‘Tappa’ on the verge of surpassing Simoes - ... as winningest Reggae Boyz coach

National head coach Theodore Whitmore is now four wins away from eclipsing the man who coached him to the 1998 World Cup as the winningest Reggae Boyz coach.

This as the 48-year-old Whitmore registered his 52nd victory in his 100th career game in the dugout for the senior men's team as his charges defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the second fixture of their two-game series yesterday at the Prince Faisal bin Fahad Stadium in Riyadh.

Goals from Daniel Johnson in the first half and Javon East in the second fuelled Jamaica to their first win over the Saudi Arabians since July 1999.

Whitmore's current record of 52 wins closes the gap on Rene Simoes for the most wins as head coach of the national senior programme. Simoes finished his Jamaica career with 55 wins from 127 games, managed during his two stints with the team (1994-2000, January to September 2008).

Former national midfielder Jermaine 'Teddy' Johnson says that while Whitmore may be among the best managers that the country has had, he believes that there is still more for him to accomplish.

"Statistically, he is going to be the best but when you look at Rene Simoes and what he has done for the country it's quite tremendous," Johnson told STAR Sports. "I think [Whitmore] just needs to go out there and keep focused and forget about where he is going to rank among the best, and keep doing great for the country because he's a great person and he is doing great and the players respond to him."

3-0 defeat

Coming off the back of a 3-0 defeat in the first game on Saturday, the Jamaicans started better, applying early pressure to the Saudis. However, the Boyz were behind against the run of play in the 29th minute, thanks to Abdullah Al-Hamden. Jamaica struck back five minutes later, thanks to a brilliant long-range effort from Daniel Johnson to mark his first international goal.

Jamaica had several chances in the second half and took the lead 19 minutes into the second half when East outmuscled a defender and scored his second international goal. From there, the Reggae Boyz could have, and should have, extended their lead as East had a golden opportunity in front of goal minutes later, but his shot was right at Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al Yami.

Total Wins as Jamaica Manager

Rene Simoes (Years:1994-2000, Jan to Sept 2008): 55

Theodore Whitmore (Years: 2007*, 2008*, 2009-13, 2016*, 2017-present): 52

Carl Brown (Years: 1990-1994): 42

Winfried Schaefer (Years: 2013-2016): 14

*served as interim manager