Despite kicking off their CONCACAF World Cup qualifying campaign with a win, Reggae Boyz Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson expressed dissatisfaction with his team’s performance following their 1-0 victory over the Dominican Republic at the National Stadium on Thursday.
The only goal of the match came in the 16th minute when Shamar Nicholson tapped in from close range after a swift counter-attack initiated by the speedy Renaldo Cephas. Despite having both Nicholson and Michail Antonio in the attack, Jamaica struggled to create clear scoring opportunities throughout the game.
Hallgrimsson lamented the team’s overall performance, particularly their lack of tempo. “Attacking-wise, we were very slow; everything we did was low tempo. In the second half, we got better, we created more chances with build-up play and creation, but in general, it was too slow for my taste,” he said.
Two-striker formation
“These strikers, with all their individual quality, are not used to playing in a two-striker formation, so we need time to get them to sync a little bit better. But in general, with the ball, we were not good. Even defending in the first half was slow tempo, so we gave them [Dominican Republic] the time they needed to be good. We need to up the tempo in everything we do.”
Jamaica could have doubled their lead in the 73rd minute when Cephas won a penalty after being brought down in the box. However, Bobby Decordova-Reid’s effort hit the post and stayed out. Minutes later, Cephas had a brilliant solo run but was unable to finish the move.
Hallgrimsson rued the missed opportunities, including the penalty. “We should have finished it off [because] when you’re winning 1-0, it’s always uncomfortable because it only needs a corner or free kick and the ball goes in, so you never feel relaxed. We should have killed the game off with the chances we got, but the [performance] wasn’t good enough today. We can do much better than we did today,” he said.
Praised the Dominican Republic for their performance
Despite his criticism, Hallgrimsson acknowledged the importance of starting the campaign with a win and praised the Dominican Republic for their performance. “Like I said in my pre-match press conference, this Dominican Republic team is a good team. If we’re not careful, they can hurt us, so we needed to suffer at times. It’s a very good job the coach has been doing with his team; we’ve followed their progress, so I want to give them a lot of credit for their performance today. It’s really an exciting team for the future,” he said.
Jamaica is currently second in Group E on goal difference, with Guatemala leading the group after a 6-0 victory over Dominica. The Reggae Boyz were scheduled to depart the island on Friday for their next match against Dominica at Windsor Park on Sunday.
Hallgrimsson remains optimistic about the team’s potential for improvement and highlighted Cephas’s contributions throughout the match. “He’s surprising us more and more, incredible speed, and his confidence is quite good. So we just need to create space for him to use, and in games against good teams when we’re suffering, it’s good to have a player like Cephas. What impresses me about him is his personality; he’s humble, he’s hard-working, he wants to learn a lot of things, so that impresses us,” he said.
