Sterner test awaits fast-starting U14s

After a comfortable 4-0 win over St Kitts and Nevis in their opening Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Boys’ U14 Challenger Series Group C, Tier I game, in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica coach Vassell Reynolds believes they will be up for a sterner test against Aruba, at 9 a.m. today.

The young Reggae Boyz, with a brace from Tai-Sean Headley (36th and 47th) and a goal each from Kylon Gayle (eighth) and Basil Trail (52nd), eased their way past the Kittitians, to lead the group ahead of Curaçao and Aruba, who drew 1-1.

However, Reynolds expects things will be tougher against the Arubans today.

“When we did our assessment of the three (other) teams in the preliminary round, we always think St Kitts would be the weakest of the three.

“We are certain the Aruba team will give us stiffer competition. We saw them for a little while (Monday), as both games were played simultaneously. We took a little glimpse and we have a few notes we will be looking at, but we expect them to offer more of a challenge than the St Kitts team offered,” he said.

He noted that at times they were a bit complacent in possession and got caught on the counter-attack.

“We have to be more disciplined and mindful of that. Of course, we need to hold our composure and make better decisions in the final third, and there are periods we need to manage the ball a little better,” he continued.

Nevertheless, he believes that with the first game now under their belt, they will only get better.

“We have to improve our performance overall, but I believe with the first game out of the way, the boys will come out and perform even better.

“We just want to stick to our task and practise what we would have trained and remain disciplined and I know that would give us a better performance, and hopefully, that will give us the desired result,” he said

He pointed out that with the teams scheduled to play daily, they have to be very strategic in how they approach the competition.

“The next game comes fast and quick tomorrow (today), and there are areas we will look at in our team assessment meeting.

“We don’t have any time to go on the pitch and practise. The least we can do is talk about it and use our system to show the fellows, to get them in a better shape.”