OSCAR Boniek Garcia’s early strike in minute 10 was another stark reminder of just how easy it is to score against the newly assembled Reggae Boyz’ defensive unit, which has conceded five goals in the last three games over a sad eight day-period.

What made it worse was that it mirrored too many elements to goals we have conceded recently.

A Jamaican player is again isolated wide on the right, this time Alvas Powell, a simple high cross floated to the back post, where a Honduran player is left free inside the box due to poor marking — this time by Marvin Elliott. The ball is headed back down and across the face of the goal, again no Reggae Boyz player attacked the ball, even as Jamaican players outnumbered their opponents inside the penalty area.

It goes towards another free Honduran player left unmarked just about the six-yard line directly in front of goal. Garcia scores a one-time shot as captain, Donovan Ricketts hastily tries to close down the shot, but it is already too late.

The defensive errors continued, and yet the same defenders are being selected, with the very same poor results of conceding easy goals and not scoring hence losing points rapidly, as the Reggae Boyz are now firmly rooted at the base of the Hexagonal table on two points.

The Boyz are staring elimination in the face, with four matches still to play, two away to Panama and USA and two at home against Costa Rica and Honduras in September and October.

Reggae Boyz starting eleven reflects two attacking changes in Garath McClearly and Jermaine Hue being replaced by Je-Vaughn Watson and recent goalscorer Jermaine Beckford as tactically the main offensive shift is two-fold. Comprising of deploying ace attacker, Jermaine ‘Teddy’Johnson wide on the right as a flank attacker to run at the opposition from deeper in midfield and instead supply passes to the two frontmen in Beckford and partner Ryan Johnson, but both were ineffective individually and collectively.

‘Teddy’s role comes as a real shock, as he has outperformed all others in dribbling, explosion of pace and direct onslaught on goals with six shots taken on target. He was a one-man demolition team that, in the last game on Friday against the USA, single-handedly terrorised and psychologically destabilised the entire American team. Still, he was placed in a secondary attacking role, which reduced his potency and resulted in him being a supply source only, not a feared match winner.

“Los Catrachos” dominated the free flow of the open-game format that unfolded, as both teams, having lost both of their last two games, were desperate for victory, credited with a most valuable three points. The early passing sequences were regularly interrupted by the Reggae Boyz midfield, well positioned behind the ball, but gave way to penetration later in the first half as continuous possession bypassed the blockades initiated by Wilson Palacios, Roger Espinoza and Mario Martinez in concert with strikers Jerry Bengtson and

Oscar Boniek Garcia finishing the plays on goal.

Donovan Ricketts, again,

was the standout with four outstanding saves to prevent a wider margin of defeat.

No substitutions at half-time, we soon followed a 60th-minute double-play as Ryan Johnson and Watson were relieved of their duties to make way for Theo Robinson and Darren Mattocks, who is again placed wide left. Again, he is ineffective as he gets no consistent supply of passes

and the old English-styled long balls are directed centrally only to Robinson and Beckford.

This time, none of the desperate hopes and prayers are answered, as a third sub is made to pull a seemingly injured ‘Teddy’ Johnson, for the strangest of plays, in minute 73, as a third defensive midfielder, Damion Williams, comes in when the team is in dire need of goals.

Minute 76 is disastrous, as the reliable Adrian Mariappa is directly ejected for a sliding tackle that wins the ball, but exposes his full set of his studs waist high, right beside the most senior referee’s assistance and a screaming opponent with a supportive crowd in a 37,000 capacity arena, in search of a player to be penalised.

This opened a can of worms, and with a player short, the team now has to resort to pulling an attacker into defensive zones, detained for longer periods on the backfoot without the ball, as the immense pressure builds the lanky central defender, Daniel Gordon, buckles under pressure to turnover a weak back pass, which is intercepted by substitute Roger Royas to evade a vulnerable Ricketts, caught in transition, and the Honduran tapped into an empty net to score on minute 88.

Is it game over for the Reggae Boyz 2014 campaign? Only time will tell.