Veteran Jamaica defender Adrian Mariappa has commended an inexperienced Jamaica Reggae Boyz unit for its positive attitude after ending the Austria mini-tournament with a 1-1 draw against World Cup-bound Qatar earlier this week.
With the tournament occurring outside of the FIFA international friendly window, the majority of the team selected to represent the Reggae Boyz were taken from the country’s local league, which left many understandably short on international experience.
The team got off to a rough start with a 3-0 loss to Morocco but rallied back against Qatar and even led the match courtesy of a Jourdain Fletcher goal before being pegged back.
“I thought the goal was brilliant, that’s as good a team goal as I’ve seen that I’ve been a part of with the national team,” Mariappa said.
“It shows that with a bit of composure there is quality there and we can hurt teams, so it’s just about building. We are not going to get too ahead of ourselves because at the end of the day it is a draw, we should have kept the clean sheet,” he added.
“The attitude from everyone was spot on and that’s the first thing you need, that always gives you a chance and a base to play from.”
The majority of the team will arrive back on the island on Sunday.
Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz were held to a 1-1 draw by World Cup hosts Qatar in the team’s final game of the Austria mini football tournament at the Wiener Neustadt Arena on Friday.
After a scoreless first half, it was the Jamaicans who took the lead when Jourdane Fletcher found the back of the net in the 70th minute. The team, however, failed to hold on to the lead after Qatar's Khaled Muneer found an equalizer in the 83rd minute. The match followed up on a 3-0 defeat to Morocco earlier this week.
Interim Jamaica coach Merron Gordon credits tactical adjustments from the first fixture and a bit more luck for a more positive result in the second.
“The technical staff really planned this out in terms of tactically how we would approach the game. I think we got it right tactically right the last time as we but we were unfortunate, so we knew as long as we could build on that we would get it right today,” Gordon said following the match.
“Probably with a bit more concentration we wouldn’t give up that goal and we would have probably won the game and with a bit more luck on the transitional plays we could have scored a few more goals as well, but it was good. This Qatar team has all the resources in the world and we are still just an emerging team.”
Reigning 200m World Champion Shericka Jackson has admitted that the crushing disappointment of failing to advance out of the first round of her pet event at last year’s Toyko Olympic Games provided fuel to ignite a stellar 2022.
Jackson, one of the favourites to win the race in the Toyko, failed to advance beyond the first round of the event after miscalculating badly in the heats. After leading the race comfortably for most of the way, the sprinter eased up before the line and was passed by two other athletes.
One year later, however, there would be no such mistakes as she not only advanced from the preliminary round but went on to clock a blistering 21.45 to take gold in the World Championship final. The time was the second fastest ever clocked over the distance behind Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 21.34.
In addition, however, Jackson also claimed the silver medal behind celebrated compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the 100m. Her time of 10.71 was a huge personal best and made her the 6th fastest woman of all time.
“I worked really hard this year. Last year not advancing in the 200m made me mentally strong. Last year’s loss for me in the 200m took a toll because the 200 is my favorite event and not the 100,” Jackson told members of the media, ahead of Thursday’s Lausanne Diamond League meet.
“For me not to be able to advance made me work extremely hard this year. I got stronger in the gym and I think that paid off in my running 21.4.”
Jackson will face off against Fraser-Pryce and their compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah in a fiery Diamond League clash set for Thursday in Lausanne.
Guyana’s Ramon Chan-A-Sue was returned unopposed as president of the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) during the association’s Annual General Meeting held at the Liguanea Club in Kingston on Wednesday, August 24.
Janet Sairsingh of the Cayman Islands was elected vice president while Kevin Hannaway of St Vincent and the Grenadines was elected secretary. Bermuda’s Nick Kyme is the treasurer. Each of the eight-member countries will appoint a director before October 2022.
During the AGM it was decided that the junior and senior championships will be held in 2023. However, a host nation will be selected by October 2022. At those championships that a doubles category will be added for the junior Championships, while women over 60 will play in the senior championship.
Veteran Jamaica Reggae Boyz defender Adrian Mariappa has branded the team's recent 3-0 loss to Morocco in the Austria Mini Football Tournament, on Wednesday, as a valuable learning experience.
The team that consisted of mostly players based in Jamaica, for the most part, struggled to keep up with their African counterparts who created plenty of opportunities before goals from Ahmad Hammoudan (33), Mohamed Nahiri (74th), and Reda Slim (80th) decided the contest.
With several players making their debut and a few more with just a handful of appearances, Mariappa who has logged 64 caps for Jamaica, insists it’s all just part of the valuable learning process.
