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U17s hunting goals in Cayman clash
February 12, 2025
JAMAICA'S under-17 footballers are strong favourites to secure their second win today in Group H of the Concacaf Under-17 World Cup qualification tournament at the Estadio Cementos Progreso in Guatemala. Kick-off time is 5 p.m.
The young Reggae Boyz had an impressive 3-1 win over St Lucia on Monday and now face the Cayman Islands who were whipped 8-0 by El Salvador. With that big win El Salvador lead the four-team group on goal difference ahead of Jamaica. The winners of the group will qualify for this year's FIFA Under-17 World Cup. The tournament will be held in Qatar from November 5 to November 27.
Assistant coach of the young Reggae Boyz, Vassell Reynolds, said the aim today is to at least equal El Salvador's result against the Cayman Islands and they believe they can achieve that result.
"We just know that we will have to get some goals. We are not taking anything for granted against the Cayman Islands team but we know that we must not just win the game but also get some goals and as many as possible.
"We would love to equal that score (8-0) or even better what El Salvador have done," he said.
Reynolds pointed out that team has always created chances but they need to be more clinical in front of goal. He is hoping they bring their shooting boots to today's game.
"One of the positives from the games that we would have played, and not just the game yesterday (Monday), we have been creating numerous chances. It is just that we were not as proficient as possible in front of the goal. We just hope that we will be very proficient in front of the goal tomorrow (today) and if we do that we will get the result that we require," Reynolds said.
In the game against St Lucia, the young Reggae Boyz led comfortably until the last 15 minutes of the match when they got sloppy and gave St Lucia enough good chances to get back in the game.
Reynolds noted yesterday that they have addressed the issue and he does not expect a repeat.
"I think it was a psychological thing. We had a very good first 25 minutes in the second half. We were 3-0 up and I thought we took our foot off the gas and got complacent, and as a result St Lucia got a look in. It is something that we spoke about and I am sure we will guard against that come tomorrow," he said.
The teams will be meeting for the first time with the Cayman Islands having a poor record in their last five games. They have lost four and conceded 20 goals without reply. Their last win came in 2022 when they defeated Dominica 2-0.
Jamaica's under-17s have won two, lost two and drawn one in their last five games.
