Busby finds silver linings amid England’s 7-0 onslaught of Reggae Girlz
Key Points(5)
- “Apart from the result, there are some positives to take away,” Reggae Girlz head coach Hubert Busby Jr.
- reflected after Sunday’s 7-0 loss to England at King Power Stadium.
- Ella Toone opened the floodgates in the 10th minute with a precise 18-yard strike, then added a second on the cusp of halftime.
- Lucy Bronze’s towering header (32′), Georgia Stanway’s clinical top-corner finish (59′), and Alessia Russo’s 71st-minute header extended the margin before Aggie Beever-Jones (85′) and Beth Mead (90′+6) completed the scoring surge.
- <h2>Disallowed goal and bright spots</h2> In the 21st minute, Kayla McKenna thought she had halved the deficit, only to see VAR rule out her finish for offside.
“Apart from the result, there are some positives to take away,” Reggae Girlz head coach Hubert Busby Jr. reflected after Sunday’s 7-0 loss to England at King Power Stadium.
He praised the young roster for valuable minutes and singled out goalkeeper Liya Brooks for “another strong performance,” while acknowledging, “We did a good job winning the first balls but not a great one winning the second ones, and against a top-four ranked team in the world, you are going to get punished for those things.”
Lionesses’ punishing display
England wasted no time stamping their authority. Ella Toone opened the floodgates in the 10th minute with a precise 18-yard strike, then added a second on the cusp of halftime. Lucy Bronze’s towering header (32′), Georgia Stanway’s clinical top-corner finish (59′), and Alessia Russo’s 71st-minute header extended the margin before Aggie Beever-Jones (85′) and Beth Mead (90′+6) completed the scoring surge.
Disallowed goal and bright spots
In the 21st minute, Kayla McKenna thought she had halved the deficit, only to see VAR rule out her finish for offside. Busby lamented the reversal as “a momentum shifter and changer in the game,” but noted that set-piece play showed improvement and “moments in transition” offered glimpses of promise despite England’s relentless pressure.
With stalwarts Khadija Shaw, Rebecca Spencer, Deneisha Blackwood, Drew Spence, and Jody Brown absent, Jamaica’s backline struggled to cope. Busby stressed the need for a stronger defensive mindset around second balls: “We talked about the ability to win contacts and winning the second balls… you are going to get punished” when those battles go begging.
Looking ahead to October’s Concacaf Women’s Championship qualifiers, Busby is determined to harness the experience gained. He hopes to recall key veterans and build on the youth’s competitive baptism: “We’ll reevaluate and look to get ready for the matches in October where we hope to bring back the full selection of players.”
