Reggae Boyz winger Leon Bailey in Concacaf Gold Cup action against United States. (Inset) Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson
Though his missed penalty saw the Reggae Boyz dropping points in their Concacaf Gold Cup opener against United States, winger Leon Bailey says it doesn't take away from the fact that he gave his best for the team.
With Jamaica up 1-0 in the first half of the game, Bailey could have doubled the lead but hit his 12-yard kick at a decent height for Matt Turner, in goal for United States to block. However, the Aston Villa man had a second bite at the cherry as the rebound came right into his path, but even then, he failed to capitalise with an empty net at his mercy.
The game ended 1-1 after Brandon Vazquez's 88th-minute strike, cancelled out Damion Lowe's 13th-minute goal at Soldier Field in Chicago.
While not using added pressure as an excuse, Bailey said critics have little idea of what it is like being a player of his calibre tasked with performing efficiently at all times.
"Do you know how much pressure I'm always under when I'm representing the national team? But that's no excuse for me because I've been in the game for too long now. I've been a professional for eight years. I'm used to pressure," Bailey said during a pre-game press conference on Tuesday.
The former Genk and Bayer Leverkusen player has often been heavily scrutinised for his style of play, as he tends to hog possession of the ball and oftentimes over dribbles, and, as a result, thwarts the team's progress in the process.
Still, Bailey, who made his Reggae Boyz debut in 2019 and has so far logged three goals and four assists in 19 games, rubbished those claims, while expressing his unwavering passion for leaving it all on the field.
"It has nothing to do with the way I play. If you watch how I play, you will see that I always try to do my best, I always work hard, and no matter what, I'll always give 110 per cent for my nation, and that will never stop," he declared.
"If that means I didn't perform well, then so be it. When I walk off the pitch I want to know that I gave my 110 and I did that against the US and nobody's ever going to take that away from me. Once my family is good, the team is good, we're all good, I'm good.
"I'm always going to be there for my teammates and so they're always there for me as well and that's what really matters. At the end of the day, football is a sport in that you win some, you lose some, you make mistakes, and you go again. That's just life and football," Bailey added.
The 25-year-old and the new-look Reggae Boyz team will be hoping to make amends when they take on leaders Trinidad and Tobago in their second Group A contest at City Park in St Louis, Missouri, this evening at 6:30 pm Jamaica time.
Meanwhile, United States and pointless newcomers St Kitts and Nevis, who went down 0-3 to the Soca Warriors in their open game, will do battle at 8:30 pm.
Reggae Boyz Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, who is still hunting his first win since taking the reins, knows the importance of this fixture with their Caribbean rivals and, as such, is backing his team to come good.
"The second game is always important. A win for Trinidad would get them through. We know what we are facing; we need to get good results against them. We just want to go out there so we can have a good performance and hopefully a win. That's the only thing we are thinking about at this stage of the tournament," Hallgrimsson said.
In their most recent meeting on Jamaican soil, Trinidad and Tobago won 1-0 with the other contest ending in as a goalless stalemate.
“The Trinidad games we played in Jamaica, there was a lot of long balls, there was a lot of fight everywhere on the pitch; it was not played much on the ground, those matches. We kind of played the same style in those games. It wasn’t pretty to watch, so, hopefully, we can do better. When we have the ball, we can hopefully play better than we did in Jamaica," the Icelandic coach stated.
“We will not get anything for free. We will face hard tackles, a lot of balls to fight for — the first balls, the second balls, we have just been talking about that. We are growing as a unit, as a team, and the understanding between the players about the tactics is increasing as we play more games together. We will grow as a team,” he ended.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
'It's a joke' – Ten Hag slams reports of Man Utd fire sale
Erik ten Hag has angrily denied reports claiming almost every player in Manchester United's squad will be up for sale in the upcoming transfer window, describing them as "a joke".
United are officially out of the running for Champions League qualification and could yet end Ten Hag's second season at the helm out of Europe entirely, with Newcastle United and Chelsea among the teams looking to hunt down the sixth-placed Red Devils.
Big changes are expected in United's first transfer window under the stewardship of INEOS founder Jim Ratcliffe, who assumed full control of football operations when his purchase of a minority stake in the club was ratified in February.
Earlier this week, reports emerged suggesting United were entertaining offers for all but three of their players, namely Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
Speaking at a press conference to preview Monday's Premier League trip to Crystal Palace, Ten Hag shot down those suggestions.
"It's a joke! As long as I worked here, 200 players are apparently getting interest from Manchester United every summer, which is untrue. We did some research," Ten Hag said.
"Every summer, we sell every player in our squad, which is untrue. Be calm and take responsibility when you make up such a headline. It is total c**p."
Despite coming under fierce pressure this campaign, Ten Hag has repeatedly insisted he will remain at Old Trafford for the 2024-25 season.
He knows there is plenty to be done as the Red Devils enter a new era, saying: "There's always a lot of work, that's normal when you go into a transfer window.
"We are still below the levels of the expectations that Manchester United have, so we have to catch up.
