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• Champions Cup-bound Frazsiers Whip players left behind• Coach asks corporate Jamaica for more support
Published:Wednesday | September 4, 2024 | 12:11 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
THE HIGH cost of travel and accommodation has left Frazsiers Whip three squad players short for their Concacaf Women’s Champions Cup game away to Monterey of Mexico tomorrow, leaving coach Christopher Dowdy calling for corporate support.
Dowdy pointed that the absent young girls will be missing out on vital international experience and exposure, even if there was the chance, they would not play.
“What we need to compete is the support. We definitely need support from corporate Jamaica. We took 21 girls for the first game. Now we are being reduced to a maximum of 18 and that is because it is really expensive to travel. So for us, it is to have the support,” he said.
No other choice
He pointed out that it was painful leaving the three young ladies behind but insisted they had no other choice.
“We definitely had to make a decision from the 21 girls that travelled the last time to 18. Those girls are definitely missing out on some vital experience and exposure, as the aim is to see how best we can prepare and build for next year because we are aiming to go again next year, and playing and getting experience at this level will give them more confidence, “ he added.
Frazsiers Whip were blanked 5-0 in their debut game against Costa Rican club Alajuelense last Tuesday, Dowdy pointing out that the experience was a great eye-opener for a lot of the girls, most of whom are still schoolgirls, and who had not played at the professional level before. That experience, Dowdy explained, was used to guide their preparations and approach for tomorrow’s encounter.
“We would have taken a lot from the first game. It was an eye-opener for the girls, playing at that level for the first time.
“They got a real feel of what it is like playing against professional players, playing at high quality and the pace and the atmosphere are different
“So it definitely was a baptism but there were more positives than negatives. But it also showed us areas that we need to improve on,” he explained.
Although Dowdie says they have a lot to improve on, he also believes application of the players on the day can give them a positive outcome.
“We are taking 17, 18-year-old schoolgirls to play against professional players. But we are doing well and we, the coaching staff, are pleased with the performance.
“It is our first time in such a big tournament and these girls are playing at this level for the first time and the level at which they have been playing and the performances they are putting in, we are pleased. But there’s definitely work to be done and things we can improve on.
“But it it is how you apply yourself. Our team is full of talent. The team that we are going to play against is similar to the last one. So that is a positive for us.”