Lennie TaylorLENNIE Taylor, the Jamaican who coaches St. Vincent and the Grenadines football team, believes they have an outstanding chance of ending the Reggae Boyz' 44-game unbeaten streak at the National Stadium.
The teams meet in a crucial World Cup qualifier at the National Stadium tomorrow, a match which Taylor believes could put St. Vincent in contention of improving their chances of qualifying for the final round.
"We are ready to play. We can make a difference this time because the ball is round," argued Taylor. "It bounces for both teams and sometimes you have the luck of the bounce and that might be the difference in the ball game."
Only two teams from the four-nation penultimate elimination phase will advance and a confident Taylor believes if St. Vincent defeat the Reggae Boyz, who are sitting pretty at the top of the table with maximum nine points, the result would significantly boost their chances of advancing to the final round.
St. Vincent are yet to earn a point but Taylor warned that the pressure is not on his team anymore because they have gone through their toughest assignments -- going down 0-1 to Jamaica at home and losing 1-7 and 0-6 against El Salvador and Honduras in away matches.
"Fortunately for us, we have gone through our tough assignments. We are looking at the other side of things. We are looking at playing here and then going back to St. Vincent to play two home matches, said Taylor. You (Jamaica) are competing in your home matches ... the pressure is on Jamaica it is not on us. So we are not worried. We are here to play.
"There are no problems playing against Jamaica because we are on par. The problems are playing against the Central American teams," warned Taylor.
Taylor does not share the view that the Reggae Boyz are unbeatable at home and remains confident that his team, which arrived in Jamaica Tuesday, two days earlier that scheduled, can get the job done.
"We are taking it one game at a time," Taylor explained. "Our purpose is to play this game Sunday and to secure points. That first and then we will continue. We have been on the road for a long time and we are looking forward to go back to St. Vincent and play the home matches. This would be a feather in our cap to get three points here.
"We matched up well with the Jamaicans, there are no secrets in that. The Caribbean teams match up. Tactically, we are both on the same par. The first game showed that. We should have won the game. We have no fear in our hearts."
St. Vincent's top players have arrived for the game including the overseas trio of Wesley John, who plays in Portugal, Ireland-based Wesley Charles and in-form striker Rodney Jack, who plays in England.
By Melton Williams
Staff Reporter
Michael Sloley
