Coach predicts that Boyz will get better in Gold Cup
Published:Saturday | July 1, 2023 | 1:24 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
It took Reggae Boyz head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson nine months and eight matches to secure his first win with the national team.
On Wednesday Jamaica defeated Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago 4-1 in their Group A Concacaf Gold Cup match to give Hallgrimsson his first taste of victory with the Boyz.
The Icelandic coach, who is affectionately called the ‘Ice man’ by local football fans, said he was never affected by the pressure to win, while noting that he is yet to lose after three competitive fixtures.
“It didn’t affect me at all. I wasn’t counting,” he said after the game. “I will tell you another fact. I have not lost a competitive game for Jamaica, and that is what matters in the end. The competitive games.”
He noted that new additions to the squad are still finding their feet but maintains that the team will only get better as the tournament progresses.
“I am sure this team will grow. There are a lot of new players starting to play for us. We have selected new players, young players and we will only grow as the tournament gets older,” he continued.
Jamaica led 3-0 at the interval on a brace from Demarai Gray and one goal from Leon Bailey. Although Trinidad and Tobago scored early in the second half through Andre Rampersad and put the Reggae Boyz under some pressure, Hallgrimsson thought they managed the game well defensively before Dujuan Richards sealed the win with a deflected strike late in the game.
“Our defending was very good. I don’t think Trinidad created a chance except that goal. So that shows how good a defensive game we played.
“Football is a game of momentum. For the first time in the game they gained some momentum and belief but we played a good defensive game as a unit,” he said.
He added: “We created a lot of chances to score the fourth goal to kill the game off. We created about 15 good goalscoring chances The difference is in the first half we scored most of our chances and the second half we didn’t, and when you get a lot of chances and do not score sometimes you can get a little bit sloppy.
“But if we had scored the fourth goal instead of conceding, then it would have been a total different game because you tend to be careful when you concede a goal.”