Former Reggae Girlz captain Konya Plummer with assistant coach Xavier Gilbert during a recent camp
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Former senior Reggae Girlz captain Konya Plummer expectedly worked her way back to full fitness to book her spot on Lorne Donaldson's 23-player squad to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next month.
In fact, there were no real surprises to the selections made by Donaldson and his assistants Xavier Gilbert, Ak Lakhani and Laura Thomas, as all the main protagonists –many of whom were a part of the historic 2019 team in France –will be present at this July 20 to August 20 showpiece.
Obviously, form was a big decisive factor in the squad selection and Donaldson, in a previous interview, made that very clear, though in the same breath, he admitted that he had 18 or 19 players locked in, which meant he only had four or five positions to fill.
Donaldson ideally kept a large bulk of the Cup of Nations squad for team harmony purposes, especially since he stressed the need for cohesiveness, so there were only a few changes from that 24 that went down under in February.
Goalkeepers Rebecca Spencer, Sydney Schneider, and their 17-year-old understudy Liya Brooks, who seem found the liking of Donaldson and his assistants since their historic tour of South Korea in September last year, were always safe.
So too was Allyson Swaby, Chantelle Swaby, Tiernny Wiltshire, Deneisha Blackwood, and Vyan Sampson in the defensive line, along with midfielders Havana Solaun, Drew Spence, Solai Washington, Atlanta Primus, and attackers Khadija Shaw, Jody Brown, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Cheyna Matthews, and Kameron Simmonds.
Simmonds, 19, and Washington, 17, have consistently been logging minutes since the Cup of Nations tournament in Australia and as expected, found favour with the coaching staff as they are viewed as players who can add flexibility to the attacking front.
Both are relatively inexperienced but were effective in those games against Czech Republic, Australia, and more recently Sheffield and these World Cup debutants could be difference-makers from the bench.
At one point there were concerns that Donaldson's faith in Trudi Carter reduced as the months go by, and it was evident by her omission from the camp in England. However, the nippy attacker, currently without a club since her contract with Spanish Liga F club FC Levante Las Planas expired, proved her readiness at a just-concluded camp in Jamaica.
Ohio State midfielder Peyton McNamara, who, like the other young players, always commanded the coaching staff's attention and the 22-year-old was rightly handed a spot, especially with Siobhan Wilson of Birmingham City, missing out due to injury.
Sashana "Pete" Campbell, who wasn't called upon since she picked up an injury at the Concacaf Women's Championship in Mexico, reported fit and healthy for the recent camp and made the cut, as an emergency alternative to fill the centre back or full back positions, if needed.
That said, a lot of emphasis was placed on the readiness of Plummer and the 25-year-old, who only resumed training late last year, after giving birth to her son, erased all doubts about her readiness for a second-consecutive World Cup appearance, as she hit competitive mode at the right time to make a return to the squad in the heart of the defence.
Versatility was always expected to be a characteristic held in high regard if players want to go the distance at the global showpiece and Tiffany Cameron is a perfect example, given her ability as an attacker and now as a right full back.
It is that show of versatility that secured Cameron's place in the final 23.
Prior to the Cup of Nations tournament, Cameron did not get many minutes, until she accepted the fact that she would not make the squad as an attacker.
Despite logging over 14 goals and 10 assists in over 15 games for her Hungarian top-flight club FC Gyor, Cameron, who could be considered an important leader in the Reggae Girlz group, embraced change and made the right full back position her comfort zone. She is expected to rotate the position with Wiltshire and possibly Chantelle Swaby.
Donaldson beamed about the makeup of the squad, pointing out that players, Plummer, Carter and Campbell, in particular, selected themselves.
"We always try to pick the best possible squad, things changed along the way with injuries and so on, but the players consistently turned up and proved to us that they were worthy of their positions. Konya and Trudi came in and did well, two veteran players, we know what they were capable of I didn't select them, they selected themselves because even though they are without clubs, they committed themselves to the task by training on their own and did very well when they came into camp," Donaldson told SportsMax.tv.
"It is basically the same for the young players, they did well camp after camp, they proved they belong among the veterans, and we had no choice but to put them in. Their fitness was also on par, and we have no doubt that they will give a good account of themselves," he added.
Meanwhile, Kayla McKenna, formerly McCoy, who missed out on the 2019 showpiece at the very last minute due to injury, has now been given another shot, as she has been doing well with Scottish Women’s Premier League Club Rangers.
"Kayla again, is a veteran she picked up an injury when we were in England, but we have been in contact with her club, and they assured us that she will be ready for the World Cup. She is one of those players who brings value to the attack as a point player so we know she will do well," Donaldson noted.
