‘GIVE THEM TIME’
Hallgrimsson calls for patience with local Reggae Boyz
Reggae Boyz Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson is urging patience as he continues his series of midweek camps for local players after a game against Jamaica Premier League team Montego Bay United (MBU) at WesPow Park on Wednesday.
The game was the second in the series after two 60 minutes games in Clarendon against Humble Lion and Vere United and Hallgrimsson says while the scores in the games were not important, getting the local players to understand what he was looking for was the main thing.
Asked if the players who had been in both camps were learning his system, Hallgrimsson told the Jamaica Observer, “Yes, they are adjusting but you need to take into account they have never played together as a team so it will take some time, but I think they are at least trying.”
Garth Stewart of Harbour View and Richard King of Cavalier SC scored in each half for the Reggae Boyz who won the game 2-0 against a Montego Bay United team made up of mostly reserve players.
“We were happy with spells in the game,” Hallgrimsson said. “They showed they were listening and they were working on the things that we’ve been talking about, so yes, we are happy.”
He was in agreement with MBU Coach Neider dos Santos who said the game was good for both sets of players.
“It’s also really good to see the MoBay players and give them a chance to play a game in midweek,” he said. “So their coach can see more more players in for his selection. So it hopefully is good for both.”
Hallgrimsson made wholesale changes at half-time with goalkeeper Kemar Foster being playing all 90 minutes.
“It’s good to have run outs like these,” he said. “The players can show how they work together in a structure and in a team.
“In a way, it’s good not to concede but in this game, we could have conceded because MoBay had some some chances, so, you know, the score line is absolutely irrelevant in this.
“It’s just good to see the players play in their positions in a game together, how they work together as pairs or as a back four or whatever.”
Dos Santos, whose team is in the race for a play-off spot in the Jamaica Premier League, was happy for the game as well.
“For midweek, it was very nice,” he said. “We had the opportunity to put out our backup team. Many of them don’t have match fitness so it was good. I say we lost 2-0 with two goals from set plays but the difference was the size of [the national] players. They are huge; so I cannot even complain with the players because it was really difficult for them.”
Dos Santos gave his team a good grade.
“Overall, we matched them well, we create chances and they were playing safe. I’m pretty happy with the performance of them and they stayed in the game plan so, I am happy.”
With MBU hosting Humble Lion at home on Sunday, dos Santos says the game allowed him to see some players who could be part of his game day squad.
“This team was made up of Premier League players and they are the ones we will play against for the remainder of the season, so it was good for our players because I can see how they perform and adapt at that point,” he said.