"I am now going into my fifth window, two windows were okay, two windows we did nothing. We have to make new improvements in the summer.
"There is a base of this squad that is very good. Injuries had a big impact on our season."
Dyche still demanding 'the hard yards' from Everton despite Premier League safety
Sean Dyche claimed putting in "the hard yards" is what ultimately got Everton over the line when it came to securing their Premier League status.
Everton beat Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Brentford in the space of six days in April to ensure their place in the top flight for another season.
That is despite two separate points deductions, worth eight points overall, having been dished their way this season. Everton are set to appeal the second decision at some point in May.
Last week's 1-0 win over Brentford saw Dyche's team move 11 points clear of 18th-placed Luton Town, meaning Friday's game against the Hatters no longer has so much riding on it for the Toffees, though Dyche will not let the hard work stop.
"I took over midway through so it is a bit different to last season. You try to re-model a group that's already been modelled, which is a challenge," Dyche told reporters.
"This season I think the biggest part of the success overall has been pockets of all different reasons. It is the work, work of the team I think we have got back to.
"We may lose it so much due to good performances when we were not winning but the hard yards as I call it, just doing the graft. The organisation, the will, the thirst and desire to work, to really work.
"I feel we still have good quality players here but it has to have a base to work from. You have to have a tactical understanding, you have to work, you have to do the hard yards, you have to cover the ground.
"Stats show for 60 minutes the ball is in play, if you're a player you're probably going to have it for one minute so what are you doing for the rest of it, for the other 59 minutes? You better be working because that's what the modern game demands."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Luton Town – Ross Barkley
Barkley – who made 150 league appearances for Everton between 2011 and 2017 – has scored just one goal in 10 Premier League games against sides he has previously played for in the competition. However, that strike did come in a match at Kenilworth Road this season, a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea.
Everton – Idrissa Gueye
Gueye played a crucial role in Everton's survival, scoring in the matches against Forest and Brentford. The former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder has netted three times this season, and the Toffees will be hoping to tie him down to a new contract.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Everton are winless in nine away Premier League games (D3 L6) since beating Burnley 2-0 in December. Indeed, while five of the Toffees' first eight league wins this season came away from home, each of their last four have all been at Goodison Park.
Luton have beaten Everton twice this season, once in the league and once in the cup, with both of those 2-1 wins coming at Goodison Park.
The Hatters have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games (D3 L10), with no side picking up fewer points than the Hatters since the start of this run (six). Despite this, they have only failed to score in one of their last 23 league games, a 2-0 defeat at league leaders Arsenal last month.
This is Everton's first away match against Luton since a 1-0 win in the League Cup in October 2007, with Tim Cahill netting an extra-time winner. Their last league visit to Kenilworth Road also ended in a 1-0 victory back in November 1991 thanks to a Robert Warzycha goal.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Luton Town – 36.7%
Everton – 34.6%
Draw – 28.7%
Grealish praises 'togetherness' in Man City's squad during title charge
Jack Grealish credits Manchester City’s togetherness for their recent success ahead of another crucial run-in in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola’s men are second in the table, just one point behind Arsenal with a game in hand, as they aim to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive league title.
City have already won the Club World Cup this season, beating Fluminense to earn the trophy, and they will also play in the FA Cup final against Manchester United for the second year in a row later this month.
Despite the hopes of back-to-back trebles being ended by their Champions League quarter-final exit to Real Madrid, Grealish is confident that City will finish the season successfully, highlighting the crucial strong bond amongst the team.
"I've said in a lot of interviews that, for me, the team I'm in now - and especially last year - it's just unbelievable, the togetherness we have. Over the years, there have been so many top teams in the Premier League that haven't done what we've done," he told Sky Sports.
"Even City's team in 2018-19, with David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne and Man United's team in 2008-09, with Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez - none of these teams won the treble.
"That says something about our team because you can have all of the talent in the world, but you need to have the other side of it as well, like that togetherness of the pitch. That's something we had so much of, and we've got it this season as well.
"With the experience we have and the quality we have, we don't really doubt ourselves.
"I feel like everyone knows how hard it is to win a treble. We did it last year, and it was one of the best feelings I've ever had in football, especially having played such a big part in it.
"I just want to finish the season strongly, try and win every competition we're in at the moment."
Grealish has struggled with injuries this season, managing 33 appearances in all competitions, and scoring just three goals.
Since making his return against Arsenal at the end of March, the 28-year-old has played in all but one of City’s eight games, and he is determined to make a successful finish to the season.
"When I'm injured, I start watching clips of myself and just remember how many good moments I have had in football. It brings back my love for football," he said.
"There's nothing that beats it. It's what I'm used to, and it's what I've done my whole life, so when I'm stuck indoors while the team are out training for a month or six weeks, it is difficult at times.
"Being injured certainly gave me that extra motivation to come back and just play well again and try and succeed with City. I'm over the moon to be back and, hopefully, I can have a strong end to the season."
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