"Where Campbell is concerned, she is a very versatile player, who can give us quality work in any position between defence and attack. So, if she if she is needed, we can have her come in because she has a lot of quality. So, we feel like it's a very balanced squad, Trudi, Jody and Vyan are also versatile, so it's a squad we like, and we just have to wait and see what happens," he shared.
Racing Louisville's Satara Murray and Brighton's Victoria Williams missed out on selection along with Rachel Jones, and 2019 veterans Chinyelu Asher and Marlo Sweatman, both of whom have been absent from the squad for quite some time. Mireya Grey and Olufolasade Adamolekun, who were also present in France, also failed to make the cut.
The Girlz will contest Group F alongside France, Brazil and Panama at the World Cup.
World Cup Squad: Goalkeepers: Rebecca Spencer, Sydney Schneider, Liya Brooks
Defenders: Allyson Swaby, Chantelle Swaby, Konya Plummer, Tiernny Wiltshire, Tiffany Cameron, Deneisha Blackwood, Peyton McNamara, Sashana Campbell (Alternate player)
Midfielders: Havana Solaun, Vyan Sampson, Drew Spence, Atlanta Primus, Solai Washington, Trudi Carter
Forwards: Khadija Shaw, Jody Brown, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Kameron Simmonds, Cheyna Matthews, Kalyssa Van Zanten, Kayla McKenna
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
St. Benedict’s College defeats Fatima College 3-1 in SSFL top-of-the-table clash
St. Benedict’s College secured a 3-1 win over Fatima College in a top-of-the-table clash in Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Premiership action at the Mahaica Sporting Complex.
Goals from Captain Derrel Garcia in the 42nd and 59th minutes and a third from Ethan Trotman in the 80th secured the win and allowed them to move to 19 points from seven matches, three ahead of Fatima who have a game in hand.
Micaiah Leach gave Fatima the lead in the 30th minute.
Elsewhere, Arima North Secondary defeated San Juan North 2-1 at Bourg Mulatrasse. Micha’el John gave Arima the lead in the 42nd minute before Lindell Sween got the equalizer for San Juan North just a minute later.
Jahmarley Caleb got the winner for Arima North ten minutes from full time. The win moved Arima North up to fourth in the table with 14 points from eight games while San Juan remain in ninth with nine points from their eight outings.
A Kristian James 66th minute goal gave St. Mary’s College a 1-0 win over East Mucurapo Secondary at Mucurapo Road.
Presentation College got the biggest win of the day, a 5-0 victory over Speyside High at Mannie Ramjohn Stadium.
Thanks to goals from Vaughn Clement, Cody Cooper, Isaiah Jacob, Caleb Boyce and Duhrell Young, Presentation are now third in the table with 16 points from seven games. Speyside have four points from just five games to lie second from bottom at 15th.
Hosts Signal Hill Secondary suffered a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Queen’s Royal College. Kyle James got the goal for Signal Hill while the QRC goals came from Teshaun Franklin and an own goal from Raevion Marshall.
QRC are fifth in the standings with 13 points from eight games while Signal Hill are 11th with eight points from seven games.
In the day’s other games, St. Anthony College beat Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High School 3-1 at Westmoorings while a 12th minute Sumba Cudjoe strike gave St. Augustine Secondary a 1-0 win over Trinity College East at Trincity.
Calabar edge STATHS 1-0 to assume pole position in Zone D of Manning Cup; reigning champions Clarendon College among winners in dCup
Calabar High School regained pole position in Zone D of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup following a 1-0 win over St Andrew Technical (STATHS) in a top-of-the-table clash at their Red Hills Road base on Saturday.
Jaheim Rankine got the all-important strike in the 34th minute to extend their unbeaten run across five matches and push Calabar up to 16 points, same as STATHS, who were relegated to second with a slightly inferior goal difference. Haile Selassie (nine points), Camperdown (seven points), Vauxhall (six points) and Kingston Technical (zero point) complete the standings.
Winning coach Andrew Price welcomed the character shown by his team on this occasion to overturn their first leg loss, as players occupied unfamiliar position.
“The players are resilient; we played today without two of frontline central defenders so we had to patch up the team today and people played in positions that they don’t normally play in. But we have a system that we have been playing for the entire season and once people fit into the system, then the team will play well and they showed some depth and character today to get the three points against a very good STATHS team,” Price said.
“I think we needed to be a bit more clinical in front of goal, but our strength is our defensive structure; we have only conceded two goals so far in the entire Manning Cup, which shows that we are very sound defensively, and we want to keep it that way. We are developing a football culture here at the school and we are going to continue to work diligently to ensure that we get some success along the line,” he added.
