Busby pleased with win, frustrated with lack of goals

Reggae Girlz head coach Hubert Busby praised his players for their perfect run in Group B of the Concacaf W Qualifiers, but was left frustrated with their performance in front of goal in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Guyana at the National Stadium.

The Girlz closed out group action with a perfect record, picking up their fourth-straight win and topping the group with a maximum 12 points.

However, the main talking point from Saturday’s victory was the poor finishing from the team.

The Girlz dominated on the night, taking 36 shots, 16 of which were on target, but only scored twice.

After the game, Busby said he was pleased with the win but felt the Girlz deserved a lot more, based on their performance.

“[I’m] only really frustrated from the aspect of the players obviously deserve more,” the Reggae Girlz boss explained.

“So, we’re frustrated in the sense that I think we could have put the game away earlier, but obviously pleased with the performance in terms of how we managed the game.”

Busby said, despite ending with a goal difference of +25 from four games, profligacy has been a recurring concern they are focused on fixing.

Jamaica opened their campaign with a dominant 18-0 win over Dominica, but, in their last three games, they have only scored nine goals from a combined 103 attempts.

This means the Girlz have converted just under nine per cent of their chances in their last three outings.

Busby said the team will need to be better at putting away their chances, but is pleased to see they still have the quality to get the job done.

“Something that we’ve been, for last couple of games, trying to ensure is that we’re better in front of goal and that we’re a little more clinical,” he said.

“In fairness, the goalkeeper made one or two saves which obviously were credit to her. But, again, it’s just a little bit more clinical in front of goal would have obviously changed the game,” he continued.

“Goals change games and allows for us to get on the ball a bit more and move it and manage it a bit. But, at the end of the day, we found a way to get over the line and that’s a good sign of a team.”

WORLD CUP AMBITIONS

With the win, the Girlz have booked their spot at the Concacaf W Championship and are now one win away from a third-straight World Cup qualification.

Busby said the goal now is to ensure each player continues to improve at their individual clubs and colleges and remain focused on their task of qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup

“As I say to them all the time, it’s not about perfection, it’s about us making progress and you can see how we’re looking to play and we get better each and every game,” Busby said.

“You can see, once they come into camp, they’re in a good frame of mind, but they’re sharp and ready to go. So I think it’s really important and incumbent upon them when they go back into environments that they are playing, they’re doing well, and continue to push to [increase the] level,” he continued.

“We’re turning and looking to what happens within the June window and looking to maximise those two games in terms of preparation.”

The W Championship will be played in November this year, and will serve as the qualification tournament for the 2027 Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com