MarshallTHE Reggae Boyz will today play their third and final preliminary game in the 2001 Copa Caribe football competition needing to beat their opponents by a convincing margin and hope that Martinique lose to Trinidad and Tobago.
After beating Martinique 1-0 in their opening game, the Boyz on Thursday night lost 2-1 to hosts Trinidad and Tobago leaving them in a must-win situation.
Barbados, whom they meet at 4:00 p.m. Jamaica time have lost both their games and are expected to offer little resistance to the World Cup contenders.
"We watched the Barbados team and they will be tough," said coach Carl Brown in his usually cautious manner. "In spite of what has happened we do not expect them to come lying down but once we play well we should win," he offered.
While Brown is convinced that his charges will be able to pull off a win he is concerned that the team and the forwards in particular have not been converting their chances.
"The fact is that we just do not have good out and out goal scorers. We have been getting the chances but we have not been putting them away. That is what is missing from the team now... someone who is going to put away one out of three or four chances," Brown said.
Questioned about Fulham's Barry Hayles who had a prolific season for his team in the Nationwide First Division last year, Brown responded: "It is well and good that we hear of people who score a lot of goals but he has not looked like a player who will put away the half chances. You just do not get the feeling he has that knack."
Injuries which have been a problem for the team throughout the tournament remain the same. Besides Ricardo Fuller who has returned home and Fabian Davis who injured himself in the first game the team is without fresh worries. Marco McDonald who was substituted on Thursday due to a knock is fit again and should start.
Another boost for the team according to Brown is that forward Wolde Harris and defender Tyrone Marshall who were scheduled to return to the United States yesterday have been granted permission by their clubs to remain with the national team.
While the news is good regarding Harris and Marshall, it is not so good for Andy Williams. The midfielder got a second yellow card in Thursday's game and could sit out today's game if an appeal by the Jamaican team to have the card dropped, is turned down. In his absence, Fabian Taylor will start in a 4-4-2 formation.
Starting team: Donovan Ricketts, Shavar Thomas, Claude Davis, Marco McDonald, Tyrone Marshall, Jamie Lawrence, Theodore Whitmore, Fabian Taylor or Andy Williams, Omar Daley, Wolde Harris and Barry Hayles.
