Busby turns to ‘core group’ in absence of key players

Reggae Girlz head coach Hubert Busby Jr said he will once again turn to his core group of players for their upcoming friendly against Trinidad and Tobago, in the absence of several key players.

Jamaica will face Trinidad in an international friendly set for October 28 in Port-of-Spain.

Busby named his squad yesterday in a Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) press conference and noted several of the country’s key players were not available for selection. Those missing include Manchester City’s Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, Tottenham Hotspur’s Drew Spence, and Club León Femenil’s Trudy Carter.

Spence and Carter are out because of injury, while Shaw’s exclusion was decided after conversations between the striker, the federation, and her club.

“We have a camp slated next week in Trinidad from the October 23-29. It will be a reduced squad based on availability,” Busby explained.

“Drew Spence picked up a knock last week. Tottenham informed us they were going to hold her out and we hope that she’ll be ready for the next round. Trudy was in the squad as well but she picked up a knock.”

He continued, “Bunny Shaw is out. Last week, I was in Manchester and I had a good conversation with Bunny and her group, including her physio as well as our medical team. We’re going to keep her out of this round.”

He further explained Shaw’s absence came down to concerns Manchester City has regarding the player’s health, given her recent injury record.

Following conversations with the club, it was decided she would remain in Manchester where she would be further monitored, and then join the squad next month for the Concacaf W Qualifiers.

“Obviously, there’s some information that is private and remains between Man City and ourselves,” Busby said.

“The concern is the potential of pitches and different things that we might have to experience. Rather than risk it all in a match that is a friendly, after all, we’re taking the concern to kind of see how things are to make sure that when she comes back in she’ll be in great form.”

The team will also be missing a number of its players from the United States collegiate system following discussions with their schools.

“As far as the college players are concerned ... they are in the midst of their season, and they’re heading into tournament play, not to mention an incredible scholastic workload that we’ve taken into consideration.”

CORE PLAYERS

The fixture against Trinidad will be used as final preparation for the W Qualifiers where the Reggae Girls have been drawn in Group B, alongside Guyana, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda.

Busby said while the team is missing several marquee players, he is confident he can turn to the players selected for a strong performance.

He explained that,over the past calendar year, a lot has been done to increase the pool of players in the programme to ensure they have a strong core of players who are always ready to compete.

It will be this core, he said, that will take to the field against Trinidad and continue to build towards the team’s future.

“There’s a strong core of players that have been with this group for a while now,” he said.

“We’ve used the opportunity to maintain core players when players aren’t available due to injury or personal reasons. We’ve respected that heading into other games and it’s allowed for us to build our core group of players.”

Leading the team will be stalwart defender Allyson Swaby, who will be supported by veteran goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer.

Defender Tianna Harris, who plays for Portuguese club Damaiense, has been handed her first international call-up, while Reggae Girlz U20 captain Jaileah McPherson has earned another call to the senior set-up.

Up top, Jamaica will turn to the likes of Jody Brown, Kayla McKenna and Shania Hayles to find the goals.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm

Full Squad:

Goalkeeper: Rebecca Spencer, Sydney Schneider,

Defenders: Allyson Swaby, Tianna Harris, Konya Plummer, Chantelle Swaby, Tiffany Cameron, Gabrielle Gayle

Midfielders: Sade Adamoluken, Jalieah McPherson, Deniesha Blackwood, Izzy Groves, Atlanta Primus, Vyan Sampson

Forwards: Kayla McKenna, Natasha Thomas, Shania Hayles, Jody Brown, Njeri Butts, Kiki Van Zanten