Gold Cup Curtains After Reggae Boyz’ Horror Show
Panama punish Steve McClaren’s tactics as Jamaica head coach suffers hefty defeat
Jamaica were swept aside by Panama to tumble out of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Texas on Tuesday night.
The Reggae Boyz were completely overwhelmed in the first-half. Ismael Diaz hit a hat-trick to eclipse Amari’i Bell’s goal, and Tomas Rodriguez struck in the dying minutes to kill off Jamaica 4-1.
Steve McClaren tasted his heaviest-ever international defeat as head coach, and for the second time oversaw Jamaica conceding four goals.
No doubt the former England manager will have some concerns following this hefty reversal, having collected just eight victories during his 17-game spell with the Boyz.
He was sacked after 18 matches as England boss, having failed to navigate the Three Lions to the Euro 2008 finals.
His inability to steer Jamaica out of their group and into the Gold Cup quarter-finals should have alarm bells ringing for fans and the Jamaica Football Federation.
The Boyz arrived at the prestigious tournament in the United States having recently produced a topsy-turvy set of performances and a plethora of tactical approaches.
McClaren experimented at the invitational Unity Cup in London with a 4-3-3 line-up as he introduced fringe players. His troops only just edged past Trinidad & Tobago to reach the Unity Cup final. Despite being second best to Nigeria, the Boyz only lost the final down to the lottery of a penalty shootout.
There seemed progress from these bruising battles, only for McClaren to inexplicably switch to a 4-2-3-1 set-up that initially confused his squad.
Yet he collected back-to-back wins without conceding. A slender 1-0 success at minnows British Virgin Islands, when a cricket score was anticipated, was followed by a dominant 3-0 victory over Guatemala in Kingston that was arguably the best Jamaica display in years.
McClaren’s decision to revert back to a 4-3-3 attack to kick off Jamaica’s Gold Cup campaign against Guatemala backfired, as the Boyz looked stifled and lost during their 1-0 defeat.
He tried out a 4-1-4-1 formation against Guadeloupe and almost came a cropper before scoring a 2-1 success. Sticking to the same tactics that picked up maximum points was never going to work against strong opponents like Panama.
McClaren required something special from his side inside the Q2 Stadium in Austin. A win was necessary for Jamaica to progress out of Group C and into the Gold Cup quarter-finals.
For all their pomp, Thomas Christiansen’s Panama are renowned for their defensive frailties. McClaren playing Warren Brown as the sole target was a missed opportunity for the Boyz, and he was subbed in the second half because he received no service.
Jamaica were stunned by a fourth-minute opener from Diaz. After he intercepted Cristian Martinez’ corner outside the box, he unleashed a drive that deflected off Leon Bailey and past keeper Andre Blake.
A rare Jamaica opportunity saw Kasey Palmer fluff his chance to equalise, he headed over the gaping goalmouth on the quarter-of-an-hour mark.
That miss proved costly as two minutes later Diaz added to his tally. After brilliantly bamboozling two defenders, the striker found the back of the net from a tricky angle.
Panama were purring in every position having hit cruise control, toying with their flustered looking opponents, and started pumping long balls towards the Jamaica goalmouth.
Against the run of play Bell’s close-range header into the bottom left corner reduced the deficit to give Jamaica a glimmer of hope.
But the Boyz’ dreams were dashed on the stroke of half-time, when Azarias Londono was fouled by Kasey Palmer. Diaz placed his spot-kick into the bottom right corner to complete their commanding first half display.
Yet Jamaica were jolted by conceding this third goal. As well as Brown, Palmer and Jon Russell forcing shotstopper Orlando Mosquera into action during an incredible 17 minutes of stoppage time, VAR ruled out a penalty for the Boyz.
Both managers made half-time changes with Jamaica swapping Greg Leigh for Richard King, who was being run ragged in defence, and sending on Renaldo Cephas for the ineffective Brown.
It took until just after the hour-mark for McClaren to realise that he needed to attack more as Panama simply soaked up the pressure. Bobby Decordova-Reid was sent on for Russell and Kaheim Dixon replaced Demerai Gray.
The closest that the Boyz came to scoring again fell to Dixon, but the 20-year-old was denied by the inside of the post with quarter-of-an-hour to go.
Rodriguez made amends for a poor close-range miss following Dixon’s miss. A fast break, followed by an error from Palmer, was polished off by the striker on 88 minutes to secure a comfortable win.
Former Gold Cup finalists Jamaica were eliminated because of this lacklustre performance, along with Guadeloupe who were beaten 3-2 by Guatemala.
Panama’s decisiveness in defence, solid midfield passes and prowess in front of goal are all assets that Jamaica urgently require ahead of tackling their CONCACAF World Cup final qualifiers.
McClaren, if he wants to hold onto his job with Jamaica, should tweak his tactics so that his line-ups are not so disjointed. The Boyz can certainly build on recent results, but only if they fully utilise their physical strength and speed to attack.
JAMAICA: Blake – Bell, Pinnock, King (Leigh, 45), Lembikisa – Latibeaudiere – Gray (Dixon, 64), Palmer, Russell (Decordova-Reid, 64), Bailey (Antonio – Brown (Cephas, 45). Subs: Campbell, Davis, Anderson, Williams, Ming, Atkinson, Waite.
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