I am really delighted, says coach Whitmore

Audley Boyd, Assistant Editor - Sport

FORT DE FRANCE, Martinique:

THEODORE 'Tappa' Whitmore, head coach of the Reggae Boyz, was beyond words to explain their penalty shoot-out triumph over Guadeloupe, in the Digicel Caribbean Cup final, at the Stade Pierre Aliker on Sunday night.

"It's something words can't explain, I'm really delighted," said Whitmore. "I'm glad for the Boyz, they went out there and they really worked. We knew it was going to be a tough tournament and we battled it out."

The teams battled fiercely to a 1-1 scoreline through full and 30 minutes extra-time, with the game ebbing and flowing as the stronger Guadeloupe team pressured the more skilful Jamaicans in a never-say-die battle that saw the Jamaicans creating the better quality chances.

Jamaica earned the US$120,000 first-place cash prize, along with the Digicel Caribbean Cup and gold medals.

Guadeloupe got the runners-up US$70,000 and medals.

Omar Cummings gave Jamaica the lead with a goal at the 32nd minute, while Ludovic Gotin equalised for Guadeloupe at the 37th.

Jamaica scored all their five penalties, with Rodolph Austin, Luton Shelton, O'Brian Woodbine, Eric Vernan and Troy Smith converting.

Attractive football

Larry Clavier, Gregory Gendry, Cedric Collet and Mickael Antoine-Currier scored for Guadeloupe, who had also lost to the Reggae Boyz earlier in the tournament, 2-0 at the preliminary stage. Big-kicking Jean Luc Lamboude, who has even a 35-yard free kick this tournament, went for a side-footer in the shoot-out and steered the ball wide of the target.

"Finals are not always going to be a classic or attractive football," Whitmore noted of his team's play. "But we stuck to the task and at times we came under a bit of pressure. I was a bit worried at times, but we came out victorious nonetheless.

The win ensured back-to-back title successes for the Boyz, who had beaten Grenada 2-1 in the final of the previous edition in Kingston, at the National Stadium in December, 2008.

Then, Whitmore was the assistant coach to John Barnes and Sunday's success gave him the unprecedented milestone of winning both as a player and a coach, having played a key role in the Reggae Boyz 1998 success, when he marshalled the midfield.

"I'm very satisfied," Whitmore said of his unmatched achievement. "But there's a lot more, we're looking towards the Gold Cup. But it's just another milestone."

The team's current goalkeeper coach, Warren Barrett, also played on the 1998 champion team.

Only Trinidad and Tobago, with eight titles, have won the Caribbean championship more times than Jamaica.

Two other teams have won the regional title - Martinique and Haiti, who both won once.

Whitmore said they met their targets.

"I think we came here and we achieved our objective. It was a tough nine days, but we were prepared for it - we qualified for the Gold Cup and we won the Digicel Cup," he said, adding that "we've to keep looking on players for the Gold Cup."

The Jamaicans had beaten Guadeloupe 2-0 in their group encounter, and when asked if he had expected such a tough clash in the final, the Jamaican coach said: "Yes, as I keep saying, every team we play against we expect a tough battle. We played Guadeloupe and beat them 2-0 and they came out fighting. I think one of the areas we lost out on is the midfield with this Guadeloupe team, and we came under tremendous pressure."

Actually, they came out playing quite differently that they usually did, playing the old English-styled football by booting long passes.

Was that the plan?

"No, I think what happened was that the players were conservative," Whitmore explained. "I don't think the players gave 100 per cent tonight, in terms of what they can do. I think a lot of conserving was taking place and we came under a lot of pressure in this regard.

"It could be fatigue. At one point in time I saw where this was going to be a problem so I brought in young Eric Vernan and Troy Smith to get fresher legs," he said of his decision to start the duo. "But as time went by, we wanted to make some changes in terms of injecting Keammar Daley into the game and young Morgan (Marvin), but the situation just didn't allow us to do it."

Central midfielder Richard Edwards and central defender Adrian Reid both got injured and were forced into substitution, while, with three minutes remaining in extra-time, O'Brian Woodbine was brought in to replace captain Shavar Thomas, a penalty-kick decision.

Penalty kickers

"We saw where it was coming to that, that's why we pulled out the skipper Shavar Thomas, to bring in 'Beckham' (O'Brian Woodbine) because we knew we had four penalty kickers on the pitch, so 'Beckham' would make the fifth one," Whitmore pointed out. "I knew these guys were capable of doing the job and we were hoping the Guadeloupe team would've slipped up, which they did."

Guadeloupe's captain, Stephane Auvray, said: "Nobody wants to lose, but sometimes this is how it is. What we'll remember tonight is we played good, much better than the first game we played, and in the shoot-out we lost. But when you look at the game, I think it was equal tonight and it showed that Guadeloupe has good players and a good football team."