A 16th minute strike by Shamar Nicholson proved the difference as Jamaica's senior Reggae Boyz edged Dominican Republic 1-0 to open their Concacaf World Cup qualifying account on a positive note at the National Stadium on Thursday.

Nicholson’s strike, his 17th international goal and third in World Cup qualifiers, highlighted an unsatisfactory evening for Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side, as the defence was at times vulnerable, while the wasteful attacking front was marred by a lack of composure and poor decision-making in the final third. This was much to the disappointment of the sizeable crowd which surprisingly turned out despite the early kickoff and rainfall.

Still, for Hallgrimsson, the most important outcome was securing the three points, which propelled the Boyz to second in Group E on three points, same as leaders Guatemala, who hammered Dominica 6-0 in their opening clash on Wednesday.

“We should have finished it off, but when you are winning 1-0, it's always uncomfortable because then it only needs a corner or a freekick and the ball goes in. So you never kind of feel relaxed, but we should have killed the game off with the chances we got. Apart from that, it (our performance) was below par, and we can do much better than we did today,” Hallgrimsson said in a post-game interview.

“But given a lot of these players are coming back from not playing, it was kind of given that some of them would not be ready for a competitive match right away. We can for sure improve from this performance, but the most important thing is that we got the win and we kept a clean sheet,” he added.

After a cagey start by both teams, the Jamaicans eventually showed some attacking intent in the 12th minute through the fleet-footed Renaldo Cephas, who utilised his pace to good effect to breach Dominican Republic's defence, but he couldn't get on target at that point.

Dominican Republic tried to play their game, through steady and penetrative build ups, and it was one of those attempts to open up in attack that allowed the Jamaicans to break the deadlock on the counter. This, as Cephas won possession on the break and left the last defender in his wake on his way into the 18-yard box where he played a pass across goal to Nicholson, who applied a cool finish beyond custodian Miguel Lloyd.

The Boyz tried to press the ascendancy from there, but were unable to make their dominance in possession count, as their star man Michail Antonio was subjected to heavy physical treatment throughout. In fact, the Jamaicans next best chance of the first half was courtesy of Bobby Reid's 33rd-minute freekick from just outside the 18-yard box, which went just wide of the left upright.

Much like they did at the start, both teams were again slow into rhythm on the resumption, as both lacked enterprise in their build ups, and as such, failed to create anything meaningful in the attacking third.

It was until the 72nd minute that the Jamaicans again came to life when Cephas’s blistering pace down the left channel forced Luiyi De Lucas to take fell him inside the danger area and gift the Jamaicans a penalty. However, Reid couldn't make the 12-yard kick count as his effort went at a decent height for Lloyd to parry.

Eight minutes later, Reid again unleashed Cephas, who had Deshane Beckford alongside him in a two-on-one counter, but the former selfishly hogged possession and inevitably had his tame effort blocked by the advancing Lloyd.

Though they continued to threatening in a sustained attacking spell in the latter stages of the contest, the Jamaicans were found wanting in the decision-making which robbed them of any real opportunity to add to their tally.

Hallgrimsson, obviously under no illusions, acknowledged some flaws that he hopes to address heading into Sunday’s encounter away to Dominica.  

It should be placed in the context that the Icelandic coach was without a number of his first choice players –Demarai Gray, Amari’i Bell, Joel Latibeaudiere, Ethan Pinnock, Andre Blake and Dujuan Richards –due to injury, while Leon Bailey remains unavailable. Hence, the Boyz looked unimpressive.

“We were very slow. Everything that we did was low tempo. I think in the second half it got better, we created more chances with buildup play and creation, but in general, it was too slow for my taste. These strikers, for example, with all their individual quality, are not used to playing in a two striker formation,” Hallgrimsson reasoned.

“So we just need time to get them to sink a little bit better. But in general with the ball, we were not good. Slow tempo, even defending first half was slow tempo, so we gave them the time that they needed to be good. So I would just say we need to up the tempo in everything that we are doing. But you are correct, attacking decision-making is not good enough,” he noted.

Reggae Boyz forward Renaldo Cephas expects the team’s mentality and mindset to serve them well as they aim to make history in the semi-finals of the Concacaf Nations League.

Jamaica will be looking to make it to their first Nations League final when they tackle defending champions USA at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas on Thursday.

“I’m happy that I’m here to try and make history for Jamaica,” Cephas said in an interview on Tuesday.

“I think with the players mindset and mentality right now, we will do well in this game,” he added.

The 24-year-old made his debut for the Reggae Boyz in a Nations League fixture against Honduras on September 9 last year at the National Stadium in Kingston.

He played eight minutes in the game that Jamaica won 1-0.

“That was a great moment. To know that the coach believed in me and put me out there made me so happy,” he said.

Cephas was also an unused substitute in a 2-2 draw against Haiti at the same venue four days later.

This marks the first time he’s been called up to the national squad since those games.

“It’s a good feeling to be back with the national team. We have great players here so I’m really happy to be back,” he said.

At club level, Cephas is currently representing Turkish Super Lig club MKE Ankaragucu. He started his career with Jamaica Premier League club Arnett Gardens from 2019-2022 before moving to Macedonian club Shkupi.

He spent only one season there, scoring 11 goals in 29 games before moving to Ankaragucu in 2023.

This season, he has scored three goals and had three assists in 27 games as his club currently sits 16^th out of 20 teams in the league.

“It’s good in Turkey because I’ve been there a good while now. The players are like my family no so I think I’m well settled there. I think next season I can do some great things in Turkey,” he said before comparing the football in Turkey to Macedonia.

“It’s a different level of football. Turkey is much better. You have top players playing in Turkey whereas in Macedonia you don’t really have that,” he said.

You can watch the semi-finals of the Concacaf Nations League live on SportsMax on March 21.

After being initially left out for what Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson described as a lack of match fitness, young star Dujuan ‘Whisper’ Richards has been added to the senior Reggae Boyz squad for their upcoming Concacaf Nations League games against Grenada and Haiti.

Richards, who will celebrate his 18th birthday on Wednesday was called up, as a number of players are faced with injuries, among other challenges, ahead of Thursday's fixture against the Spice Boys.

Right-back Javain Brown is out due to injury, and Adrian Mariappa has relinquished his place in the squad due to personal reasons, while Renaldo Cephas is out due to flight challenges.

Meanwhile, striker Michail Antonio, though still in the squad, will only contest the game against Haiti in Trinidad and Tobago, on Sunday.

The 56th-ranked Jamaicans, who bettered Honduras 1-0 and came-from-behind for a 2-2 stalemate with Haiti, both at the National Stadium, currently sit atop Group B in League A on four points, same as second-placed Cuba.

Victories in both games, would guarantee Hallgrimsson’s side a spot in next month’s quarter-final where they would face Canada or Costa Rica, provided Cuba does not surpass them on goal difference, should they too win their two encounters.

If the Boyz were to finish in the runners-up position, they would have United States or Mexico to contend with in their hunt for a Copa America berth.

Squad: Andre Blake, Kemar Foster, Jahmali Waite, Javain Brown, Tayvon Gray, Di’Shon Bernard, Michael Hector, Greg Leigh, Adrian Mariappa, Damion Lowe, Dexter Lembikisa, Bobby Decordova Reid, Daniel Johnson, Joel Latibeaudiere, Kevon Lambert, Karoy Anderson, Demario Phillips, Michail Antonio, Leon Bailey, Demarai Gray, Shamar Nicholson, Romario Williams, Renaldo Cephas