Blaine: It’s a long journey

Slowly but surely, national senior women's interim head coach Vin Blaine says that the trust is building between himself and his players after clearing the first-round hurdle for the 2023 Women's World Cup.

Jamaica defeated the Dominican Republic 5-1 in their Group C finale last night at Sabina Park booking themselves a spot in the final round in three months in Mexico.

The Reggae Girlz were led by a brace from captain Khadija Shaw, scoring her 50th and 51st goals in the 79th and 93rd minutes, while Jody Brown (15th minute), Trudi Carter (40th minute) and Tiffany Cameron (60th minute) capped off an offensive display for the home fans. Kat Gonzalez got the Dominican Republic's lone goal in the 24th minute.

Blaine took over the team after the suspension of Hubert Busby Jr last November and had indicated that he needed to earn the players' trust to qualify for back-to-back World Cups. Blaine said that it is still a work in progress but is proud of the work done in the past three months.

"I'm very satisfied. I have had them for only four games and I think in the last two games you can see the improvement from them, getting comfortable on the ball and their movement off the ball was very good," Blaine said. "I'm still learning personalities. I know the personalities of the ones I used to coach. Those girls that are now coming in I have to now understand them. We have a long way to go, a long journey. We are going to build on this win going into Mexico."

Blaine said that the recruitment done over the period made his job easier last night as they showed their character in keeping calm when the Dominican Republic got the equaliser.

"I had to stamp my system on them and it wasn't hard. They are good players. I commend Dominican Republic for giving us a good run. It prepared us for the second half and we did well in the second half," Blaine said.

Shaw said that their preparation will be critical in ensuring that they are ready for the tough assignments to come in July.

"As you can see we have talent if there is no preparation behind that then it won't be possible. So it's about staying together, keeping going on as a team, keep building the chemistry along with the preparation and I think we are confident in going back to the World Cup," Shaw said.

The final-round draw will take place on April 19.

Final Group C Table

M W D L Pts

Jamaica (Q) 4 4 0 0 12

Dominican Republic 4 3 0 1 9

Bermuda 4 0 2 6 8

Cayman Islands 4 1 0 3 3

Grenada 4 0 0 4 0

*Q - Qualified for final round