Neil
Nodley Wright, Staff Reporter
JAMAICA'S CHANCE of playing in the July Gold Cup rests in their hands.
A win over the Haitians, who they meet in the second game of the National Stadium doubleheader at 6:00 p.m., would see them booking their spot.
A loss for Jamaica and a win for St. Lucia over Martinique at 4:00 p.m., who are now on three points following their win over Haiti, would mean they, along with the Haitians would end up on six points. It would then be down to goal difference to determine whether Haiti or St. Lucia advance automatically.
Jamaica could also progress to the playoffs if they play to a draw with Haiti and St. Lucia beat Martinique. Martinique also have a slim chance of making it to the playoffs but they will have to beat St. Lucia comfortably and hope that either Jamaica or Haiti inflict a good defeat on the other so that goal difference would favour them.
Jamaica's technical director, Carl Brown, knows that following his team's performance on Friday, one more slip could cost them.
"We will just have to win the next game. We are in a similar position to Martinique so we just have to win it," said Brown after the 2-2 draw with Martinique on Friday night.
"We have four points ... the team we've beaten have three points. The Haitian team we have to play also has three. Our job is cut out, we'll have to get out there and do it," Brown said.
In order to pull off a win, Brown conceded that his team could be in for a shake-up.
"I believe you will see a few changes ... a few of them. I am not able to say right now but definitely we will be looking at changes," explained Brown.
While not outlining what the changes would be, he made it clear about the areas which he would be looking to bolster.
"Our biggest concern is down the middle. We may start having to look at adjusting that area. That is where our biggest concern lies," he said. In referring to the middle, Brown could have been speaking about the centre of defence where Shavar Thomas' lack of speed and a lack of understanding between himself and Claude Davis, especially in the first half was exposed.
Theodore Whitmore was not at his efficient best in the centre of midfield and Brown could be looking to someone with a bit more pace and urgency - at least to begin with - and then introduce Whitmore at a later stage. Kevin Lisbie's misfiring ineffectiveness should also be a cause for concern.
Jamaica are not the only team which did not live up to expectations after their opening win. Today's opponents Haiti were expected to roll over St. Lucia after Jamaica's 5-0 job on them Wednesday but ended up losing 2-1. They were expected to provide Jamaica with their toughest test in the competition and could still do so today.
"I think we can win," said Haitian central defender Josue Mayard. "Jamaica know us and we know Jamaica so I don't think they are going to start as fast as they started against St. Lucia. If they do, they can pay serious consequences like you saw the first half (against Martinique)," continued the man who lives in Canada and who is fluent in English and Spanish as well as his native French tongue.
Mayard, who had hoped for a bad result for Jamaica against Martinique to give Haiti a lifeline, said his team "thought that by winning against Martinique we were almost in already".
"We were saying if we beat Martinique we were going to be on our way and we would have being unstoppable but now we just have to start all over from scratch again and play against Jamaica like we just started the tournament again," he said.
While the Martinique experience could have been a heart-breaker for the Jamaican team, Brown is of the opinion that it should be of help to them for today's game.
"I believe we have a very good chance. Haiti have a similar make-up to the Martinique team, but probably not as good a team as Martinique," he said of Haiti.
"Once we play well we should be able to beat them. Against Martinique we played badly for probably the first 60 to 70 minutes of the game."
Teams: Haiti - Augustin Clamard, Roosevelt Desire, Josue Mayard, Frantz Gilles, Turlien Romulus, Jean Jacques Pierre, Chrismonor Thelusma, Jean Robert Menelas, Roudy Lormera and Clerjuste Clersant or Golman Pierre.
Jamaica - Donovan Ricketts, Shavar Thomas or Ian Goodison, Claude Davis, Gerald Neil, Craig Ziadie, Theodore Whitmore, Andy Williams, Omar Daley, Cornel Chin-Sue, Fabian Taylor and Kevin Lisbie or Deon Burton.
