Girlz go for scalp of Martinique
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI — An emphatic win in the opening contest is just what the doctor ordered and Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz will now go in search of another when they square off against Martinique in the second CONCACAF Caribbean Women’s Group B World Cup qualifying game at Stade Sylvio Cator here today.
Game time is 4:00 pm (3:00 pm Jamaica time).
The Jamaicans currently lead the four-team table with three points and a very healthy goal difference, and another blowout victory would put them in a fairly good place to secure the lone qualifying spot from the group to the final round scheduled for August 25 to September 2.
But hosts Haiti, who occupy second position and also on three points following their 2-0 victory over Martinique, are expected to keep a close watch as they face Guadeloupe in the late contest at 6:30 pm.
The top three finishers of the final round will then qualify for the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship, where they will vie for a spot in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be staged in France.
With the butterflies and first-game jitters a thing of the past, the Jamaicans will be looking for another positive result to stay on the front foot, but will also be bracing for a slightly tougher contest.
Head Coach Hue Menzies is well aware that there is no place for complacency at this point in time.
“We can’t be overconfident, because Martinique seems a decent team; so we have to get ready, we can’t get complacent [we have to] just go in there and continue to chart the course towards the task that we come here to accomplish which is to qualify,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
The team was yesterday taken through a two-tiered session with the starters from Wednesday’s game doing recovery work with fitness coach William Hitzelberger, while the substitutes and benched players went over tactical drills with Menzies and his assistants Lorne Donaldson and Andrew Price.
Menzies pointed out that there might be changes to the starting line-up as a number of players, including frontline goalkeeper Chris-Ann Chambers, are currently nursing niggling injuries; however, they will be sticking with their attacking 4-3-3 formation.
With local-based player Natasha Douglas and overseas-based Chantelle Swaby both arriving on Wednesday, it allows Menzies the option of switching things around.
By all indications, the previous starting team could also remain unchanged.
That team saw Yazmeen Jamieson in goal shadowed by Konya Plummer and Allyson Swaby in the heart of defence, flanked by Lauren Silva and Dominique Bond-Flasza.
Marlo Sweatman, Chinyelu Asher and Giselle Washington were tasked with marshalling the midfield, with Khadijah Shaw, Trudi Carter, and Deneisha Blackwood making up the three-prong attack.