NASSAU, The Bahamas — Not many people could argue against Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore’s take on the Reggae Boyz’s performance against England’s Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night here.

The Boyz head coach showered praise on his ill-prepared team that was afforded only one fairly decent training session since arriving in preparation for the match, which ended 0-0 at the new Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

“I am very pleased with the performance… some players have done us proud this evening (Thursday). I am very pleased,” said the former Jamaica captain.

Still, Whitmore was not “100 per cent” satisfied.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that it was a hundred per cent because we had some issues upfront, but I must give credit where it’s due as some players were playing together for the first time, plus we had only one training session,” he said.

The German-born defender/ midfielder Daniel Gordon, who was earning his first cap, showed signs of quality and Whitmore agreed. “It’s his first game, but he has shown that he has a lot to offer,” said the coach.

Gordon said after the match: “I enjoyed it, it was good.”

Apart from the occasional bad pass and seeming miscommunication between players, the overall effort of this largely local-based team is being hailed as a “good performance” against one of the world’s top professional clubs with outstanding players.

In a match where Tottenham were clearly not pushing the limits, Jamaica nonetheless did a lot of things right when they had the ball and are worthy of salute for a relatively disciplined tactical approach.

The Boyz employed a counter-attacking strategy that worked well for them, which resulted in the bulk of the good scoring chances falling their way, especially in the first half where they had the ascendancy for great spells.

To their credit, Jamaica’s players never appeared overwhelmed by the occasion playing against even some of their heroes of the game, but instead they exhibited a mature and composed demeanour.

Tottenham, however, threatened first in the eighth minute when Jermaine Defoe was played through from midfield, then he slipped goalkeeper Richard MacCallum, but the England frontman got himself into a difficult shooting position and his final shot ended in the side netting.

Vancouver Whitecaps striker Darren Mattocks, who gave cameos of his best football, had the first good chance for Jamaica when he unleashed from 20 yards, but the experienced American goalkeeper Brad Friedel was down to block the scorcher.

Up to that point, Keammar Daley and Jermaine Hue were doing a superb job of supporting Jeremie Lynch and Mattocks, who were playing a shade ahead of them.

And in the 32nd minute both midfielders combined for a piece of magic of their own when Hue, wearing the captain’s armband, sprayed wide for the diminutive former Preston North End man, who took off down the left channel, cut inside his man Kyle Walker before cannoning low and away from a beaten Friedel, but the upright intervened and spoiled a potential masterpiece.

In the 35th minute, Jamaica continued their enterprising and sometimes imaginative play when Evan Taylor, quiet for the most part and somewhat offbeat with his passing, emerged from the shadows with a cheeky scoop pass that sent Lynch goalward, but even with the latter’s long legs, he couldn’t get that final touch and Friedel mopped up.

In the last move of the first half, Hue again conjured up some magic when he played delightfully for Mattocks to run onto down the right side, but Tottenham’s Michael Dawson chopped him down as he made a move for goal.

In the 53rd minute, Jamaican replacement goalkeeper Andre Blake was forced to get behind a shot from Gylfi Sigurdsson in one of a series of Tottenham raids inspired by the wily Emmanuel Adebayor, who came into the game as a second-half substitute.

Since coming on as a 60th minute sub, crowd favourite Gareth Bale made his presence felt instantly with his teasing runs at the Jamaicans. In the 71st minute, the English Footballer of the Year gave the crowd a sweetener when he executed the famous nutmeg (salad) Alvas Powell inside the 18-yard box, but that never deflated the young defender as he kept up his solid rendition.

After being pushed back for great spells of the second half, Jamaica looked more purposeful going forward with the introduction of Jermaine Johnson, who spiced things up with his incisive and daring runs at the heart of the Tottenham defence.

In another good opportunity to score in the 75th minute, Mattocks got into a good position to shoot, forced substitute goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to block, but Hue following up could not finish off the second bite of the cherry from the edge of the goal area.

Eight minutes later, Lynch fancied a go himself and tested Lloris from way out, but the goalkeeper rose majestically to tip over the crossbar.

With three minutes left, Bale wormed his way into a good shooting position, and he let fly at the right time, but Blake could not hold on and spilled the ball to Steven Caulker, who got it into the goal from an off-side position and the referee ruled appropriately.

“I saw the flag but I am not sure if it’s offside, but it would have been nice if we could get the win,” Caulker told journalists afterwards.

Jamaica, here for a 12-day pre-World Cup camp, will continue the build-up for another match against The Bahamas national team on May 31.

TEAMS: Jamaica — Richard McCallum (Andre Blake 45th), Daniel Gordon, Alvas Powell, Xavian Virgo, Obrian Woodbine, Damion Williams, Jermaine Hue (Montrose Phinn 71st), Keammar Daley (Jermaine Johnson 66th), Evan Taylor, Darren Mattocks, Jeremie Lynch.

Subs not used: Rodolph Austin

Booked: None

Tottenham Hotspur — Brad Friedel (Hugo Lloris 46th), Jake Livermore, Steven Caulker, Michael Dawson, Kyle Naughton (Benoit Assou-Ekotto 40th), Kyle Walker, Mousa Dembele (Gareth Bale 60th), Gylfi Sigurdsson, Ryan Mason (Tom Huddlestone 46th), Lewis Holtby (Jan Vertonghen 46th), Jermaine Defoe (Emmanuel Adebayor 46th).

Subs not used: Aaron Lennon, William Gallas, Younis Kaboul

Booked: Dawson (45th)