through substitutions.
Among the more notable subs were Garth Anderson, Carson Fagan and youngster Theron Wood.
The Jamaicans in the crowd knew the game was in hand and many made their way to the exits late in the second half.
Soon the final whistle would blow and the team would shake hands at centre field. Barnes would congratulate Whitmore and his bench before shaking hands with Coach Brown on the other side.
Ultimately, though the match did not go Cayman’s way, its people would reap the benefits. It may have only been for a few hours but the nation was able to relax and delay dealing with the aftermath of one of Cayman’s most disastrous hurricanes.
Jamaica
Coach: John Barnes
Starters: #13 Shawn Sawyers, #4 Jermaine Taylor, #5 Lance Laing, #6 Keneil Moodie, #9 Nicholy Finlayson, #10 Jermaine Hue, #12 Ricardo Cousins, #8 Eric Vernan, #21 Rodolph Austin, #2 Omar Cummings, #11 Denzil Watson
Subs: #1 Dwayne Miller, #19 Adrian Reid, #20 Desmond Breakenridge, #3 Andre Darby, #14 Andre Campbell, #16 Roland Dean, #15 Marcelino Blackburn, #18 Jermaine Anderson, #7 Evan Taylor
Cayman
Coach: Carl Brown
Starters: #1 Jermaine Brown, #7 Calvin Jefford, #13 Rene Carter, #5 Tom Elliot, #3 Philip Berry, #19 Leighton Elliot, #6 Ian Lindo, #16 Horace Nelson, #9 Jairo Sanchez, #4 Oneil Taylor, #14 Gary Whittaker
Subs: #18 Jason Campbell, #15 Richard Brown, #17 Theron Wood, #20 Garth Anderson, #10 Eric Brown, #2 Benjamin Cupid, #12 Miguel Pitta, #8 Chris Douglas, #11 Carson Fagan, #21 Nikolai Hill
Carter was happy to do the dirty work on the pitch Photo: Matthew Yates
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