Jamaica Reggae Girlz head coach, Lorne Donaldson, is hoping for sharper finishing in front of goal against the United States but expects that to continue improving as the team gets more games under its belt.

The Jamaicans kicked off the Concacaf W Championship in impressive fashion with a 1-0 win over hosts Mexico on Monday.  The team, however, in all likelihood could and should have won by a bigger margin having created several clear-cut opportunities throughout the match.

Most notably, Khadijah Shaw scored the all-important goal but also hit the upright in the second half, while attempting to chip Mexican goalkeeper Emily Alvarado.  Forward Jody Brown was also guilty of a bit of profligacy, after being played through clean on goal on three occasions but picking out the keeper with all three attempts. 

With the Reggae Girlz scheduled to tackle the world's number one ranked the United States on Thursday, such opportunities are likely to be few and far between.  Donaldson was quick to point out, however, that attacking coordination and finishing in front of the goal takes time to develop and time is a luxury that the team did not have in its preparation for the tournament.

“The sharpness up front takes time (to develop) and we had no games coming in.  Two weeks of preparation was all we had to get the group together.  Some of the team came in a little unfit so we tried to spend some time getting the fitness up,” Donaldson said.

“So, for that sharpness, hopefully, our instincts will kick in, because the hardest part of the game is to get your finishing touch and we saw that.  So hopefully, we will have a bit more luck and do a better job in that department.”   

The top two teams from each group will advance to the next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.