Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

National technical director René Simoes addresses members of the media at the post-match press conference at the National Stadium on Tuesday night. In the background is St Vincent and the Grenadines' coach, Stewart Hall. Jamaica won 5-1. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

NATIONAL TECHNICAL director René Simoes commended the Reggae Boyz for a creditable performance against St Vincent and the Grenadines at the National Stadium on Tuesday night despite some of the players being new to the team and also having just completed long seasons of football abroad.

"They are really tired at this time of the year. They are supposed to be at rest and not thinking about football, but everywhere around the world is the same problem," Simoes said at the post-game press conference after Jamaica's 5-1 victory.

"I have to be very careful about quantity, volume and intensity of training sessions and games until we face The Bahamas, but the guys went out and played well, it has been a tough week," he said.

Week-long training

The majority of the team, including 15 overseas-based players, had been involved in a week-long training session. According to Simoes, the team is still in the process of feeling its way around and working on chemistry was another important aspect of the game.

"In the week we have, we have tried to reshape the team ... they did not get it exactly right (tonight), but they played well," he said.

"Statistically, we were supposed to win but football is amazing, we played a well-organised team and I thought they played well." In Tuesday night's encounter, Demar Phillips charged into the area before cracking the ball into the back of the net to open the scoring in the 17th minute. Marlon King, who netted a double, tucked away his first with a 27th-minute penalty and then volleyed a picture-perfect Rudolph Austin cross in the 42nd minute.

After missing a glorious opportunity from point-blank range minutes after taking the field, striker Deon Burton saw an attempt deflected into the net in the 74th minute. Burton then played the ball into the path of captain Ricardo Gardner, who netted in the 88th minute.

St Vincent and the Grenadines' coach, Stewart Hall, who saw his team enjoy a positive spell of football in the second half which culminated with Marlon James heading the ball into the back of the net in the 57th minute, believed a slow start was his team's undoing.

"We just never started well. We started very badly, I think it was fear," Hall said.

"You always say to your team 'respect your opponents'. Respect makes you work harder, but what you don't do is turn that respect into fear. We were very apprehensive for the first 10 or 15 minutes and we let them get on top of us," he said.