Jamaica Reggae Boyz head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has expressed satisfaction with the team’s overall performance in a hard-fought 1-1 draw against World Cup-bound Cameroon on Wednesday.
Neither team fielded full-strength units for the international friendly, but the competitive fixture, in front of a vociferous crowd at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, was a fiercely contested affair.
Despite looking less potent as an attacking unit, a defensively solid Jamaica took the lead through Justin McMaster in the 60th minute. The Cameroonians, however, managed to eventually get back on level footing after substitute Djawal Kaiba’s deflected long-range effort flew over the head of Jahmali Waite and into the net, in the 76th minute.
Despite losing the lead, Hallgrimsson believes the team, which consisted of many players based in Jamaica, put in a commendable performance, considering the limited preparation time.
“I think we are quite happy with the players. It was a good result for Jamaica; playing early in the season and a lot of players not having a lot of games under their belt and playing in a difficult environment, probably the biggest crowd most of the players have played in front of, with 40,000 people supporting the opponent.” Hallgrimsson said following the match.
“They were intimidating circumstances playing a World Cup team but I think we can be happy with the result. I am happy with how professional the players were in the camp and how much they took in from what we were trying to teach them. Overall, I think that we were really happy,” he added.
“For the game itself we need to improve a lot but that is understandable when these players haven’t played a lot together.”