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Convincing win fails to excite Hallgrimsson
July 03, 2023
Reggae Boyz coach Haimir Hallgrimsson will remain grounded after securing impressive back-to-back wins in Group A of the Concacaf Gold Cup to secure their passage to the quarter-final round of the competition.
The Reggae Boyz defeated St Kitts and Nevis 5-0 yesterday to finish second in the group behind the United States of America (USA), who also finished with seven points.
The Jamaicans, previously defeated Trinidad and Tobago 4-1, and yesterday, scored through an own goal from goalkeeper Julani Archibald after 30 minutes and Jonathan Russell on the stroke of half time.
Hallgrimsson's Boyz then got second-half goals from Deshorn Bernard in the 49th, Daniel Johnson in the 72nd and Corey Burke in the 74th to round off a convincing display.
Hallgrimsson, however, insists that despite the morale-boosting victory, they are still not excited, as they will face more difficult opponents in the next round.
"It is really pleasing how we have done, and we hope to continue that, but we will not get carried away with these wins.
"We need to focus because the next team will be strong opponents. So we need to be focused and balanced. We cannot be as open as we were in the second half. We need to fix a lot of things, and we need to be prepared for a different match next time," Hallgrimsson commented.
He pointed out that they would use the week before their next game to recuperate.
"We have a week to recover, and we are going to give the players two days off, so, hopefully, they will come both mentally and physically recovered in two days," he added.
The Jamaicans were slow out the blocks and took 30 minutes to get the breakthrough, which was only through an own goal from St Kitts and Nevis' goalkeeper Julani Archibald.
Jonathan Russell made it 2-0 in the 45th minute with a good finish after an assist from Leon Bailey. Four minutes after the break, defender Deshorn Bernard showed good skill and control to make it 3-0.
Daniel Johnson started and then finished a quick counter-attack in the 72nd minute for the Reggae Boyz to go 4-0 up before Burke sealed the points two minutes later after another fast break down the right.
Jamaica will play the winner of Group D in the quarter-finals.
