Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw and Hubert Busby share thoughts during a pre-game interview.
Head coach Hubert Busby and his Reggae Girlz are hoping to close out their 2024 campaign with victories against South Africa as they kick off their two-match friendly international series on Friday at the Montego Bay Sports Complex.
Game time is at 8:00pm.
Though preparations for the friendlies faced logistical hurdles, including uncooperative weather, Busby credited the team for staying focused ahead of the opening fixture against the Banyana Banyana, who they last met in 2019 when they played out a 1-1 stalemate in Durban.
“There have been challenges logistically, and obviously the weather hasn’t been helpful. But credit to the players and staff for staying focused on the task at hand, as this is another great opportunity for us to come together as a team,” Busby said in a pre-game interview.
Busby emphasized that these friendlies are more than just a chance to play, as they represent crucial blocks in building a foundation for success heading into 2025 and beyond, including the World Cup qualifiers and a potential road to Brazil 2027.
“It’s about laying the foundation, the building blocks for success, both on and off the pitch. It’s important that we take two good performances and, obviously, results heading into the February window. That should set a good foundation for the World Cup qualifiers later in the year,” he explained.
On that note, Busby revealed that plans are well underway to maximize every Fifa window leading up to the qualifiers, including securing competitive opponents to prepare for the challenges of Concacaf.
“We’re ahead of the game now in terms of utilising each and every window and making sure we have the right opponent that fits what we’re looking for, especially as it pertains to Concacaf,” Busby shared.
With this being the Girlz first game at home since their Olympic qualifying playoff game against Canada last September and first in Montego Bay since the Paraguay friendly in 2022, it adds another layer of excitement for the team.
The second contest will take place on Monday at the same venue.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring the game to another part of the country, which is a big part of spreading and growing the game throughout Jamaica. So we’re looking forward to seeing a packed house on Friday and Monday,” Busby noted.
For Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, the friendlies mark a long-awaited return to the squad after a 14-month absence. The talismanic striker, who has become a global football star, said her return feels like a fresh start given the changes within the team.
“It’s been 14 months since my last time being with the girls. It almost feels like I’m a new player because there’s been so much change in terms of the staff and so on, but it’s been good with the group. Training has been going well, and we’re raring to go,” Shaw declared.
The towering Manchester City stalwart, who found the Girlz goal when the two teams last met, also shared her excitement about playing in front of Jamaican fans again and encouraged supporters to come out in full force.
“It’s been a while since we’ve played in Jamaica, and we’re very excited to be here. We’ve always had really good support, especially in Montego Bay. We just want to thank everyone for the support they’ve given us throughout the journey so far and look forward to seeing everyone at the games on Friday and Monday,” Shaw said.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Maresca and Emery hail 'fantastic' European displays ahead of Stamford Bridge clash
Enzo Maresca and Unai Emery both lauded "fantastic" European displays from Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively, ahead of their clash on Sunday.
Villa visit Stamford Bridge on the back of a 0-0 draw with Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Chelsea, meanwhile, defeated Heidenheim 2-0 on Thursday.
And both bosses were delighted with what they saw from their teams in their midweek fixtures.
Maresca, who named a team of fringe players, suggested Thursday's clash was the ideal chance for his second-string options to build up some minutes.
"They did fantastic. I think all of them," he said.
"Jadon Sancho had a very good game. Axel [Disasi] and Benoit [Badiashile]. Cesare Casadei did well. They are ready and it's important.
"Filip Jorgensen had a very good game. We have nine or 10 games in December so they are going to get more chances. They need to be ready."
Emery had to go much stronger with his selection against Juve, with Villa somewhat harshly denied a late winner when Morgan Rogers saw a goal disallowed.
"It was fantastic," Emery said, even though his team are now winless in seven games.
"We needed one match like this, playing seriously with a clean sheet, defending strong, being compact and then trying to impose and dominate some areas of the match.
"We didn't create a lot of chances but we didn't concede a lot of chances. We were closer to scoring and in the second half we were progressively getting better."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chelsea - Nicolas Jackson
Five of Jackson's seven Premier League goals this season have put Chelsea 1-0 ahead in the match – coming into this weekend's games, only Chris Wood (six) has scored the opening goal in more different games this term.
Aston Villa - Ollie Watkins
Watkins has scored in his last two Premier League away games against Chelsea, with both ending up being the winning goal in the match.
No visiting player has ever scored three match-winning goals at Stamford Bridge in the competition.
MATCH PREDICTION: CHELSEA WIN
Chelsea are winless in their last three Premier League meetings with Villa (D1 L2), last having a longer such run against them between February 2006 and December 2007 (five).
Indeed, Villa have won their last two Premier League away games against Chelsea, as many as in their previous 21 visits to Stamford Bridge (D4 L15). They last won three consecutive away league games against the Blues between 1930 and 1933.