STATHS started more purposefully and created a few half chances in the early exchanges as the teams battled heavy underfoot conditions due to afternoon showers.
The Bumper Hall-based team should have broken the deadlock approaching the 20th minute mark but Ajetai Marshall muffed his effort from close range.
Calabar got into their rhythm and went close to finding the lead at the half-hour mark, but Rankin’s left-footed shot from a distance was parried by Jaheem Williams in goal for STATHS.
It is often said if you fail to succeed try again, and Rankine did just that to put Calabar in front as he released an even more delightful strike from about 30 yards out that had Williams beaten all ends up.
Calabar went close to doubling their advantage in 41st, but Williams got down well to his right on this occasion to steer Jayden Perry’s left-footed shot from outside the 18-yard box wide.
With the score unchanged at the break, STATHS made a push for the equaliser but failed to create any meaningful chances, and frustration inevitably set in, resulting in Alexavier Gooden being sent off for a second yellow in the 54th.
The numerical advantage created a few openings for Calabar, the best of which came in the 61st Rankine, who rounded the goalkeeper but selfishly went for shot from a tight angle instead of floating a cross in for Perry.
As the game approached its end, substitute Christiano Brown thought he stole a point for STATHS when she slid one through the goalkeeper’s legs, but the goal was belatedly flagged for an offside.
That left Head coach Phillip Williams disgusted as he called out the officiating as the worst part of the encounter.
“It is unfortunate that ISSA has invested so much and the schools have invested so much and the poor officiating just takes away from the game. I think that was the worst thing today; both teams played some decent football but the officiating needs to be better.
“I think what we didn’t do today was score, we have a style of football that we play and we played that today even when we went down a man but referees need to be better in Jamaica, they are very poor,” a disappointed Williams said.
Saturday’s Manning Cup Results
Calabar 1, STATHS 0
Dunoon Park 0, Eltham 0
Ardenne High 0, Hydel High 8
Ascot High 0, Jamaica College 5
Excelsior High 15, Pembroke Hall 0
Holy Trinity 0, St George’s College 5
Camperdown 0, Vauxhall 0
Saturday’s daCosta Cup Results
Munro 0, Maggotty 0
Manchester 1, Belair 0
Glenmuir 4, Old Harbour 0
Ocho Rios 8, Ferncourt 1
Anchovy 1, Green Island 2
McGrath 0, Dinthill 0
Maldon High 4, St James 1
Irwin High 1, Cornwall College 4
Green Pond 5, Herbert Morrison 2
Grange Hill 0, Godfrey Stewart 1
Mannings 6, Little London 0
Muschett 0, Cedric Titus 13
Spot Valley 0, William Knibb 0
Happy Grove 2, Morant Bay 0
Tacius Golding 0, Charlemont 3
Cross Keys 1, DeCarteret College 5
Newell 0, Lacovia 1
B.B Coke 1, STETHS 3
Claude McKay 0, Clarendon College 7
Central 2, Edwin Allen 1
Knockalva 0, Frome Tech 8
Cambridge 1, Rusea’s High 3
Toronto FC 0-1 Inter Miami: Campana's stoppage-time strike keeps visitors on track for MLS record
Leonardo Campana scored the winner in stoppage time to keep Inter Miami on course to beat the regular-season points record in MLS as they defeated Toronto 1-0.
With Miami having secured the Supporters' Shield by beating the Columbus Crew in midweek, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were benched for Saturday's trip north of the border.
But the duo came on to help Gerardo Martino's team to a victory that moved them up to 71 points with one game remaining.
The points record of 73 was set by the New England Revolution in 2021, and it is the Revs who visit Miami in the final regular-season game later in October.
Toronto got off to the better start as Kobe Franklin latched onto the end of Jonathan Osario's cross to shoot from a tight angle but saw his effort saved.
Despite further chances for Richie Laryea and Prince Osei Owusu, Toronto struggled to find a breakthrough, and substitute Suarez proved decisive as he delivered a first-time cross into the centre of the box, which Campana controlled and duly fired home a 93rd-minute winner.
The defeat dealt Toronto a blow to their ambitions of obtaining a playoff spot this season, opening the door for the Philadelphia Union, D.C. United and Nashville SC behind them in the Eastern Conference.
Data Debrief: Miami's stopping power
For Miami, the focus on adding an MLS record to their first Supporters' Shield triumph has seemingly helped keep them going this term. They have scored 15 goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half this season; only the Colorado Rapids and Portland Timbers have scored more such goals in the league in 2024.
On the other hand, Toronto have conceded 23 goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half - no team has conceded more in MLS this term.
Toronto have taken just one point from the last 15 on offer, and their slump has come at the worst possible time.
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