Jamaica's Demar Phillips (right) was Jamaica's best player in their friendly international against Chile at the National Stadium, on Tuesday night. Chile won 1-0. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor

DEFENDING HIS decision of not selecting some senior overseas-based Reggae Boyz for Tuesday night's friendly international against Chile at the National Stadium, technical director Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic says the young and inexperienced players he chose need the chance to develop.

A number of regular Boyz who play in the United Kingdom, including central defender Claude Davis and midfielder Jermaine 'Teddy' Johnson - who was present at the match - were not invited to the squad. But Milutinovic says their involvement is not crucial at this stage.

"What is important is to give the young players a chance to play because some of them are playing at this level for the first time. So we need to give them an opportunity to play," Milutinovic pointed out in response to queries at the post-game press conference.

Continuing, he queried rhetorically: "Who are we going to use when the overseas players can't come?"

Scouting for fresh talent

The selection issue had been bandied about in the media and football circles prior to and even during the match, which Chile won 1-0, courtesy of a goal scored by Juan Gonzalo Lorca in the 20th minute.

Since taking up the football job here in November last year, Milutinovic has been scouting the island and has included a number of untried players for training and practice internationals as he builds a squad for 2010 World Cup qualification, which begins next year.

The qualifiers are set to start in the first quarter of 2008, but Serbian-born Milutinovic says he has no intention of ending his recruitment drive at this point, and further, has not set a cut-off date.

"Now is the not moment," he said. "When we get closer to qualification games I need to make a decision."

Reasoning along the same trend, Milutinovic said the fact that the Jamaica team lost was less significant than the preparation given to both the inexperienced senior team players and several Under-23s gearing towards next month's Pan-Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Cohesive team

The match itself, watched by close to a half-full stadium, was the best played by the Boyz under Bora's guidance as the team was cohesive, had a distinct shape, played with discipline and people were angled in good supporting positions on a consistent basis.

The first half was full of action and quite entertaining with a high level of attacking play and many goal-area skirmishes. For the locals, diminutive Demar Phillips was a stand-out with some dangerous crosses before goal, while operating from the left midfield flank in the first half and later left full back.

Jamaica also made a number of changes in the second half and it took some spark and momentum from their play.

Despite that, the team held its formation and continued to effectively match up against the South American team, even as the game degenerated into a hot-tempered affair with some late and rash challenges and much facing-off.

"The way how they played today, the position, the discipline, everything was good," assessed Milutinovic.

"We made some mistakes, and what is important is the team we played andChile is pretty good team, because they've got so many players that play abroad and they are in a different situation from us.

"But I like the way how we played earlier in the first half and in the second half. We played to score goals, but we didn't scored any goals. But what is important is that they played the way how I like."

He added: "Now the momentum is good, now maybe we go to play our next match abroad, but what is important is to give our players experience because most of our players don't have experience."