Registered: 03/25/01
Posts: 15629
Loc: Miramar, FL, USA
Offline
I am not sure academy are needed for this age group since most of these players should be graduating from academy by 18 years old and entering professional environments.
History beckons! Young Boyz face Ecuador in gold medal match
Friday, July 27, 2007
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - The national Under-20s can further etch their names into the record books today by becoming the first Jamaican football team to win a Pan American Games gold medal.
Prior to leaving the shores of Jamaica for the football mecca of the world, not many people thought the Wendell Downswell-conditioned Reggae Boyz stood a chance of progressing from a group comprising Argentina, Colombia and Haiti.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Leading goalscorer Kemmar Daley (left) of Jamaica shields the ball from a Colombian player during a Group C preliminary round match at the Pan American Games last week. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)
But this afternoon at 3:00 (1:00 Jamaica time), they will square off against another South American side, Ecuador, in the final at the Maracana Stadium for the right to be crowned champions of the 15th Pan Am Games. Jamaica have never won a medal in the 56-year history of these Games, and even if they lose and take silver, it will still be a major achievement for the under-pressure Crenston Boxhill-led Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) administration ahead of
elections, which are constitutionally due in November. The other eight teams which contested the three-week long tournament are Brazil, Honduras, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Mexico, United States and Venezuela.
Jamaica booked their place in the final after grinding out a rough semi-final on Tuesday to beat their more fancied CONCACAF rivals Mexico, 5-4 on penalty kicks (the scoreline was 0-0 after regulation and extra-time) despite being without key players John-Ross Doyley and Eric Vernon, who were serving card suspensions. Both players are available for today's game.
Coach Downswell has promised a more aggressive approach and said his players would be coming with a more attacking approach than in the semi-final when they were forced to play without the two key players. "We expect a tough final. We know if we want the gold medal we will have to work for it. We are very confident as we plan to put in our best performance of the tournament," Downswell said.
"We will be pushing forward on Friday (today)," he added. Ecuador defeated Bolivia 1-0 in the other semi-final to secure their spot. Statistically, Jamaica have the better defensive record going into today's game, having not conceded a goal in open play in four matches, while scoring seven times.
Led by the tournament's leading striker Kemmar Daley with four goals, the Young Reggae Boyz registered wins over Colombia (1-0), Argentina (2-0) and Haiti (4-0) to top Group C with maximum nine points before holding Mexico to a 0-0 result in the semi-final to eventually win on penalties. On the contrary, Ecuador's defensive unit has been breached on five occasions, while they have netted nine goals.
En-route to the championship decider, the South Americans tagged hosts Brazil 4-2 and Honduras 3-2; drew 1-1 with Costa Rica in Group A before edging Bolivia 1-0 in the semi-final. Ecuador's leading scorers are Pablo Ochoa and Edmundo Zura with two each.
The South Americans' coach Vizuete acknowledged that Jamaica would present a firm challenge and said he would try to blunt their attacking style. "Jamaica attacks a lot and we have to be careful. Our aim before the Games was to get a medal. Now, we are there and we want gold," Vizuete said.
Good luck to the Boyz today. Whatever the outcome, I am extremely happy and proud about their performance so far. It shows there's still some life in our football.
_________________________
"Never under any circumstance take a sleeping pill and laxative at the same time."
