Luck was not on the side of Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz during the first leg of their CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifier against St. Vincent & the Grenadines at the Arnos Vale Stadium on Friday.

Despite dominating the game with 73% possession and 16 shots with seven on target compared to eight shots with three on target for the hosts, the Jamaicans needed a last-minute penalty from Leon Bailey to salvage a 1-1 draw.

St. Vincent played spiritedly and took the lead 20 minutes into the second half when Oalex Anderson scored in transition, capitalizing from a mistake from the Reggae Boyz.

Goalkeeper Lemus Christopher was also in magnificent form for the hosts.

Many watching may have been surprised by the performance from the hosts but Reggae Boyz head coach Steve McClaren was not one of them.

“I know St. Vincent, they work hard and they’re organized. I said that before to everybody. I don’t think we were surprised. We started well but they proved on transition, that they are very effective and so, one mistake and we concede,” he said in a post-match interview.

McClaren praised his team’s fighting spirit as well, crediting his substitutes, especially Renaldo Cephas and Warner Brown, for changing the game with their direct approach.

“What pleased me was we kept going. We talk about the subs making a difference and they certainly did that. I think Cephas and Warner Brown added a lot to us running behind but some of the opportunities we had, on another day, we would’ve been two or three up before we conceded and that’s one of them games that you get. There’s no easy games in the Caribbean,” McClaren said.

“This is not an easy game and the players know that. Maybe, we got away with that one. We’ve got to make sure on Tuesday that we don’t allow them the mistakes in transitions where they’re very dangerous,” he added.

The former England coach also had praise for Bailey for stepping up and scoring the penalty at the death.

“I’ve had many, many moments in my career when somebody has to step forward and take a penalty with the last kick of the game to get a result and there’s no one better than Leon to do that,” he said.

Finally, McClaren sited aggression and attention to detail as things his team will need to improve on in Tuesday’s second leg at Sabina Park.

“We will assess. We have our thoughts but we always evaluate the game after and try to not be emotional about the score line. We try to live with reality but, we know that St. Vincent, who have one defeat in their last eight now, are well organized, well coached and are a threat in transition with their speed so, the players know and we have to make sure that we don’t fall into the trap,” McClaren said.

“I think the intensity and the competitiveness of St. Vincent was admirable. I thought they were really aggressive and we have to make sure that we are as well come the second leg and make sure that we don’t make the same mistakes,” he added.