Reggae Boyz on a high ahead of US clash

Audley Boyd, Assistant Editor - Sport

VIRGINIA, United States:

JAMAICA'S coaching staff had to, in horse racing parlance, rein in the Reggae Boyz to temper their enthusiasm, as they went through their first full training session yesterday, at Trinity College in Washington, DC, since arriving in the United States capital.

The Jamaicans got to Washington, DC late Wednesday evening, travelling over five and half hours by bus from New Jersey, where they wrapped up their CONCACAF Gold Cup preliminary fixtures with a 1-0 win over Honduras.

That victory ensured the Boyz a clean sweep of their first-round fixtures for the first time at this tournament and they are now in Washington preparing for Sunday's quarter-final showdown against the United States, at the RFK Stadium, beginning at 3 p.m. (2 p.m. Jamaica time).

"The response was good," noted Alfredo Montesso, the Brazilian who works alongside head coach Theodore Whitmore to condition the team.

take our time

"We had to control the excitement of the players at the training today. They were putting everything in it, this is good," he noted. "But from the other side, we've to settle down a little bit, let them know that the game is coming on Sunday and we've to take our time, take more mental energy to understand what we have to do, how to move the team like we had them moving with ball possession.

"These are the things that we're trying to emphasise every training session," Montesso added.

On a couple of occasions during the session - which was watched by a fairly large group of Jamaicans - a halt was brought to proceedings when Jason Morrison and fellow central midfielder Richard Edwards clashed heads while going for the ball, and later when striker Luton Shelton was put on the turf by a hard, but clean challenge by Omar Daley.

Following the latter, Montesso grouped the players for a chat, after which they resumed their preparation in high spirits and without any heart-stopping moment, putting together some nice offensive combinations that were finished with goals or generally decent attempts.

Two regular starting players - central defender Dicoy Williams and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts - sat out the session. Williams, who got hurt early in the team's 2-0 win over Guatemala in Miami, is a concern to the coaching staff, while Ricketts was sidelined for precautionary reasons.

"Dicoy worries us a little more," Montesso revealed. "Dicoy is still feeling pain from the injury that he got. He was getting treatment and there was some improvement a little, but it looks like that went back (got worse), so he's going for an MRI."

He was taken to the hospital shortly after training late yesterday evening.

With regard to the goalie, Montesso said: "Ricketts' (omission) was just to preserve him because he was feeling his knee a little bit, but he should be back in training tomorrow."

The Jamaica team had trained on Wednesday morning in New Jersey, ahead of their journey Washington, DC. Montesso thinks they made a good call.

"We took the time to train yesterday before we left New Jersey because if we spent the time we did on the bus yesterday we couldn't reach here in Washington and have any time to train," he observed. "So we have one training session ahead of the US, that's an advantage for us because the US didn't get to train."