DOWNSWELL... there is no room for complacency for us

Bridgetown, Barbados - Jamaica seek their second win and a place in the Gold Cup when they face hosts Barbados in the feature game of a double-header here at the National Stadium at 8:00 pm (7:00 pm local time).

In the curtain-raiser two hours earlier, Cuba entertain Trinidad & Tobago.

Jamaica and Cuba are joint leaders on three points each, following respective 2-1 and 3-0 victories over Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados.

Though Jamaica came away with the victory on Sunday, there were areas of their play that were unsatisfactory. The midfield was sometimes disjointed as Omar Daley, who had the responsibility of anchoring the middle, was often caught out of position, thus creating a hole in front of the central defenders.

But coach Wendell Downswell has named the same starting 11 that faced the Trinis on Sunday. At yesterday's light workout at a nearby field, captain Andy Williams and Damion Stewart were rested, having picked up minor niggles. Both are expected to play today.

Downswell is taking no chances and yesterday the strikers looked sharp, especially Luton Shelton, who opened the scoring on Sunday, and midfielder Khari Stephenson.

"Again we will take it as a very tough assignment and despite the fact that the Bajans were beaten 3-0, they are playing against Jamaica and they will be highly motivated," Downswell said.

"This will be the last straw for them. They will be hyped up coming into this one, so there is no room for complacency for us and we just have to be very positive like we were against Trinidad.

"We want to win this one and secure a place in the Gold Cup, as well as make the next step towards winning the Championship,"he added.

Meanwhile, Barbados coach Mark Doherty has all but surrendered following Sunday's defeat.

"It's no secret that we're playing teams 50-60 places higher than us in the FIFA ranking. It is a David and Goliath situation and in some instances it is only going to get worse," he said, while praising his players for their stouthearted performance.
Barbados employ a 4-4-2 formation with a diamond midfield, similar to the English system, and Downswell has identified weaknesses which he hopes to exploit.

He will be looking to exploit their left side and their defence line in general.

Defeat for the home side today would almost certainly rule them out of qualification for the Gold Cup, a similar scenario in which Trinidad & Tobago find themselves.

They need to come away with at least a draw against the Cubans, who displayed class in thrashing Barbados, merely hours after arriving in the island.

Jamaica - Shawn Sawyers, Jermaine Taylor, Damion Stewart, Tyrone Marshall, Garfield Reid, Fabian Davis, Omar Daley, Jermaine Hue, Andy Williams, Luton Shelton and Roland Dean.

Barbados (from) - Jason Boxhill, John Parris, Wayne Sobers, Gregory Goodridge, Sheridan Grosvenor, Michael Forde, Norman Forde, Rondel Vaughan, Llewelyn Riley, Kirk Cox, Dwayne Stanford, Dyson James, Kent Hall, Ellis Defreitas, Paul Lovell, Romel Brathwaite, Ryan Lucas.

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