CATHERINE HALL, St James —  There were still tears in Jessica Johnson’s eyes a full 15 minutes after Jamaica’s 3-0 win over Haiti on Friday night that secured qualification to the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 tournament at the Montego Bay Sports Complex.

The 15-year-old Eltham High student, who scored twice in the second half to ‘kill off’ Haiti’s attempts to at least get a point from Jamaica, quickly told the Jamaica Observer, “These are tears of joy.”

Despite teaming up with Deniesha Blackwood to terrorise the Haitians down the left flank, Johnson, who combines pace and good ball skills, said it took a stern half-time talk from the coaching staff to get her to step up her work rate and produce the goods.

“If coach did not rough me up I wouldn’t do this,” she told the Observer, was her first thought after she scored her first goal in the 53rd minute.

“I was not playing that good in the first half and he knows I can do better because I am an Under-20 player,” she continued.

If the first one was good, then the second goal 10 minutes later was even better, and Johnson confessed that the estimated 2,500 that turned out for the game was the biggest crowd she had ever played in front of. “This was the biggest crowd I ever played in front of and it made me feel super-important,” she beamed.

Representing her country, she said, is always a great time for her. “I am feeling wonderful and it always feels good to represent my nation,” she said before jogging off to continue celebrations with her teammates.