PHOENIX, United States — Like any hard taskmaster, Reggae Boyz Head Coach Theodore Whitmore is demanding more from his players even after they surprised many by advancing to the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Tournament semi-finals with a 2-1 triumph over Canada here inside the University of Phoenix Stadium on Thursday night.

Shaun Francis in the sixth minute and Romario Williams with his second goal of the tournament in the 50th minute proved enough, despite David Hoilett’s strike to reduce the deficit in the 61st minute.

“I was very pleased as you could see the confidence level, you could see the hunger from the players and we got numerous clear-cut chances to put away, and I think that’s one of the areas, if anything, that I was disappointed with, not finishing… we should have been up three, four-nil before the half ended,” Whitmore reflected at game’s end.

He added: “We need more and I think they have more in them. We need to be a bit more hungry, and I always demand more as we can’t be too comfortable with where are, and we are looking forward to the semi-finals and hope we can keep improving as a team.”

The Reggae Boyz started brightly, unlike their previous three-group stage games, and got the breakthrough to settle their nerves when a long punt from goalkeeping captain Andre Blake fell kindly to Darren Mattocks, who managed to turn away from his marker and race into the penalty area before picking out the onrushing Francis to slam home with the help of the underside of the crossbar.

The Canadians controlled play territorially and Cyle Larin, the Orlando City striker flashed a header inches wide of Blake’s left hand post. And though the Boyz surrendered much of the pitch, they were the far more potent team, as they created a number of chances on the counter-attack.

Before the halfway stage of the half, Williams released Mattocks just left of centre and the Portland Timbers striker raced into the penalty box one on one with goalkeeper Milan Borjan, but the bog Canadian blocked from point blank range.

And Alvas Powell, the Jamaican right wing back, bombed forward on one occasion, cut inside two defenders and unleashed a left-footed effort which Borjan turned behind for a corner.

And during that dominant period of play, Mattocks turned on a dime inside the penalty area, and just as he was about to shoot, a retreating defender cleared the ball off his boot for another corner.

Whitmore, now in his third Gold Cup tournament at the helm, was pleased with the bright start of his team.

“I thought we started brightly this evening as when you look back at the other games that we have played we were better in the second half, but today’s game we created numerous opportunities and we were up 2-0, (for) which I was a bit worried because any team with a two-goal cushion can never be too comfortable because complacency can creep in,” Whitmore said.

“But I think we managed the game well, got a good result and have now moved on to the semi-finals.”

In his first tournament as coach in 2009, Whitmore’s Boyz lost 0-1 to Canada and Costa Rica, before edging El Salvador 1-0 on their way to a first-round exit.

Then in 2011 the former Reggae Boyz star player led his team to an impressive top of the group finish with three consecutive wins — 4-0 against Grenada, 2-0 against Guatemala and 1-0 over Honduras — before losing 0-2 to the United States of America in their quarter-finals in Washington.

Now his team is at the semi-finals, a far-fetched reality at the start of the tournament, but he had no doubt about the possibilities ahead of the quarter-finals based on the weapons at his disposal.

“The speed we have, I think the Canadian backline was a bit slow and I think we exploited that with Mattocks, Gordon (Owayne) and Romario Williams, and I believe Mattocks was very unlucky today to not get on the scoresheet, but as I have said, a win is a win and we did enough.”

The coach was also happy with the effort of Francis, who was having his first minutes on the pitch in a competitive game since injury forced him out in the Caribbean Cup in Martinique.

“Shaun just came off a hamstring injury from the Caribbean Cup semi-final and he came into the game today and you could see that he was a bit match-rusty. He gave us a good shift and we pulled him out to put in Cory Burke with much more energy on that left flank,” he explained.

And the coach was not convinced that fatigue played a key role in the team’s flagging effort in the second half as the Canadians pushed numbers in attack in a desperate effort to get back into the game. He thought it was just a tendency of the team, which needs his urgent intervention.

“I think that was how the game played out and I kept shouting for the defenders to step up and they kept sitting back on Blake, so that is something I have to address. I saw it in a few games, so it is something that I really have to address.”

And as the Boyz flagged and Canada threw everything at them, Blake stood up between the North Americans and his team like a border wall, and his coach was all too pleased.

“We know Blake has the confidence of the players and I think he shows that whenever he performs for the country and I must congratulate him for his performance today.”

Whitmore is now focussing his attention on getting his players fresh and ready to face Mexico on Sunday. The Mexicans defeated Honduras 1-0 in Thursday’s second game, and Sunday’s Rose Bowl encounter will be a repeat of last year’s Copa Centenario group match when the Mexicans won 2-0.

“Our recovery session has to be up and running and I think the medical staff is doing a wonderful job. We have been playing without any serious injuries or cramps and that augurs well for us. We have one missing piece of the puzzle going into the semi-finals as Lambert will be out on yellow card suspension, so we have to look to replace him, so that is the only concern going into the semi-finals.”

Lambert was the only Jamaican booked on Thursday for a foul in the 73rd minute. He was also booked in the 31st minute against Mexico and will thus serve a one-match suspension.

But Whitmore was hoping that Oniel Fisher, who was forced out of Thursday’s game with a right hamstring strain, could pass a fitness test and be available for selection on Sunday.

— Ian Burnett