Young Reggae Girlz ready for Bermuda – coach
Published:Sunday | April 24, 2022 | 12:12 AMLivingston Scott - Gleaner Writer
JAMAICA UNDER-17 women’s coach, Dane Chambers, said the team has prepared well for Bermuda, who the young Reggae Girlz play today in the Concacaf U17 Women’s Championship taking place in the Dominican Republic from April 23-May 8.
Chambers said they have reviewed video footage of the team and have worked on tactics to counter their preferred long-ball game and he believes the young ladies are ready for the task at hand.
“We’ve watched some clips of this Bermuda team from their U15s and their style of play.
“We have been working on those things at our last two camps and the players have adapted to the system very well.
“They (Bermuda) are mostly a direct team. They play few passes and then go long. So we were in camp trying to adjust to that long ball over the top and once we can react well to the first and second balls, I think things will be okay for us.
“The players are ready. There are no injury worries and we are going to play our game and let them adjust to us,” he said.
The core of this present group of players defeated the Bermudians in an under-15 round of 16 match in a previous tournament, but Chambers has cautioned his team not to take them lightly because of this fact.
“They (Girlz) are banking on the fact that they defeated them in the under-15s. But I keep reminding them that players grow and new players come in. We cannot bank on that but still we have to be confident.
RELAXED AND FOCUSED
“For the first game there will be some butterflies but, as a coaching staff, we are trying to get them to relax and be comfortable and to stay focused on the task ahead.
“We are going out for a win. It is the first game and we would like to start with a win and hopefully we can build momentum from there,” he stated.
The top three teams from each of the four-team groups will qualify for the round of 16, where they will be joined by four teams from the Concacaf Championship qualifiers.
The top 16 ranked countries in the confederation received automatic berth to the championship.
Chambers expects the team to advance from the group and ultimately challenge for one of the top three places, which would book them a spot in the World Cup in India in October.
“Our chances are as good as anybody. We just have to play our cards right and make full use of the opportunity to beat these teams and just take it one game at a time.
“We are prepared to go the distance and if the opportunity presents itself, we will grab it,” he said.
Jamaica will play the host next on Tuesday before closing out the group stage against Canada on Thursday.