Lowe, Bell upbeat despite sluggish Nations League start

STAND-IN CAPTAIN of the Reggae Boyz, Damion Lowe, believes, despite a sluggish Concacaf Nations League A start against Honduras in their opening fixture, the team grew into its own.

That slow start, Lowe chalks up to not having extensive training session on what was a poor National Stadium turf on Friday night.

“The first half was a bit slow, bumpy as we were getting used to the pitch. We only trained on it for like 45 minutes this week. That’s horrible, but we are professionals and we get paid to get the job done and we adapted,” said Lowe.

The Reggae Boyz registered a 1-0 victory, thanks to a 64th-minute strike from Al-Ettifaq’s new signing Demarai Gray.

Looking ahead, Lowe is simplifying the approach.

“The result was really good. It’s a tournament and we have to get points on the board. We have two more games left, so we just have to get the job done,” he said.

The 30-year-old centreback believes the crop of players head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has at his disposal is solid and should be confident ahead of a Haiti test that comes to the National Stadium on Tuesday.

“I think that the group we have is very good, as I think we have a 30-40-man roster. I think our game plan in the second half was really good. We executed well and I’m happy with how we worked hard. Now, we have a game under our belt together. We have a few days to recover and prepare for Haiti and that should be good,” said Lowe.

Teammate and defensive partner Amari’i Bell also believes the team should feel positive heading into their fixture against Haiti.

Still, Bell believes that, despite a clean sheet against Honduras for the first time since 2008, the defensive third still needed some work.

“I think we should be better defensively, as I felt that we were stretched at times. At the same time, we kept a clean sheet, so I know there’s something there. Defensively, as long as we build on that, then we’ll be okay,” said Bell.

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com