It feels great!
MONTEGO BAY, St James – It is often said that an ugly win is better than a pretty loss.
And though Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz were nowhere near ugly in their overall rendition of a 2-0 victory over Haiti on Sunday night, captain Rodolph Austin remains rooted in the team’s mantra of simply winning the game, no matter what.
Truth be told, the Boyz were excellent in the first 45 minutes, rendering the 93rd-ranked Haitians second rate to the hosts with Simon Dawkins of Derby County giving the black, green and gold-clad Boyz a 13th-minute lead, with Darren Mattocks of Vancouver Whitecaps adding to their lead seven minutes later.
For team captain, Austin, who was named man-of-the-match for his industry throughout, the plan was simply to win the game, no matter what, and the fact that the team wasn’t able to replicate the outstanding performance of the first 45 minutes, was of little significance to him.
“After the first game we came together and we all said that we need to just fight for everything as a team. It is a very good unit down there (dressing room) and we have to fight to the last whistle,” he said during the post- game press conference on Sunday night.
“It takes a lot and for me who haven’t been playing a lot due to an injury –I played the last 30 minutes of the last club game, and I came straight into this tournament — so it’s a lot on the body, but we are all going in the same direction and we want to die for each other, if that’s what it is going to take to win this thing.”
Sunday’s victory cemented Jamaica atop Group B of the CFU Men’s Caribbean Cup tournament and a place in today’s final against Trinidad and Tobago. The winners will earn an automatic berth to the 2016 Copa America Centenario in the United States. The top four teams, including Cuba and Haiti, have also secured places in next year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States.
For Austin, who was replaced in the 86th minute, the fast-and-furious nature of the week-long tournament is taking a toll on the players.
“First and foremost it is a very tough tournament, it takes a lot out of your body, so the first half the plan was to get two quick goals or get the first goal and set them back. We played very well in the first half, but in the second half it was just a game that we needed to win, no matter how we win it, we just had to win, and that’s what we did.
“The team showed good character in terms of the fact that we drew the first game then came back to win the other two games.”
Austin, the former Leeds United captain, explained that light rain over the last two games made the pitch heavier, thus sapping much needed energy from the players.
“It is very heavy out there, people who are watching it, it looks good from the sidelines, but the pitch is very heavy and it takes a lot out of the legs, but I think we are doing well and to play 90 minutes on it, it takes a lot out of you in terms of energy.”
And the sapping of the energy could account for the team’s sub-par performance in the second half.
“It’s a tough schedule and I think it has a little bit to do with the second half tonight (Sunday),” admitted Jobi McAnuff, another of the Reggae Boyz standout players.
“I think the team that’s going to win it is the fittest team and the strongest squad and we believe that’s us and it’s just about going out there and giving everything we’ve got and we did that in the first half and blew them away really, and from that point of view the job was done.
“It was just about seeing it out. Recovery strategies are good, we’ve got the right coaches doing all the work that we need to do and obviously it is just about resting up now and going again, but once you are out there the achy legs and fatigue kind of subside, especially with the vibes and the atmosphere.”
For goalkeeper Andre Blake, who had a unique perspective playing and organising the team from behind, it was simply a matter of a willing mind but uncooperative body.
“I just think that the mind was willing but after a while playing that many games in a short time the legs were going to go at some point and they did. We gave it a good enough shot in the first half and were able to hang on in the second half, so I just feel like tiredness caught up with us a little,” he said.
Meanwhile, with the Boyz’ busy schedule for next summer in both the CONCACAF Gold Cup and as invited guests to the Copa America in Chile where they are drawn in a group with Bolivia and Venezuela, Austin believes it provides an opportunity for other players to come to the fore.
“It’s a very good thing and other young players can get the chance to play there (CONCACAF Gold Cup) because the two tournaments are going to be close to each other, so players can get a chance to go there and play because we can’t have one team playing both tournaments, so it will be an opportunity for younger players to shine.”
For the 33-year-old McAnuff, the team is playing much better, the longer the tournament goes on. “I think we are getting better, definitely. I think that for me that’s been one of our biggest problems the last couple of years, it’s probably the lack of time together, disruptions in terms of the squads and I think it is very important to have that time together and to play games together and to keep a settled squad as much as possible, though form and injuries can dictate that, but for me it is only natural that the more we play together the better the chemistry, and I thought that some of our play was very good in the first half and obviously in the previous game. It feels better on the pitch, you know where someone’s going to be and likewise they know where you are going to be and the link-up play was better first half, so definitely, the team is improving after each game.”
McAnuff made his debut for Jamaica as a 19-year-old in England, but missed a decade before returning to the fold, and now he’s enjoying every moment of the 2014 Caribbean Cup, even with the challenges which accompany such and rugged tournament.
“I’m loving it, man,” he said with a smile. “It’s a really good tournament, obviously it is the first time for me playing in the Caribbean Cup and there is extra significance knowing what comes with winning it and obviously being here in Jamaica and everyone coming here and trying to beat us and us knowing that and this is very important, so we are enjoying it.”
And Blake, who pulled off a spectacular penalty save to deny Haiti getting on the score sheet, played down his role in restoring justice to his team for what appeared a bad class by El Salvadorean referee Joel Aguilar a minute from the end.
It was the second penalty save by Blake in a handful of games, having similarly denied Serbia’s Manchester City left back Aleksandar Kolarov.
“It was a handball, but the ref was looking to give them something because the guy (forward) pushed the defender and he fell over and the ball touched his hand, but in the end God helped me and I saved it.
“I have a strategy which I normally use in penalties, which I am not going to reveal, but I normally look for certain hints and he showed me the hint and I just went with what I know and came out on top.”
— Ian Burnett