NO REGRETS Speid not bothered by 3-0 loss to Nigeria, sees positives in young team

Interim Reggae Boyz head coach Rudolph Speid says he has no regrets about taking an inexperienced Reggae Boyz squad to this year's Unity Cup tournament, stating that the experience will pay dividends for Jamaica in the years ahead.

Jamaica's campaign ended in disappointment yesterday after the Reggae Boyz suffered a 3-0 defeat to defending champions Nigeria in the final at The Valley Stadium in South London.

Despite the defeat, Speid noted the tournament achieved one of its main objectives, identifying young talent capable of serving the national programme in the future.

"There are no regrets because we actually found some really good players who can serve Jamaica for the future, and look here, if you ever come to a tournament and leave with about four or five players that you see can help the country in the future, that is a win for us," said Speid. 

"We have had players from some top academies in England joining the squad, so we are making it easy for players to get a chance to represent Jamaica, both locally and overseas," he said. 

“Remember, we have gone through a period with a lot of players and we have failed in some of our objectives like qualifying for the World Cup, so it is really a time for us to look at what we have and take stock from there," Speid noted. 

Speid underscored that while Jamaica entered the tournament with ambitions of lifting the trophy, player withdrawals after the opening match left the squad even younger and less experienced than originally planned.

"We came here and we really wanted to win the competition because we believe in winning, but this has been the youngest national team ever to play for Jamaica," he said.  

“We picked a lot of young players and even after the first game the team got even younger. Some of the players, for personal reasons, had to withdraw from the squad, so the whole thing this time is never to say the next time we catch Nigeria we are going to win, but probably that will happen because we are going to be building this team for the future," Speid pointed out. 

The Nigerians wasted little time asserting their authority in the match, taking the lead after just two minutes when Alhassan Yusuf capitalised on a chaotic scramble inside the Jamaican penalty area following a long throw-in.

A Nigerian effort appeared destined for goal before goalkeeper Coniah Boyce-Clarke managed to get a hand to the ball. However, his parry fell directly into the path of Yusuf, who made no mistake from close range.

The Reggae Boyz responded positively and battled hard for the remainder of the first half in search of an equaliser. Midfielder Courtney Clarke and winger Kaheim Dixon, who both scored in Jamaica's semifinal victory over India, were among the team's brighter performers but found opportunities limited by a disciplined Nigerian defence.

Nigeria eventually doubled their advantage midway through the second half when Femi Azeez delivered a precise cross for Terem Moffi, who powered a header past Boyce-Clarke from the centre of the box.

As the match wore on, the Super Eagles continued to look the more dangerous side, and Yusuf completed his brace in stoppage time with a curling effort from 18 yards to put the result beyond doubt.

Speid shared that the scoreline did not accurately reflect the contest and pointed to his team's lack of experience in dealing with set-piece situations as the decisive factor.

"I just believe that the game itself wasn't a three-nil game because I thought we made some lapses because of the inexperienced players on set plays, and that was the difference between both teams," he said.