Boyz face hard Costa Rica test

By Paul Reid, Staff Reporter

Deon Burton ... returns after a one-match ban. - File

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica:

JAMAICA'S FUTURE in the final round of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying competition could be decided this evening when they take on second-placed Costa Rica in the last game of the first set of matches at the

Morera Soto Stadium in San Jose.

The game is set to start at 8:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. Jamaica time) and fourth-placed Jamaica need to win if they are to maintain any hopes of repeating as World Cup finalists.

Also tonight, the United States will host last placed Trinidad and Tobago in Boston while Honduras will be at home to Mexico in San Pedro Sula.

A win for Jamaica coupled with wins for the United States and Mexico would see the Reggae Boyz right back in the thick of things with the return round of matches set to start on June 30. A loss however would be devastating coming right on the heels of back-to-back drawn matches at home against Honduras and the US.

While stopping just short of predicting a win, technical director Clovis de Oliveira, said the team should perform well as "we have the best group of players at our disposal right now. There is a good blend of talent, experience and youth", he said.

The weather conditions are expected to be very different from Jamaica's last game, which was played under a broiling afternoon sun. It was windy and

overcast yesterday and the temperature is expected to drop below 70 degrees Fahrenheit by match time.

While the team will miss attacking left full back Ricardo 'Bibi' Gardener, de Oliveira told The Gleaner yesterday, the team would welcome back midfielders Fitzroy Simpson and Daryll Powell who missed the game against the US and striker Deon Burton who was out on suspension.

De Oliveira was quoted in a local paper as saying the Jamaican team came to win and he told The Gleaner that the team's mindset was to go for the stars.

"It makes no sense coming with a mind set to settle for a point as you could easily lose that way. If you go for a win and come away with a draw on the road, then you would have done well," he said.

Besides the advantage of playing at home, Costa Rica will be a difficult opposition he said, as they had no "star player but was a very united group" de Oliveira said.

He singled out Manchester City striker Paulo Wanchope as the best player on the team but pointed out that he always came back to the midfield to tackle and mark.

Costa Rica are coming off a high after a come-from-behind win over Mexico at the Azteca on Saturday but de Oliveira said that could work in Jamaica's favour.

A loss on Saturday, he said, would have made them hungrier for a win but that result might just lull them into a false sense of security.

The squads - Jamaica: Donovan Ricketts, Aaron Lawrence, Marco McDonald, Tyrone Marshall, Frank Sinclair, Ian Goodison, Claude Davis, Chris Dawes, Jaime Lawrence, Theodore Whitmore, Fitzroy Simpson, Daryll Powell, Micah Hyde, Andrew Williams, Onandi Lowe, Deon Burton, Barry Hayles, Ricardo Fuller and Wolde Harris.

Costa Rica: Erik Lonnis, Alexander Castro, Jervis Drummond Johnson, Gilberto Martinez, Alexander Madrigal, Reynaldo Parks Perez, Harold Wallace, Jeaustin Campos, Carlos Castro, Rodrigo Cordero, Walter Centeno Correa, Alvaro Mesen Murillo, Wilmer Lopez Arguedas, Steven Bryce, Rolando Fonseca Jimenez, Michael Myers, Jafet Soto Molina, Paulo Wanchope, Hernan Medford and William Sunsing.

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