Showdown at Sabina Park
Reggae Girlz, Dominican Republic in winners take all clash at 6 p.m.
Published:Tuesday | April 12, 2022 | 12:10 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Reggae Girlz head coach, Vin Blaine, says the main aim in today’s top-of the-table, winners takes all Concacaf Women’s Championship qualifying clash against Dominican Republic is to win and move on to the next phase. Today’s match kicks off at 6 p.m. at Sabina Park.
Both teams have nine points from their three Group C matches to date, and only the group winners are guaranteed a place in the final round.
Jamaica moved into pole position on the weekend after blasting Cayman Islands 9-0 to take a four-goal advantage on goal difference. Trudi Carter and Khadija Shaw scored hat-tricks in the win over the Cayman Islands. Blaine anticipates that fans will come expecting the home team to show their superiority in the game. However, he is only looking to secure the Girlz’s place in the next phase and take it from there.
“If we win 1-0, I am okay,” Blaine stated. “We are not here to prove we can score goals, we are here to win a game.
“I know the fans would like us to go up 4-0 and show people we are the better team, and I am sure the girls would like that as well but I am comfortable with 1-0. But we definitely expect to get past this and then plan for the second round,” he said.
QUALITY RIVALS
He noted that the Dominican Republic have shown that they are a quality side that cannot be underestimated and that the Reggae Girlz must remain focused.
“They have good players with experience, so we cannot take them lightly. We want to score early and put them on the back foot some more.
“If they weren’t a quality team, people wouldn’t be second-guessing us. But the fact that the fans are second-guessing our team and what we will be facing against Dominican Republic means they are a formidable team.
“But we know that and the girls are well prepared and mentally focused,” he declared.
He added that now that they have the advantage regarding goal difference, this will force the Dominican Republic to come out and attack, and this he believes will give them the edge in this match.
“They will be forced to open up if they want to win and that will give us more spaces. We have the slight advantage because they have to win the game and if they give us space, they are going to be in trouble,” he said.
The teams have met once before, in 2014, and Jamaica whipped the Dominican Republic 7-0 in a Caribbean Concacaf Championship match. In their last match on April 8, Dominican Republic clipped Bermuda 1-0.