U14s stay perfect, Reynolds still wary

Jamaica’s Under-14 Reggae Boyz defeated Aruba 1-0 on a second-half strike from Christian Foster to take control of Group C in Tier I of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Challenger Series in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

Foster scored in the 46th minute, slotting home from a backheel pass by Tai-Sean Headley after Jamaica won possession high up the pitch on the right flank.

Coach Vassell Reynolds said his team was mentally prepared for the challenge Aruba was expected to provide and was pleased with the improvements shown from their opening match against St Kitts and Nevis.

“Mentally, we were prepared for it. The team knew they were up against better opposition, and it proved to be so, but overall, I thought we did better in terms of execution. There are still areas for improvement, but we did better overall,” he said.

“It was a very competitive game, and I thought the lads stood up very well and came out with the desired result.”

Jamaica lead the group with a maximum six points, followed by St Kitts and Nevis on three, while Aruba and Curaçao have one point each.

Reggae Boyz vs Curaçao

The young Reggae Boyz will face Curaçao in their final group match this afternoon at 12:30 p.m.

Although Curaçao lost their second game to St Kitts and Nevis, Reynolds said his team would not underestimate them despite that result as he expects that they will provide Jamaica’s toughest test.

“It (position) is pretty good for us. It’s good we are in control with one match to go.

“It’s very important we expose all the players and give them sufficient minutes. There is a rule that each player must play at least 70 minutes. So we have to be rotating to ensure we follow the rules and to maintain our standards, and so far so good.”

“The objective is to continue to do well. The focus really is to maintain the momentum.

“That (St Kitts v Curaçao) result was a bit of a surprise in terms of the margin but not necessarily the result.

“We think the Curaçao team will give us the best challenge, and we are not going to lose sight that the Curaçao team is a good team because they lost to St Kitts, the team we beat 4-0.

“This is football, and we do not want to get carried away with that result. We want to keep our focus and maintain our momentum. So we are really going in to do well and maintain our focus,” he commented.