“We were disappointed with the result but there were plenty of positives to take out of the game. Playing against good opposition who have been together a long time, we only came together recently…a lot of guys were making debuts, just playing with each other. It was a learning experience,” Mariappa said.
“It was good for the boys to gain experience playing against good sides on decent pitches as well and to able to show what they can bring to the table,” he added.
The Reggae Boyz will next be in action when they play against World Cup hosts Qatar on Friday.
Four new players have been called to Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz 23-player squad for their international friendly against South Korea at the at Hwaseong Sports Complex on September 3 and a ‘practice match on September 6.
Nineteen-year-old forward Kameron Simmonds, 17-year-old goalkeeper Liya Brooks, 28-year-old defender Sioban Wilson and defender Maliah Atkins are the new players that will be vying for spots on Jamaica’s senior women’s team that has already qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
The call-ups add depth to a strong unit, most of which were members of the World Cup qualifying squad, even though there are a few absentees because of injury.
As part of his stated policy, Coach Lorne Donaldson will be using this opportunity and other windows this year to look at other players who were not involved in the recent World Cup qualifiers.
The full squad includes Sydney Schneider, Yazmeen Jamieson, Chantelle Swaby, Allyson Swaby, Vyan Sampson, Chinyelu Asher, Kayla McCoy, Atlanta Primus, Marlo Sweatman, Khadija Shaw, Tierney Wiltshire, Drew Spence, Mireya Grey, Trudi Carter, Olufolasade Adamolekun, Deneisha Blackwood, Tiffany Cameron, Shania Hayles, Kameron Simmonds, Liya Brooks, Siobhan Wilson, Giselle Washington and Maliah Atkins.
The squad and the technical staff are scheduled to assemble in Hwaseong on August 30.
Jamaica’s Chris Binnie won a record10th singles title at the Caribbean Senior Squash Championships being held in Jamaica on Tuesday, August 23.
Coming off his recent standout performance against Toronto FC, Reggae Boy and Inter Miami CF defender Damion Lowe has been named to the MLS Team of the Week presented by Audi for Week 26 of the 2022 MLS regular season.
Interim Jamaica Reggae Boyz head coach Merron Gordon insists he was pleased with the team’s performance, in light of limited preparation time, despite a 3-0 loss to Morocco on Tuesday.
Goals from Ahmad Hamoudan (33rd), Mohammed Nahiri (73rd), and Reda Slim (80th) saw the contest, which took place at the Ernst Happel Stadium, end up as a very one-sided one with the African team dominating the majority of the major categories.
Although they struggled to really get forward the mostly local Jamaica contingent at times proved difficult to break down and kept its shape well. For Gordon, those were encouraging signs given the limited time the team had to prepare for the tournament.
“Tactically, in terms of discipline, I think we had it with our compactness. I think they couldn’t really play through our lines most of the time but the longer the game goes is the more you realise the fitness will show,” Gordon said after the match.
“The muscular strength will show also because those guys were very strong, the Moroccans. I think we did well. With the limited time of preparation, I think we really responded well.
The Jamaicans will be back in action on Friday when they face Qatar in their second match.
An understrength Jamaica Reggae Boyz proved to be no match for World Cup-bound Morocco who cruised to a 3-0 win in the Austria Mini Football Tournament at the Ernst Happel Stadium on Tuesday.
Although the Jamaicans put together periods of enterprising play, it was the Moroccans who the more dominant from the outset and looked more likely to take the lead.
Ahmad Hamoudan ensured that they did take advantage of their early domination, in the 33rd minute, slotting the ball past Jamaica custodian Amal Knight at the far post.
Despite creating few chances, the Jamaicans continued to remain defensively resolute but were undone by another defensive error in the 73rd minute. Experienced defender Jason Mariappa was forced to bring down a surging Ahmad Hamoudan in the penalty area. Mohammed Nahiri slotted the resulting spot kick past Knight to double the lead.
Morocco continued to press to increase the lead and finally did so when Reda Slim was picked out at the post from a deft cross and headed the ball into the back of the net in the 80th minute.
The Jamaicans will next be in action against World Cup hosts Qatar on Friday at 10:00 am.
Early challenges faced by the Jamaican contingent when they arrived in the Bahamas week, have not prevented the 39-member team from racking up medals at the 2022 NACAC Open Championships.
Distance runner Adelle Tracey was delighted to celebrate her first medal for Jamaica, a bronze, in the women’s 800m, at the 2022 NACAC Championships in the Bahamas on Saturday.
The athlete, who switched allegiance from Great Britain to Jamaica in June, made her debut at the IAAF World Championships but was unable to take part in the Commonwealth Games earlier this month due to protocols surrounding the international transfer.
