Rafiek Thomas (right) shot dead in his bed on Tuesday.
file
President of Boys' Town Football Club Andrew Price says he is struggling to come to grip with the brutal slaying of former player Rafiek “Fari” Thomas, who was gunned down at his home in Denham Town on Tuesday.
It is reported that about 4:40am, unknown assailants gained access to Thomas’ residence, in the troubled West Kingston community, and shot him several times in his bed. Another man was also injured during the home invasion.
Thomas, 40, was well-known for his goal scoring exploits in local football, especially during his time at Boys’ Town and Tivoli Gardens. He also represented Harbour View, Waterhouse, and Humble Lion throughout his career, before returning to the Boys’ Town. He scored the match-winning goal for the Collie Smith Drive-based club when they copped the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) Wray and Nephew Championship last season.
They retained the title with a penalty shoot-out win over Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) on Sunday, but their celebrations were cut short by the tragic news, which has plunged the football fraternity into mourning.
Price expressed condolence to Thomas’s family and friends, as he remembered the player as passionate, inspirational and humble.
“It is so sad when you hear another life snuffed out through crime and violence in inner city communities. Rafiek Thomas was an inspirational player, very skillful, and a prolific goal scorer. I enjoyed coaching him. He was a gem to coach, always unassuming, humble individual, so I'm taking this very, badly to awake to this type of news after the club's triumphant Sunday night it is just really disheartening and gut-wrenching,” Price said.
“Such a talented individual; he was always willing to assist, to impress, to guide the youngsters and even at his age, he was still a prolific goal scorer. One of the last goals he scored was a year ago in the finals of the Championship against Constant Spring. So we will remember Rafiek for how passionate he was both on and off the field. It's sad to hear that his life has ended in this tragic manner and it reinforces the need to engage football as a socializing effect in communities,” he added.
Pulisic says USA were 'flying' against Bolivia after inspirational display
Christian Pulisic felt the United States made a flying start to the Copa America with their impressive victory over Bolivia in Texas.
Milan star Pulisic stole the show with an eye-catching strike into the top corner, and he added an assist for Folarin Balogun as the USA opened their campaign with a 2-0 win on home soil on Sunday.
Pulisic became only the second USA player after Clint Dempsey to register a goal and an assist in a Copa America match, while he is also now the country's quickest player to reach 30 goals, doing so in his 69th game.
An inspired performance from the captain also ended a woeful run for the USA against CONMEBOL sides at this tournament, given Gregg Berhalter's side had previously lost eight of 10 such games.
Pulisic felt that USA could easily have won by a greater margin, with the strong performance making a statement ahead of their next group games against Panama and Uruguay.
"We should build some confidence from this and feel good," Pulisic said after the game.
"We came out flying with a lot of intensity and obviously that early goal helped us a lot.
"It's Copa America, it's a big tournament. I feel like I'm always pretty excited after I score, but it's a big moment, it's a major tournament.
"All around, it was a pretty dominant performance. I think we could have put it away and had more goals there.
"The games are just going to get tougher and tougher as the tournament goes on, so we have got to be ready."
Defender Antonee Robinson also felt USA could easily have won by more.
"If we were being picky, we could have been a lot more clinical," the Fulham player said. "We could have put another two or three goals away, but getting off to a win to start with is massive for us.
"Build the confidence, show we are here to win, here to play and it puts us in good stead for the next game."
USA head coach Berhalter was delighted with the impact made by Pulisic, whose opening strike had an expected goals (xG) tally of just 0.037.
The tournament hosts racked up 20 shots, finding the target with eight, compared to tallies of six and three respectively for Bolivia.
As part of an all-action display, Pulisic created three chances, sent in 10 crosses and superbly completed 21 of the game-high 22 passes he attempted in the final third.
"He is a selfless leader," said Berhalter. "He goes out and competes and works really hard. That helps the team.
"Then you add to the fact that he is highly skilled and can make plays on the offensive end and create chances. It is a great combination, and what you see is him supporting his teammates, him backing guys, him pushing guys.
"To me, it was an outstanding performance. He got coach's man of the match and it was much deserved.
"We will always look at chance creation as a marker of performance, and I think we created enough chances.
"I like the performance for an opening game against a difficult opponent. We are in a good position."
Bolivia, meanwhile, have now lost their last four international outings by a concerning margin of 9-1, having suffered defeats against Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and USA.
They face Uruguay, who won their opener 3-1 against Panama, on Thursday.
USA will play Panama earlier on the same day before concluding their Group C campaign against Uruguay on July 1.
Bielsa left wanting more despite Uruguay's winning start at Copa America
Marcelo Bielsa insists there is room for improvement for Uruguay, despite kicking off their Copa America campaign with a 3-1 win over Panama in Florida.
Uruguay's win saw them move level on points with hosts the United States following their victory over Bolivia in the other Group C encounter.
The 15-time winners were rewarded for their fast start when Maximilian Araujo curled home his first international goal in the 16th minute.
However, Panama would grow into the contest as Jose Fajardo and Jose Rodriguez squandered golden opportunities for Thomas Christiansen's side.
And their wastefulness was punished late on as Darwin Nunez, who had missed several chances in the game, settled Uruguay's nerves with a calm finish.
Matias Vina furthered La Celeste's advantage in the first minute of injury-time with a header, only for Michael Amir Murillo to net a late consolation for Panama.
However, Bielsa was quick to temper expectations despite the triumph, insisting his side must improve to secure a record 16th Copa America crown.
The 68-year-old took charge of Uruguay in May last year, beating both Argentina and Brazil in World Cup qualifiers.
"When it comes to Uruguay's aspirations, we will see that and build it match by match," he told reporters.
"My expectation is that each match will increasingly help us to improve on our level. Uruguay has players of a very good level and we need to see if I can build with those players."
Uruguay continue their group campaign against Bolivia in New Jersey on Thursday, before facing the USA at the Arrowhead Stadium next Tuesday.
Bielsa left wanting more despite winning start at Copa America
Marcelo Bielsa insists there is room for improvement for Uruguay, despite kicking off their Copa America campaign with a 3-1 win over Panama in Florida.
Uruguay's win saw them move level on points with hosts the United States following their victory over Bolivia in the other Group C encounter.
The 15-time winners were rewarded for their fast start when Maximilian Araujo curled home his first international goal in the 16th minute.
However, Panama would grow into the contest as Jose Fajardo and Jose Rodriguez squandered golden opportunities for Thomas Christiansen's side.
And their wastefulness was punished late on as Darwin Nunez, who had missed several chances in the game, settled Uruguay's nerves with a calm finish.
Matias Vina furthered La Celeste's advantage in the first minute of injury-time with a header, only for Michael Amir Murillo to net a late consolation for Panama.
However, Bielsa was quick to temper expectations despite the triumph, insisting his side must improve to secure a record 16th Copa America crown.
The 68-year-old took charge of Uruguay in May last year, beating both Argentina and Brazil in World Cup qualifiers.
"When it comes to Uruguay's aspirations, we will see that and build it match by match," he told reporters.
"My expectation is that each match will increasingly help us to improve on our level. Uruguay has players of a very good level and we need to see if I can build with those players."
Uruguay continue their group campaign against Bolivia in New Jersey on Thursday, before facing the USA at the Arrowhead Stadium next Tuesday.
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