Pressing on
Whitmore searches for second Gold Cup win in spite of COVID-19 case in camp
Published:Friday | July 16, 2021 | 12:10 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
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National senior men’s football team head coach Theodore Whitmore says despite a case of COVID-19 within the camp, he has confidence in the strength of his team to fend off the challenge of Guadeloupe on match-day two of Group C at the Concacaf Gold...
National senior men’s football team head coach Theodore Whitmore says despite a case of COVID-19 within the camp, he has confidence in the strength of his team to fend off the challenge of Guadeloupe on match-day two of Group C at the Concacaf Gold Cup.
The Reggae Boyz face the Gwada Boys in the first of a doubleheader at the Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida, at 5:30 p.m. Jamaica time. A win would put Jamaica into the quarterfinals. Jamaica defeated Suriname 2-0 in their opener while Guadeloupe lost 3-1 to Costa Rica.
Whitmore now faces personnel decisions as a member of the squad tested positive for COVID-19 and is in isolation. In his press conference yesterday, Whitmore described the situation as unfortunate but says that his team has the quality to step in and step up.
“We know that it is a pandemic time, so we just have to prepare to deal with these sorts of situations,” Whitmore said. “We have 22 players at our disposal. As much as we would love to have the player, I think we have capable replacements, and we are looking forward to the game.”
Despite their win, Whitmore said that he felt that the team played the second half against Suriname “in pieces”. He says that he is looking for a more complete performance, which he hopes will bring better continuity from the squad.
WORKING ON TEAM CHEMISTRY
“[The Suriname game] was a hard game for us, especially the second half,” he said. “The chemistry, the cohesion is something that we are going to take into consideration going into the game [today].
“The Guadeloupe team is a very technical team. They have good technical players. We know that it is going to be tough, but again, I think we are up for it.”
Guadeloupe head coach Jocelyn Angloma said that despite the defeat in their opener, he was pleased with the way his team attacked and challenged Costa Rica offensively, positives he hopes his team will take into their encounter with the Reggae Boyz today.
“The mentality is to keep what we have been showing against Costa Rica and we need to win,” he said. “It will be a bit of a fight. Jamaica are a very strong team, physically. They can play football. Several players play in England, so we know what we are facing.
“But as we showed against Costa Rica, we played them neck and neck. Now we have to do everything we can to win and continue to hope to qualify in this Gold Cup.”
Both Jamaica and Costa Rica are on three points entering their second-round games while Suriname and Guadeloupe are without points. Costa Rica and Suriname will face each other in the second game at 7:30 p.m. Jamaica time.