JAMAICA'S REGGAE Boyz won their first tournament outside of the region when they rallied to beat China 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out to lift the Lunar New Year Cup at the Hong Kong Stadium in Hong Kong yesterday.

Following a 0-0 draw in regular time, former Under-20 keeper Allien Whittaker, who also represented the nation in the 2001 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, came up big when he stopped two penalties and scored one as the Jamaican team recovered from missing their first penalty. In addition to Whittaker, Adrian Reid, Jermaine Taylor, Lovel Palmer and Donovan Davis found the back of the net for Jamaica while Zhou, Hai-bin, Jiang Ning, Dai Lin and Yang Xu scored for China.

Victory over hong kong

The Reggae Boyz had booked their place in the final when they scored a 5-3 penalty shoot-out victory over a Hong Kong League XI in Monday's first match.

The tournament was the first for the team with new technical director Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic at the helm. Milutinovic officially took over as head of the national programme a little over two months ago. The 62-year-old Serbian native, who had stated that the experience gained from the tournament would be more important than any of the results, holds the distinction of being the only person to have coached five different teams at the World Cup - Mexico, Costa Rica, the United States, Nigeria and China. All of those teams, with the exception of China, went to the second round.

In yesterday's third-place playoff, Australia defeated the Hong Kong League XI in another penalty shoot-out 5-3 after the teams finished 2-2 in regulation time.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller was quick to congratulate the Reggae Boyz on their historic success. Simpson Miller, who is also the Sports Minister, said the victory made her "extremely proud".

"I am elated and extremely proud to learn of the Reggae Boyz victory in the Lunar Cup competition in Hong Kong yesterday," Simpson Miller said in a release. "More significant is the fact that the Boyz were once again creating history by becoming the first Caribbean team to taste success in this competition.

"This tells us all, that what the mind can conceive, one can achieve."

The Prime Minister added: "It is also important to note that the team was comprised of young home-based talent, the majority of which are Under-23 players bereft of much international experience.

"Congratulations to you and the coaching staff headed by our new technical director, Bora Milutinovic. You have made a wonderful start, and you have now re-ignited a nation's dreams of qualifying for another World Cup to be held this time in the continent of our forefathers and mothers in 2010.

"This victory is also a clear indication that football is alive and well in Jamaica," she said.