Gordon wants improved attacking display vs Qatar
Published:Friday | August 26, 2022 | 12:09 AM
In their final game of the four-team tournament in Austria, national senior men’s coach Merron Gordon says that he is looking for a more improved offensive display from his new-look Reggae Boyz in their continued education at the international level.
Jamaica will face Qatar today at 10 a.m. Jamaica time at the Wiener Neustadt Arena in Vienna, hoping for an improved showing from their 3-0 defeat to Morocco on Tuesday.
The Qatar friendly will bring to a close a two-week exercise in which the squad comprised of mainly locally based players has been evaluated and challenged, as some got their first taste of international football.
While pleased with the tactical discipline on display from the recruits in phases on Tuesday, Gordon is hoping for a better attacking performance which saw them only attempt two shots against the Moroccans.
“Moving to the next game we have to get that part right also and build offensively when we have the ball. That is something that we are attempting to do but with the short period of time to get the cohesion and the understanding of things right we are trying to keep it as simple as possible,” Gordon said. “ We might not have gotten to possess the ball as much as we want to but at the same time, we have to play within our limitations. We know where our fitness levels are so we can’t over-commit and overrun ourselves out of the game.”
IN A BETTER POSITION
Gordon said that the lack of match fitness of some of the players took its toll in the defeat, with some players in the middle of their pre-season programmes. While under no illusions about the challenge that Qatar present, he says that the knowledge gained by the team will put them in a much better position to adjust quickly to the speed at the international level.
“We are going there to give our best showing possible. After getting that game out of the way against Morocco some of these boys now understand the pace of international football and things won’t really surprise them much now,” Gordon said. “But this Qatar team has been together for a while so I know that they are going to have good cohesion. They are going to have a good playing style in how they really want to achieve things. But we are going out there to compete and compete proudly for our country.”
Veteran defender Adrian Mariappa said that Qatar will provide an excellent measuring stick for the new players in how they deal with a team that has their sole focus on the World Cup in November.
“Obviously, they have been together for a long time. They have had an extended camp because the World Cup is in Qatar so they want to do as well as they can. It’s just about our preparation. This whole tournament is a learning process and it’s for persons to gain experience and show what they can do,” Mariappa said.