Team Cayman on Sunday, 9 November

Although going down 2-0 against the Jamaica National Senior team (the Reggae Boyz) last Sunday, 9 November in a friendly game, the Cayman Islands national team, who jumped 30 places up the FIFA ranking this year, gave their opponents a hard run.

In the past, the Cayman Islands national team was a walkover in competitions friendly or otherwise; however, since Technical Director Carl Brown has come on board the situation has changed.

Under normal circumstances the Cayman Islands would have been beaten with a wider margin but the hosts stood up to the task and fought back with dignity. They made a statement that the Caribbean giants won’t quickly forget.

Adrian Gregory, a Jamaican football fan who watched the game, commented after the match: “ Trust me, I was shocked to see how these Cayman players put their passes together, the back line was solid. Imagine the Reggae Boyz scoring their first goal in the 41st minute against the Cayman team? They have really come a long way.”

He added:

“If the football association gets the help to pay the players to train and play football they will become professionals and before long Cayman will be on top and other countries will think twice when facing them.

“Carl Brown is doing a great job, but players cannot work and train hard at the same time. Give the players some money and let them train together as a team - that’s the way to go. It happens all over the world. Football is the biggest sport. Cayman needs to get a piece of the action now; the players are proving to us that it can happen. All they need is the help.”

Meanwhile, Carl Brown, when asked how he felt about the game, said that the team did very well; they were disciplined and followed instructions.

“The Cayman team did well. We wanted to use this Jamaica game to measure where we were and where we have reached. The team played regimented, restricting the free flow of the ball by the Jamaican team and were accredited for their performance.

“The players have learnt a lot of things from the Jamaican team that will enable the unit to compete with the best of the teams from around the Caribbean region. At this stage we just need to continue playing more international games at least once per month to improve the standard of performance of the team.

“I hope we will get more games in the future. This is the only way forward in improving our international ratings,” the former Jamaican national defender said.

Peter Reid, head of delegation for the visiting team, said that the Cayman national team was a promising unit who had pace and played with their heart, adding that they just needed to improve their skills and move to the professional level.

Jeffrey Webb and his executive members are well organized. He is doing well as head of the football association. The team needs to take a professional approach towards the sport. These players have the heart to play good football; all they need is this kind of improvement and the sky will be the limit for the island,_ Reid said.

Plans are underway for the staging of a game between the Cayman Islands national and the Grenada national teams on their way to Jamaica for the finals of the Digicel Caribbean Championship in December. If all falls in place, this will be played at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex.