Reggae Boyz 'family' returns to the island

After a disappointing exit at the semifinal stage of the Concacaf Gold Cup, courtesy of a 3-0 defeat to Mexico on Sunday, members of the local contingent returned to the island on Friday.

Despite the disappointment, assistant coach Merron Gordon, said the team laid a good foundation at the Gold Cup, which they can build on for the World Cup qualifying campaign.

"It is a building phase. We have grown over the last months and if we continue to build on what we have, we know we will get it right very soon.

"They are becoming a family and that is very important. Also how we organised ourselves every day, on and off the field is also something we are building on. So we are consistently building. Hopefully this can bear a lot of fruits for us in the future," he said.

The Reggae Boyz conceded after just two minutes, when they got caught on the counter and Henry Martin fired home from seven yards.

Luis Chavez then added a second with a well-taken freekick in the 30th minute before Roberto Alvarado sealed the deal in added time.

Gordon said the early goal pushed them on the backfoot and they never recovered.

"We are very disappointed. We are Jamaicans, always aiming for the top. But unfortunately the Mexicans had a better night than us. They had one extra day of recovery, so they were a little bit fresher than us. 

"Us starting the game so slowly. We lost a goal very early in the game and that just pushed us back and we never got back in the game," he said.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com 

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