Assistant coach of the Junior Reggae Boyz, Lenworth Hyde Sr (centre), team captain André Darby (right) and Head of Delegation, Bruce Gaynor (left), are all smiles on the team's return at the Norman Manley International Airport yesterday. - photo by Jermaine Lannaman
Onlookers at the Norman Manley International Airport, some of whom last September witnessed the triumphant return of the country's Olympians from the Beijing Olympics, dished out a similar welcome yesterday, albeit on a lower scale.
This time it was in celebration of the junior Reggae Boyz - fresh from their qualification to the CONCACAF final-round play-offs for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup Finals - who returned to much fanfare and cheers from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) play-offs, which were held in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Alanzo Adlam (12th) and Levaughn Williams (60th) scored for Jamaica to win 2-0 in the all-important game against St Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday night and top the four-nation group with seven points, to book the automatic qualifying spot.
In an earlier match between the group's other contestants, Haiti beat the Dominican Republic 6-1 to end with four points. The latter lost all its matches.
As runners-up, St Vincent and the Grenadines will play against Central America's fourth-place finishers, Honduras, for the other spot in the eight-nation finals that will be held in Trinidad and Tobago in March. The other competitors in the finals are Mexico, the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Canada and the hosts.
Duckie
"We have to say thanks to the guys and big them up as every time the level of competition has risen, high or low, they match it. It's a happy feeling, a wonderful feeling to know that our backs were against the wall and the guys rallied to pull it off," said an elated Donovan Duckie, head coach of the U-20 Boyz, amid adoring fans, who jumped, hugged and greeted him and the players on their exit from the arrival lounge.
The Boyz, who gave up an 87th- minute goal to draw 1-1 with Haiti in their first match, rallied to defeat the Dominican Republic 4-1 and in the final game of the series, with the hosts needing only a draw to secure the automatic spot, rose to the occasion to blank them 2-0.
"Before we departed from Jamaica, we said to ourselves that Haiti was going to be the test ... the one to beat. When we conceded that late goal and drew the game with Haiti, it was really a heartbreaker for us," said Duckie.
'Hard to motivate'
"It was hard to motivate the guys to come back and play, as we knew it would come down to a goal-difference situation. Then the tournament took a serious twist. It was amazing for us to stand there and watch St Vincent beat Haiti. And, in that stadium in front of 15,000-20,000 people, and not one fan (noticeably) rooting for Jamaica, we turned out and the guys responded.
"I must say a big thank you to the players, all Jamaicans who were rooting for us, to the media, to the JFF and the wonderful coaching staff, including Lenny Hyde, who is really a genius at what he is doing and who was right there with us when we needed experience the most to motivate the guys," said Duckie, who is a former soldier.
He noted that with the fear of failure steering him in the face, he could not hold back the joy he felt after the referee blew the final whistle to signal the end of the St Vincent match.