Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida:

Reggae Boyz head coach, Theodore Whitmore, saw the loss against CONMEBOL representatives Peru as just a stepping stone, as the national team prepares to defend its Digicel Caribbean Championship title and more important, develop a squad capable of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup Finals in Brazil.

On Tuesday night at the Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, the Jamaicans put in a commendable performance, but failed to improve their average away record, having won only three of their last 10 games on the road.

Late substitute Jose Carlos Fernandez delighted the massive Peruvian contingent on hand when he impudently flicked the ball past goalkeeper Dwayne Miller and into the back of the net, leaving the Boyz and their sparse supporters to look on in despair, thinking perhaps that they had deserved better, based on their patient and organised play in the first half.

Despite Jamaica's domination of early play, it was Peru who took the lead in the third minute when midfielder Demar Phillips inadvertently headed a Juan Manuel Vargas cross into his own net.

However, the Boyz remained composed and patient and netted a deserving equaliser when in-from striker Omar Cummings blasted them level from 25 yards out.

"We are taking things in stride, every game is a work in progress, we are looking to just keep improving," Whitmore told The Gleaner.

"We have a long way to go still and a lot of things to work on, but there were a few positives from the game," he added.

The Jamaicans had looked a fluent and organised unit in the first half, but it was the Peruvians through the instrumental Jefferson Farfan who bossed the second 45 minutes.

At times, the player's effective movement off the ball proved to be difficult to deal with and Farfan could even have got on the scoresheet himself twice, were it not for the efforts of Miller, who had to be committed when he punched the ball away from the striker's head in the 68th minute; and defender Shavar Thomas, who dove in to protect the keeper with a well-timed block, with Farfan bearing down on goal.

Whitmore pointed out that some of the team's problems could have been tied down to inconsistency.

"It was a tough game and not to take anything away from Peru, but I think we played in patches and the first goal was a bit unfortunate. "We didn't do enough work on cutting out the crosses, we allowed far too many. Both goals resulted from us allowing crosses to be played into the area."

The Reggae Boyz will next tackle Trinidad and Tobago at The Office on Sunday, October 10. The team recorded a 3-1 win over the Trinidadians in Macoya last month before clipping the Costa Ricans 1-0 at the National Stadium last week.