Jamaica aim to rebound

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

After going down 4-2 to their impressive Canadian Under-17 counterparts in a friendly international at Jarrett Park on Sunday, Jamaica will be looking for a quick rebound when the teams meet in the second of two friendly games, again in Montego Bay, this afternoon at three o'clock.

In what was a clinical performance, the Canadians, displaying superior technical and tactical skills, proved much too strong for the Jamaicans, who were simply outclassed as man of the match, the wily left-footer, Keven Aleman (two goals), and Marco Lapenna and Jay Chapman scored for the visitors.

Romero Williams and Jason Wright scored for Jamaica.

"This Canadian team has been playing a lot of practice games, and this is our first game together, so it worked in their favour," said Jamaica's head coach, Wendell Downswell.

He added: "Despite our loss, I saw a few positive signs, so we will be aiming to give a much-improved performance in the second game."

General trickery

While the entire Canadian team played well, it was Aleman, whose dazzling dribbles, precise passing, and general trickery that sparked comparisons with the Argentine maestro Lionel Messi, who did the most to make a mockery of the feeble resistance put up by Jamaica.

Given their dominance in the first game, they are looking to put on an even better showing this afternoon.

"Now that we have seen the Jamaicans, we will be aiming to give an even better performance on Tuesday (today)," said Sean Fleming, coach of the Canada team.

"I know we can play because we did not convert many of the chances we created," he added.

After a somewhat tentative start, the Canadians gradually took control, with Aleman and Chapman leading the charge with their deft touches. They were rewarded in the 29th minute when Lapenna broke down the Jamaica defence with a smart dribble before firing home, making the score 1-0.

Canada made it 2-0 in the 34th minute when a torrid free-kick by Aleman flashed past the Jamaica wall, struck the outstretched hands of the diving goalkeeper, and crashed into the far right-hand corner of the goal.

Jamaica caught Canada napping on a counter-attack in the 35th minute and opened their account through Romero Williams, who took a perfect pass from Delroy Miller and fired home, making the score 2-1.

However, Canada were to have the last laugh in the half when Aleman waltzed past several defenders and with nonchalant ease, lifted the ball over the goalkeeper's head and into the roof of the net, making the half-time score 3-1.

Canada continued their dominance in the second half as Aleman continued to reign supreme with his magical plays, even winning over some local fans. However, it was Chapman who added a fourth goal for the visitor in the 68th minute when he worked his way past two defenders and booted home, making the score 4-1.

Jamaica managed to add some respectability to the final score in the 83rd minute when Jason Wright was fouled inside the goal area and the referee ruled a penalty.

Wright got up and converted from the spot, making the final score 4-2.