The athlete was, however, able to return to the track for the NACAC Games where she finished third in the women’s 800m behind the US pair of Ajee and Allie Wilson. Ajee finished just ahead of her compatriot Allie in a photo finish 1:58.47 to 1:58.48.
The Jamaican finished third in 1:59.54 only her second time under 2 minutes, behind her personal best, which came at the IAAF World Championship in Eugene, Oregon in July. Tracey was delighted with the result and performance.
“Ajee set a really tough pace from the get-go, that was great for me because I actually ran my second fastest time. It was very hot today, it’s super windy. I just made it hard but there is a lot of travel in my legs,” Tracey said after the race.
“I was kind of hoping it would have been a bit more tactical but that was a really honest race and there are some really fast girls in there so I’m really happy with it,” she added.
The distance runner was also delighted to have made the trip.
"It feels like a really special place and this is my first medal as a Jamaican athlete as well, so, I really love the Bahamas.”
The Jamaicans also picked up other medals on the night when Olympic bronze medalist Megan Tapper claimed silver in the women’s 100m hurdles and another bronze for Orlando Bennett in the men’s 110m hurdles.
Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson easily justified her status as a heavy favourite for the women’s 100m title after dominating the event at the 2022 NACAC Championships, in Grand Bahama, the Bahamas on Saturday.
The 200m World Champion and 100m silver medallist has clocked some blistering times over both distances this season. The trend continued in Saturday’s final as she blasted out of the blocks and quickly put away the competition before stopping the clock at 10.83.
The United States Celera Barnes was second in 11.10 with another Jamaican Natasha Morrison third in 11.11. The race was run in a -0.1 headwind.
In the men’s equivalent, Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake also put in a dominant performance as he was the only athlete in the field to crack the 10-second barrier. Blake led the pack to the line in 9.98, comfortably ahead of the United State’s Kyree King who was second in 10.08, and his compatriot Brandon Charles who was third in 10.12.
Elsewhere, the Jamaicans took the runner-up spot behind the United States in the 4x400m mixed relays. The event was won by the United States in 3:12.05, with the Jamaicans second in 3:14.08.
Earlier, Adelle Tracey won her first ever medal for Jamaica when she finished third in the 800m in 1:59.54. The USA’s Ajee Wilson won the gold medal in a keen battle with teammate Allie Wilson. Ajee won by 0.01 seconds clocking 1:58.47 to Allie’s 1:58.48.
Jamaica won two more medals in the sprint hurdles.
Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper ran 12.68 for silver in the 100m hurdles that the USA’s Alaysha Johnson won in 12.62. Hometown girl Devynne Charlton ran 12.71 for the bronze medal.
In the 110m hurdles, Orlando Bennett ran a season-best 13.18 to win the bronze medal.
The USA’s Freddie Crittenden won in a fast 13.00 while holding off compatriot Jamal Britt, who finished in 13.08.
Interim Jamaica Reggae Boyz coach Merron Gordon has hailed the upcoming Austria Mini Football Tournament as an excellent opportunity for players on the fringe of the national team to get a taste of international football.
The national team, who has already settled in Vienna, will play in fixtures against World Cup-bound teams Qatar and Morocco over the next few days. Originally, the team also had a match scheduled against Ghana but the fixture was cancelled after the African team failed to arrive at the tournament on time.
With matches falling outside of the FIFA international friendly window, the team will be without its first team players. As a result, Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has called up a majority squad based in Jamaica, with many of them playing in the island’s premier football league.
Gordon, who has taken charge of the team on a temporary basis, believes the inexperienced unit will benefit greatly from the competition.
“The most important thing is for the boys to go out there and do the best they can. I said to the Boyz, don’t just come here because you were called. Your talent brought you here, you need to prove to the world that you belong here,” Gordon told members of the media on Friday.
“In a competition like this where you have three teams that are going to the World Cup and we are going to play them with some boys that are just being exposed to international football, I think that’s a good thing.”
Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz will play one game less for the upcoming mini tournament in Austria following the cancelation of the team’s fixture against Ghana.
Originally, the 23-man squad, who arrived for the Austria Mini Football Tournament in Vienna on Wednesday, were expected to have fixtures against Ghana, Qatar, and Morocco on the 20th, 23rd, and 26th.
With the rest of the teams already settled in, however, the African nation Ghana is yet to arrive. As a result, Jamaica’s fixture that was scheduled to be played against Ghana on Saturday has been cancelled. Ghana is still expected to take part in the tournament as they are scheduled to arrive on the island on Saturday.
Jamaica's fixtures against Morocco on the 23rd and Qatar on the 26th are scheduled to go ahead. The tournament will kick off with Morocco vs Qatar on Saturday. The majority locally-based squad will be managed by newly appointed interim coach Merron Gordon.
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