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Donaldson expects good show from Girlz in CFU Qualifiers

Published:Friday | August 24, 2018 | 12:00 AMMarc Stamp/Gleaner Writer
Shaw
Coach Lorne Donaldson
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Lorne Donaldson, assistant coach of Jamaica senior women's team, says it will be very important to get off to a winning start against Antigua and Barbuda when the teams meet in the CONCACAF Caribbean Union World Cup Qualifiers final stage at the National Stadium today, starting at 6 p.m.

In the curtain-raiser, Cuba will challenge Trinidad and Tobago at 3 p.m.

The teams are competing for three spots in the CONCACAF stage scheduled for the United States of America in October.

"We are playing an opponent we know little about so we will just focus on ourselves. It is very, very important to get off to a winning start. The girls are preparing well and fully focused on the tournament. Our mission is to come out and play at a high level," Donaldson told The Gleaner yesterday.

"Once we settle down we should get the job done," he added.

The Jamaica team participated in the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Colombia last month, where they went down to Venezuela and Costa Rica. However, they won the final group game against the hosts, and Donaldson believes that the Reggae Girlz benefited a lot although they failed to advance beyond the group stage.

"It was very good to play against top level teams. It was very important to play in the CAC Games as we got the chance to look at a few players," he said.

Jamaica squad: Davia Smith (Waterhouse), Kevena Reid (Olympic Gardens), Gabrielle Gayle (SC Monarchs), Sasha Campbell (Maccabi Hrishronot Hadera) , Chris-Ann Chambers (UWI), Jody Brown (St Ann Women), Sydney Schnieder (Match Fit Academy), Lauren Silver (unattached), Konya Plummer (Florida Kraze Krush), Deneisha Blackwood (Florida Kraze Krush) , Chantelle Swaby (Rutgers University) , Jody Brown (Montverd Academy), Khadija Shaw (University of Tennessee), Ashleigh Shim (unattached), Jadyn Matthews (Cornell University) , Marlo Sweatman (unattached), Chinyelu Asher (Washington Spirit), Toriana Patterson (TTI Blue Bonnetts), Giselle Washington (Concord Fire), Truidi Carter (unattached), Christina Chang (Miami Surge FC), Yazmeen Jamieson (Sanjaxx SC), Allyson Swaby (Hottur) and Dominique Bond-Flasza (PSV Eindhoven).