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.
LA Galaxy 2-1 New York Red Bulls: Paintsil and Joveljic goals secure MLS Cup
The LA Galaxy claimed a record-extending sixth MLS Cup by beating the New York Red Bulls 2-1, with early goals from Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic securing the trophy.
The Galaxy raced into a two-goal lead within 13 minutes as they made a blistering start on home soil at Dignity Health Sports Park, and they held firm after the Red Bulls halved the arrears midway through the first half.
Gaston Brugman threaded a lovely throughball into the path of Paintsil, who slotted his finish under Carlos Coronel for a ninth-minute opener.
Four minutes later, Greg Vanney's men had breathing space as Joveljic escaped the Red Bulls backline to prod home with the outside of his boot.
Daniel Edelman narrowly avoided putting through his own net soon afterwards, then New York clawed one back through captain Sean Nealis, who volleyed home following an inswinging corner Emil Forsberg.
Noah Eile missed one glorious chance before teeing up another for Dante Vanzeir, but the Galaxy held firm, almost adding a third goal when Miki Yamane cannoned a shot against the post shortly after the hour-mark.
Data Debrief: Galaxy out on their own
The LA Galaxy already held the record for most MLS Cup triumphs ahead of Saturday's showpiece game, with their sixth success now taking them two clear of D.C. United.
The win ended their 10-year wait for a title, last claiming the crown when a team containing Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane beat the New England Revolution in 2014.
Girona 0-3 Real Madrid: Bellingham and Mbappe score as Blancos close on Barcelona
Real Madrid closed the gap on LaLiga leaders Barcelona to two points with a commanding 3-0 win at Girona, with goals from Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler and Kylian Mbappe.
Second-placed Madrid have 36 points with a game in hand on Barca, who drew 2-2 at Real Betis earlier on Saturday, after inflicting Girona's sixth loss of the campaign.
Bellingham opened the scoring in the 36th minute by capitalising on a loose ball and firing home from the centre of the box, with the England international then turning provider for Madrid's second goal.
Ten minutes into the second half, his defence-splitting throughball teed up Guler to double Madrid's lead, though Bellingham was withdrawn with an injury soon afterwards.
Mbappe then added further gloss shortly after the hour mark, firing home from a tight angle for his ninth league goal of the season.
Data debrief: Mbappe brings up double century
Mbappe's ninth league goal for Madrid was also his 200th in his career across Europe's top five leagues, on his 261st such appearance.
He netted 16 times for Monaco and 175 times with Paris Saint-Germain.
He was not the only Blancos star with something to celebrate, as Bellingham made it five straight games with a goal for the very first time in Europe's top leagues, though his second-half exit will concern Carlo Ancelotti.
STETHS end title drought with 3-1 Ben Francis Cup win over Clarendon College
St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) celebrated their seventh hold on the ISSA/Wata Ben Francis Cup in commanding fashion after defeating dethroned daCosta Cup champions Clarendon College 3-1 in an entertaining final at the National Stadium on Saturday.
Goals from Trinidad and Tobago’s Kaieem Lewis (27th), Henry Johnson (45+2), and substitute Jordan Blake (90+3) ended an eight-year title drought for the Santa Cruz-based institution. Their last triumph came in 2015, when they secured a memorable double, winning both the daCosta Cup and the Ben Francis Cup.
This latest success adds to a decorated history in the competition, with previous titles in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.
Meanwhile, Justin Hayles (69th) pulled one back for Clarendon College, who finished the season empty-handed for the first time in recent memory.
Winning coach Omar Wedderburn is optimistic that this title win is the start of their resurgence for even greater ambitions in the seasons ahead, as it serves as a reminder of their rich legacy in schoolboy football.
“It feels incredible to finally bring this title back home; we came here today with a lot of heart, so we are really happy. It is almost a decade now since we won anything at STETHS, and I think this is the way to start. We have to creep before we walk, and this is our creeping right now because we have great plans for next year, and this will motivate our programme going forward,” a jubilant Wedderburn said post-match.
STETHS entered the contest with purpose, but it was Clarendon College who initially looked more threatening in the early exchanges.
In the 10th minute, Dameon Simms had an opportunity for the Chapelton-based Clarendon College deep inside the box, only to be denied by Johnoi Steadman in goal for STETHS.
The Santa Cruz outfit began asserting themselves shortly after, with Lewis narrowly missing the target in the 16th minute. STETHS appeared to have broken the deadlock in the 24th minute when Justin McPherson found the back of the net, but the goal was ruled offside.
Still, persistence paid off three minutes later, as Dantay Hewitt's pass found Lewis in the box, and the Trinidadian comfortably slotted home from close range to give STETHS the lead.
Right before halftime, Joshaine Beecher’s dynamic run on the break set up Johnson, whose perfectly timed overlapping run ended with a clinical finish past Clarendon College’s goalkeeper Marco Thompson to put STETHS 2-0 up at the break.
Clarendon College came out with renewed vigour on the resumption, with Justin Hayles forcing two strong saves from Steadman a few minutes in.
The pressure eventually yielded results in the 69th minute when Antwon McDonald was brought down in the box, and Hayles calmly converted the ensuing penalty to reduce the deficit.
Clarendon College continued to press for an equalizer, but Steadman remained resolute, denying Dusean Petgrave in the 76th minute to maintain STETHS’s advantage.
Though still in charge in the dying moments of the contest, STETHS showcased their composure and teamwork with a fluid sequence involving four or five passes. Substitute Blake capped off the well-worked build-up with a curling left-footed shot past the diving Thompson to seal the 3-1 victory.
Clarendon College’s Technical Director, Lenworth Hyde, expressed a mixed bag of emotions at the outcome.
“Such is the game; this year we have been in an out with players; we lost a lot of our players last year and brought in some new players this year. After we got knocked out of the daCosta Cup, we cut the squad again and brought up some Under-16 players to play as we build for next season. I think we tried, but STETHS was just quicker than us, and we didn’t make use of our chances,” Hyde said.
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