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Boyz gutted by eliminationFootball
BY IAN BURNETT Observer staff reporter
Friday, November 19, 2004
The silence was deafening. The air was thick with tension; tears flowed freely; absolutely no words were exchanged for a period of time. That was the scene in the Reggae Boyz's locker room immediately following their 1-1 tie with the USA at the Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday night.
The realisation had hit them that their train to Germany 2006 had been derailed. There was no way back for the Boyz, who entered the contest hoping to register their first win over the US and guarantee themselves a place in the final six.
Despite the creditable result, Jamaica were denied second place in the group by a
hungry Panama,
who beat El Salvador, 3-0, to snatch second-place with eight points. Jamaica ended on seven, while El Salvador brought up the rear with four. The US finished atop the group with 12. "There were just no words that anybody could say," technical director Carl Brown told the Observer.
And captain Theodore Whitmore concurred: "The vibes just went dead," he said. "There was nothing at all. I couldn't even eat after the game," added the man who scored a brace in Jamaica's lone World Cup final victory, 2-1, over Japan. Whitmore also noted that he couldn't come to the realisation that the Boyz were knocked out at this stage, though he admitted the players should be the ones shouldering the blame.
"We let ourselves down and we let down the country," he mourned.
That tense atmosphere remained in the dressing room for more than an hour after the completion of the match. Though players trickled out of the room and into the waiting bus, an insider told the Observer the dressing room was like a "morgue".
"Players were just stunned into silence, some sat motionless looking into space, while others pulled shirts or towels over their bowed heads."
The elimination was hard for them to take; they knew they had the quality to be in the final stage of six, but their profligacy in front of goal cost them in the end.
The Boyz competed admirably away from home, garnering five of a possible nine points, but at home they only managed two of nine. And to add insult to injury, a clearly inferior Panama, who lost twice, including a 6-0 walloping by the US, denied the Boyz second place. As was expected, some players took the failure in stride, while others were bent on venting their frustrations.
"Some people (players) wanted the headline for themselves, and now none of us will get it," said one upset player. He was still upset with striker Marlon King for opting to shoot at goal instead of passing the ball to an open Jason Euell, Jermaine Hue or Andy Williams, in one of the better late chances against the US on Wednesday night.
"If it were the Americans, they would pass the ball because they would think team first," the player added.
Another player exclaimed: "We were not a team, and if we are not a team we can't win. We have discussed it at meetings and everybody says, 'yes, team football', but it's a different team when we go on to the field."
Now, left licking their wounds,
the Boyz will have to regroup, refocus and recharge themselves for the next tournament scheduled for 2010 in South Africa.
