Goal rush!

• Reggae Girlz aiming for big win against Guyana

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

Jamaica's Under-17 women footballers will seek to find the goal with regularity, and qualify for the CONCACAF Finals when they face Guyana in their second match in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) World Cup Qualifiers at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex today, beginning at 6 p.m.

Three of the four competing teams will advance to the CONCACAF final round where they will do battle with five other teams for a place at next year's FIFA Women's Under-17 World Cup Finals tournament, which will be played in Azerbaijan in November.

Jamaica were pushed to the limit in their opening encounter on Tuesday, when they recorded a 2-0 win over The Bahamas. On the same evening, Trinidad and Tobago hammered Guyana 8-0 to take the leadership position in the four-nation series on goal difference.

And with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago expected to jostle for the group's top spot, head coach of the Reggae Girlz, Vin Blaine, is cognisant that it could come down to goal difference.

"With the Guyanese getting eight (goals) from Trinidad, we will be looking to top that, as it might come down to goal difference," Blaine disclosed. "We expect a comfortable win against Guyana; it is just for the girls to not get complacent," he added.

Despite the aim to win by in excess of an eight-goal margin, Blaine's major objective is to win the game and then defeat Trinidad and Tobago.

"We want to come out and win the game; if we give them nine, if we give them 10, if we give them five, we want to concentrate on winning the game and then win the game against Trinidad," Blaine declared.

Happy for stern test

He expects that the team will show vast improvements from their showing in the opening game, but is pleased that the girls have been given a stern test in preparation for their eventual meeting with Trinidad and Tobago.

If the words of Guyana's coach, Lydon France, are anything to go by, however, Jamaica could be in for another tricky encounter, as he does not intend to suffer another defeat.

"We are going into the game as optimistically as possible. We are not expecting Jamaica to win the game," France stated. "There are two teams in that game and we are looking to be as successful as anybody else in this tournament," he added.

Trinidad and Tobago's coach, Stephan De Four, concedes that his team is high on confidence, but is trying to keep them grounded while looking forward to the eventual meeting with Jamaica.

"As any team would, they are definitely high on confidence and they are very highly motivated, but, as a coach, I now have to keep their feet on the ground and let them understand that the job is not over," De Four shared. "It will be worthwhile coming to watch (the match against Jamaica), so I am really looking forward first of all to tomorrow's game and then to Saturday," he added.

Daria Adderley, the woman at the helm of the Bahamian team, knows the impetus is on her team to win.

"Trinidad are coming off a win, we are coming off a very narrow loss, and now the girls are on a momentum to go out and win the game," Adderley expressed. "I know all the pressure is going to be on us now to actually win this game, but if the girls come out strong and hard like we did against Jamaica, I think the outcome is going to be in our favour."