Young Boyz finish strong

Jamaica’s Under-15 Reggae Boyz ended the FIFA Under-15 World Cup and Festival on a winning note yesterday.

The young Boyz clipped El Salvador 3-2 in their playoff game at the Honved Competition Complex, in Baku, Azerbaijan to finish 63rd overall.

The young Reggae Boyz got their goals from Timothy Jones, Ramesh Simms and Steve Hewitt to see off their Concacaf opponents. After losing all their previous four matches in the Tier II tournament, Purser said the Boyz were under pressure mentally, to get a win.

“It’s a good feeling (to get the win). We’ve played 10 games through the short period of time and came up with five wins under our belts from the 10, which is significant.

“We deserve it and we are grateful for the opportunity. We know we could have done better but we are very grateful for the opportunity to play and for the boys to showcase their talent, “ he said.

“For this game, the boys were under so much pressure to win, and they did their thing. And, seeing that it was a Concacaf opponent, they really wanted to put their best foot on the field.

“That motivated them, despite the fact that we were playing two men short, as injuries stepped in and we had to leave out two players out of the 13.”

Nevertheless, he believes the tournament has had an enormous effect on the players, who he believes have gained a significant boost to their development.

“This tournament taught us a lot. In Jamaica, the boys peak at the schoolboy level but the performance and intensity of the international level is a far different ball game, and I am sure the boys will take this experience back into their environment and perform at a very high level.”

He added that, despite winning just one of five games in the Tier II tournament, the coaching staff is relatively satisfied with the performance of the young Boyz over the tournament.

“Pretty much satisfied. We are grateful. Bigger nations with more resources, if you check the rankings, teams like France were very far off us and they are one of the very big nations.

“We played quality football throughout the tournament, at a very high pace, and I think we are leaving in good stead. We can only build from here going forward.”

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com