Adrian Reid of Jamaica dribbles the ball.

By Mwangi Ngamate
Mwangi@caymannetnews.com

Jamaica National team beat Cayman Select team 5-nil in a game played at the TE McField Sports Centre on Thursday 25 June.

The Jamaica team came in as the strong force while the Cayman Select team was the underdog in the game that had a sizable partisan crowd at the grandstand.

As the natural way would have it, for a superior side most of the early attacking was done by the Jamaicans who displayed qualities of an army that has been trained in all aspects of weather.

Whereas it would have been expected that a heavy downpour would reduce the tempo of the game, the Jamaican side kept on making runs on goal although the Cayman Select team was not taking everything lying down and was ready to give them a run for their money.

There were a few ways that the Cayman Select side was able to show some presence in the game, although as it is said in football, scoring is what matters and Cayman never scored.

From an objective point, the Cayman side had a good defense and efficient midfield. What was missing was a striking force that would pull back a few goals for the home team.

The Cayman Select team was able to hold the regional champions for the first fifteen minutes of the game, but Jamaica got its balance and started the scoring spree that would see it score until the final minutes of the game.

The Cayman side was able to resist the champions and stop them from scoring in the game that was played in a heavy downpour. Unperturbed by the rain, Leon Whittaker kept on trying to dribble past the Jamaica midfield that had the likes of Adrian Reid, Brian Bayliss, Jerry Walters and Eric Vernan.

Jamaican Coach, Theodore Tappa Whitemore, speaking in an earlier press conference, talked of expecting 7-8 goals. The Cayman Select did not allow this to happen.

The credit in the game would go to James Joseph, the goalkeeper of Cayman Islands who made several daring saves. Despite the high organization and shooting force of the Jamaican arsenal, Joseph was never caught sleeping with a rusty gun.

Further credit goes to the Sunset Coach and Co-coach of Cayman Select, Paul Macey, who shouted orders that allowed some readjustments that sometimes staunched the Jamaican fire force.

Other footballers from the Cayman side who displayed good skill in the game included Ritchie Anderson, Kemar Barton, Nahlin Rodriguez and Richard Brown.

The Jamaican Technical Bench was headed by Theodore Whitmore, while that of the Cayman Islands Select team, was headed by Gregory Ebanks. The Referee for the game was Nolan Foster, the Linesmen were Francisco Coelho and Dave Howell while the fourth official was William Petit.