Big step forward for midfielder Daley

SAINT-LUCE, Martinique:

KEAMMAR DALEY is satisfying one of his main ambitions on this sojourn to Martinique with the Reggae Boyz: playing for his country in a prime championship.

Having done that, the attacking midfielder is looking to go a step further.

"It's a stepping stone," Daley said of the Digicel Caribbean Cup Finals, where he has the job of creating for his team.

"This has been one of my goals and one of my dreams, to represent the country in a major tournament like this, to use it as an opportunity to carry me forward," he further stated.

Daley, who represents Tivoli Gardens in the Digicel Premier League, does not have to look far for that kind of inspiration, he has plenty of teammates who play overseas in professional leagues across Europe and North America.

In fact, he is one of only three local-based players in the Jamaica team, the others being central defenders Adrian Reid, who had a brief stint in Norway before returning to St Catherine's Portmore United; and Jermaine Taylor, who plays for Portland team St Georges Sports Club.

Immense talent

His inclusion among such a group rich in ability is a reflection of Daley's immense talent.

The signs of his quality were very evident in earlier years, when Daley represented Jamaica with distinction on junior national teams. A big part of his contributions were the number of goals he scored.

At the Premier League level, he has maintained that sort of consistency at Tivoli Gardens, but since he has joined the senior ranks of the Boyz, the goals have not been flowing with the same type of regularity. That he wants to change.

"That's one of the main things, to score goals. As an attacking player, scoring goals should be one of your main priorities and to provide assists, as well as team defensive-wise," he admitted.

"Playing for the junior teams I've scored a lot, I just want to carry that over into the senior team and show that you're worthwhile," he added.

This tournament will certainly provide him with the opportunity to not only prove his worth, but satisfy other footballing ambitions.

"I'm 100 per cent ready, I've been preparing for this tournament for the past couple of weeks," said Daley. "We've been putting in some hard work and we played a couple practice games, we're looking forward to it because we're the defending champions."

- Audley Boyd