Spencer enjoying goalkeeper competition
Published:Wednesday | February 23, 2022 | 4:53 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
THE QUESTION of who is Jamaica’s number-one goalkeeper for the Women’s World Cup qualifiers may not have an answer yet but national goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer says she is enjoying the competitive environment between her, Sydney Schneider, and Yazmeen Jamieson.
Jamaica completed their first two World Cup qualifying first-round games with wins against Bermuda and Grenada, respectively. While they are in second place in Group C with an inferior goal difference to the Dominican Republic, they are two wins away from qualifying for the final round in July.
Spencer, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur, made her home debut last Thursday against Bermuda while Schneider, who plays for the Washington Spirit, got the nod against Grenada on Sunday.
NO PERMANENT STARTER YET
And while head coach Vin Blaine has not yet settled on a permanent starter, Spencer says she is relishing the competitive environment it has instilled, with the knowledge that any member of the trio is capable of being the team’s last line of defence.
They [Schneider and Jamieson] are both really good goalkeepers, really talented and who coach Vin picks we support them and we know whoever plays is going to do a great job,” Spencer told The Gleaner.
“It’s a competitive environment and we encourage each other and support each other and just try to make each other better, so it’s a really good environment.”
The alternation of both Spencer and Schneider for games is not just something that has been implemented for this tournament. Both have been used in friendlies last year with Spencer making her international debut last June against Nigeria, while Schneider got the start against the United States in the summer series.
Spencer has had four clean sheets in her 10 appearances in all competitions for Spurs this season, helping the team to third place in the FA Women’s Super League, chasing a place in next season’s Champions League. She says that being able to enjoy her football again has helped her earn her international spot.
ENJOYING THE SPORT
“It’s always good to have good club form as well, so I can bring it into the international games. I think that I am enjoying my football at the moment. It’s important to know that once you are enjoying what you are doing, you can see it in your performances, so I hope that I can continue doing that,” Spencer said.
Blaine says his decision to alternate his goalkeepers was just to be able to give them as much time on the field as possible and not because of any deficiencies in either.
“In games like these, you have to try and give them (minutes) where possible. It wasn’t a goalkeeper problem we had. We scored six goals (against Grenada). We didn’t take the opportunity to score more goals but it is like that. It is nothing to do with the players,” Blaine said.
Jamaica will have a month-long break before the April window where they will face the Cayman Islands and the Dominican Republic to close out the first round. Only the group winner will advance to the final round.