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Too many missed chances, says assistant coach
June 10, 2024
ASSISTANT COACH John Wall has slammed the Reggae Boyz for being wasteful in front of goal following their narrow 3-2 win over football minnows Dominica during their Concacaf Group E 2026 World Cup qualifying match yesterday.
At the end of a match in which they dominated, the Reggae Boyz held on for a 3-2 win after leading 3-0 in the second half. Shamar Nicholson with a brace and Kaheim Dixon were the scorers for Jamaica.
Wall said the Jamaican forwards should have been more clinical, as both goalscorers wasted a host of other chances and it prevented the Boyz from winning by a far wider margin.
"We were expecting to score more goals with the chances that we had. So that (efficiency) was less than what we expected," said Wall. "The result was better than the performance. We should have killed this game a lot earlier based on the chances that we had. The conversion rate was low. The best of it is the result. We got away with three points."
It was a slow start by the Jamaicans, who took a while to establish their dominance.
Their best opening came after 20 minutes when Dixon crossed to Nicholson, whose header was parried on to the post by Glenson Prince in goal.
Dixon then placed an effort just wide, three minutes later.
However, Jamaica took the lead in the 30th minute when Nicholson capitalised on a mix-up in the Dominica defence and scored past Prince.
Nicholson and Dixon mesmerised the Dominica defence all match, and both came close again in the 34th minute.
Dixon then had a goalbound shot from 12 yards deflected wide, before forcing Prince into a fine reaction save to deny a vicious shot inside the near post.
Dixon eventually got his goal in the 40th minute, evading his marker and shooting a low shot past Prince to make it 2-0.
Nicholson and Dixon continued to have chances after the break, with Dixon shooting against the post from five yards after Prince denied Nicholson's effort
Nicholson then failed to convert in the 69th minute after making room inside the box.
However, he got his second when he converted from the penalty spot, after a hand ball in the box, to make it 3-0.
The home team made it 3-1 in the 82nd minute, when Javid George fired home from a very acute angle, after getting around goalkeeper Jahmali Waite.
Troy Jules then reduced the deficit to one goal with an excellent free kick from the edge of the area.
Nicholson then had a glorious chance to put the game out of reach but he lobbed over with only Prince to beat.
"I must commend them (Dominica) on the bounce back mentality after a 6-0 game (defeat by Guatemala) coming into this game. Dominica bounced back well and I must give them credit for that," Wall added.
The Reggae Boyz and Guatemala lead the group with maximum six points. However, Guatemala have the superior goal difference.