However, Opta's supercomputer still makes the Blues the favourites.
Villa are winless in their last four Premier League games (D2 L2). They last went five without a win between May and August 2022, while they last did so in the same season in March/April 2022 (both runs under Steven Gerrard).
Chelsea have conceded at least once in all six of their Premier League home games this season – they last had a longer wait for a home clean sheet from the start of a league campaign in 1978-79 (nine games).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chelsea - 52%
Aston Villa - 25.2%
Draw - 22.8%
Postecoglou frustrated by profligate Tottenham in Roma draw
Ange Postecoglou rued a lack of composure from his Tottenham side as they conceded a "frustrating" late equaliser to Roma in a 2-2 Europa League draw on Thursday.
Spurs twice led at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Son Heung-min's fifth-minute penalty cancelled out by Evan Ndicka.
Mats Hummels then netted in second-half injury time after Brennan Johnson had put the hosts back in front in the 33rd minute.
It means Tottenham are now outside the top eight in the Europa League standings on goal difference and boss Postecoglou was disappointed not to see the job out.
Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: "It's frustrating, particularly when they score so late in the game.
"But it was a good game. We should have put it to bed early, and it's disappointing not to see it through.
"We should have shown a bit more composure. We had a couple of chances cleared off the line. We sort of kept them in the game."
"They are a good side. There is a reason why they are in the Europa League. They had a great season last time, but they have had some tough times this year.
"They have quality players, but we had the chance to win the game."
Tottenham failed to win a home group stage match in the Europa League for the first time since October 2014 (1-1 vs Besiktas), having won 10 consecutive such games prior to Thursday's draw.
Fraser Forster was called upon in goal after the news this week that number one Guglielmo Vicario is out for an extended period with a fractured ankle.
And Postecoglou praised the role played by his experienced back-up goalkeeper, who made five saves during the contest.
"He did well. We expect that from him. He is a very experienced goalkeeper, and he did his part," Postecoglou added.
But Postecoglou was quick to praise Roma's performance, despite seeing his side dominate the majority of the match statistics at the full-time whistle.
Spurs managed an expected goals (xG) total of 3.61 from their 24 attempts compared to the Serie A sides' 2.36 from their 18 shots.
"They are a good side. There is a reason why they are in the Europa League," Postecoglou concluded.
"They had a great season last time, but they have had some tough times this year. They had quality players, but we had the chance to win the game."
Tottenham turn their attention to Premier League action when they return to home soil to take on London rivals Fulham, a side they have lost just one of their last 14 top-flight home games against (W10 D3).
Clement lauds Rangers' 'best performance of the season' against Nice
Philippe Clement believes his Rangers side produced their "best performance of the season" in the 4-1 thrashing of Nice in the Europa League on Thursday.
Rangers stunned the Ligue 1 outfit with three first-half strikes as Vaclav Cerny, Mohamed Diomande and Hamza Igamane took advantage of some poor defending by the hosts.
Igamane notched his second of the game nine minutes after the restart, with the hosts pulling a goal back in the 83rd minute courtesy of Badredine Bouanani's stunning free-kick.
The result moved Rangers up to eighth in the 36-team standings, leapfrogging Tottenham into the automatic spots late on thanks to Mats Hummels' equaliser for Roma.
They also scored four or more goals in an away major European game for just the eighth time, with this the first time they’d done so since a 4-2 win at Borussia Dortmund 2022.
"We did big performances in Bucharest and Malmo too but knowing the level of this this is probably the best performance of the season. The season is still young," Clement said.
"Young squad, new players, many on the pitch today who have not been at the club for long. We have become stronger and stronger."
Clement showered praise on two-goal Igamane, who impressed on his first start in the competition with top scorer Cyriel Dessers dropped to the bench.
The Moroccan grabbed the assist for Cerny's opener, while he also ended the contest with the most touches in the opposition box (eight) along with creating more chances (three) than any of his team-mates.
"He came in with an injury and missed preparation. He doesn't have experience at this level," Clement added.
"We're working hard with him to make him stronger but also technically doing the right things for the team.
"I saw the good things the last few weeks and that's why I gave him the chance today.
"It's my job to give chances and see what the player can bring but you never know with young players. You need characters, you can't be affected by the big occasion."
Rangers' attention now turns to the Scottish Premiership, aiming to bounce back from their 1-1 draw with Dundee United last time out.
Clement's side find themselves third in the table, 11 points behind rivals Celtic, and the Rangers boss believes their win over Nice can be the catalyst for their domestic campaign.
"We need to win. That's clear. We need to perform well on Sunday, but also on Wednesday and then at the weekend again.
"I don't want to see players in satisfaction mode, I want to see hungry players who want to be better and better."
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