Weary Reggae Boyz tackle New Zealand

JAMAICA'S Reggae Boyz will continue their preparation for the World Cup Qualifiers when they tackle New Zealand in an international friendly football match at the Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland.

Of course, the match also facilitates the selection process for the Jamaica coaching staff, as attested to by coach Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore.

"We keep looking at players and we will continue to look. We want to widen the pool as much as possible," he stated.

When asked about the Kiwis, Whitmore said: "We know that they (New Zealand) are in a rebuilding phase. But we don't want to really focus on New Zealand, we want to concentrate on what we want to do and what we want to achieve from these games."

Kick-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday (approximately 1:30 a.m. Jamaica time).

It will be Jamaica's third international within a week - following a two-match friendly series against Cuba last Wednesday and Friday - and the Boyz are expected to be somewhat exhausted, not only because of match scheduling, but the travels and its associated hiccups.

After beating Cuba 3-0 last Friday night at Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall, most of the players and the official party flew out for Miami the following day. There they were scheduled for a connection to Los Angeles, but the flight was cancelled and the players rebooked on other flights into the west coast.

However, their arrival did not synchronise with the departure schedule of the Qantas flight from Los Angeles to New Zealand and some team members were delayed another 24 hours.

Luckily, some members of the group, who are based overseas and were due to meet the team in Los Angeles, never encountered any airline delay and left as scheduled for New Zealand.

The team assembled for this game is much stronger and far more experienced than the generally local-based unit which twice beat a 'soft' Cuba team - 1-0 at 'The Office' on an 85th-minute goal by schoolboy debutant Jorginho James; and then in MoBay when Ryan Johnson, Je-Vaughn Watson, and Mitchily Waul scored.

James made this squad, part of a Jamaica Football Federation policy instituted within the past two years to expose a schoolboy on each national senior team outing.

Johnson and Watson are also included, numbering among nine foreign-based Boyz for this clash as opposed to three against Cuba.

The third overseas-based pro who lined up against Cuba was captain and central defender, Jermaine Taylor, who expressed a desire for a winning culture leading into the World Cup competition, as Jamaica had lost its previous five matches before going up against Cuba.

"I think this is a good start for us, trying to get back a winning streak ... because that's what we're going for in the World Cup Qualifiers for 2014," Taylor said after Friday's match.

Two British-based central defenders - Claude Davis and Damion 'Stew Peas' Stewart - have been recalled for this matchup, along with goalkeeper Dwayne Miller, midfielder Keammar Daley and strikers Omar Cummings and Luton Shelton, the national's all-time scoring leader.

The remaining squad members are local-based, several of whom have a lot of experience. The Jamaica-based players are Jacomena Barrett, Adrian Reid, Troy Smith, Xavian Virgo, Richard Edwards, O'Neil Thompson, Jorginho James, Tramaine Stewart, Keneil Moodie, Navion Boyd, and Romeo Parkes.