Exposure against South Korean style a plus
Reggae Girlz coach takes positives from 1-0 defeat to Asian team
Published:Sunday | September 4, 2022 | 12:11 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
NATIONAL INTERIM women’s head coach Lorne Donaldson says that, despite Jamaica’s 1-0 defeat to South Korea in Saturday’s international friendly, he is more focused on how the team responds to unfamiliar situations in their preparations for the Women’s World Cup.
Choe Yu-ri scored the only goal of the game in the 13th minute as the Reggae Girlz could not break the resistance of the ‘Taegek Ladies’ at the Hwaseong Sports Complex Stadium in South Korea.
The first of the two-game series with the Koreans was valuable for Donaldson, who said it was important for them to see how they reacted to a different style of play, which he said caused them difficulties in adjusting.
Good competition
“Playing the Koreans, we are not used to playing this style of football. We want to get used to it. We don’t know in the World Cup draw who we are going to play. So we want to at least have a look at it. But we are here to get some good competition in and get some good evaluation, and that is what we are doing. And we are not going to change that,” Donaldson said.
The starting line-up saw familiar faces from the team that helped Jamaica qualify for back-to-back Women’s World Cup last July, but also saw England-born Siobhan Wilson make her international debut in the centre of defence, with Allyson Swaby.
Donaldson said that while it was a difficult start, he was pleased with how they responded defensively and is more focused on the continuity of the team rather than the result.
“I think, the first half, we were very tentative. We gave up a goal which we shouldn’t have. We gave up the ball in the midfield and we got punished. Second half, we came out and it was a much better (performance). We might have scored but that’s football,” Donaldson said. “But we will make some adjustments. Winning is good but sometimes just evaluating and seeing what you have, that is what we are here for, playing good competition.”
End product
Goalkeeper Sydney Schneider, who was making her first start since February, said that while not pleased with the end product, it is part of the process of ensuring that they are prepared mentally and physically for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
“Not the result we wanted but we put up a good fight. We are working on things that we need to work on. These are the times to work on them and make the mistakes that we need to, rather than on the big stage like the World Cup, for example,” Schenider said.
Donaldson guaranteed that those who did not feature in the first game will get their opportunity to impress in Tuesday’s second game of the series, as they look to continue the evaluation process, as he looks to further cement the group that he believes can make a difference next year.
“We are just looking at them because they are here. And that is why we brought them here, so that we can have a good look at them. We have to make some decisions going forward for the next two windows,” Donaldson said.