Following their 5 – 1 loss to Jamaica in their second match of the Caribbean Football Union's Under 17 Championships in Puerto Rico, www.islandstats.com spoke with National Coach Naquita Robinson.
Robinson is acting in the capacity of Assistant Coach to the current Under 17 Women’s National Coach Aaron Denkins.
Robinson said, “We fell tremendously short in finishing. We had the chances but just couldn't put the ball away. Something we have to work on more. Defensively we stood our ground but unfortunately 3 defensive errors was the cause of 3 out of the five goals. This is a great testament to how close the gap is and how hard the girls have worked on improving technically.”
Robinson continued, “We have definitely proven that we can hang with the best of them. The direction we are heading in is the definitely right one. To see these players play through the match even at 5-1. They didn't drop their heads or give up. For me that is progress. We have had teams where individuals pressed through even the 9-1 defeat to Jamaica last summer there were players who pressed to the end but not all. This entire team played until the end. There may have been one player that gave up but not because of the score but just lost concentration and couldn't adhere to instructions but that was a minor issue.”
“When you have young players like Danni Watson (12 years old) coming on against a fast attacking Jamaican side and completely denying her direct opponent, who was by far the fastest player on their team, is a sign things are going in the right direction for us. These players are making teams earn their respect and playing without fear. The Jamaican team we faced last night was very physical and strong. They had very good technical ability and played attractive football. Their back line was not as good as I remember, but we didn't punish them. At one point in the match the goalkeeper passed the ball straight to Leilanni Nesbeth and unfortunately she didn't capitalize. At another time Symira Lowe-Darrell was in behind the defenders and sent her shot over the top. These are situations we don't have the opportunity to work on because of the lack of league play,” continued Robinson.
Robinson went on to say, “We are going into the final match against the host who need to win by 6 clear goals and Jamaica would have to lose in order for them to advance. Our goal is to win that final match. It will be another international match in which the girls can gauge where they are. Haiti are by far the favorites to win this tournament. Jamaica and Trinidad should round off the top 3.”
Zakiyah Durham is still carrying a slight knock and Leah Smith has a slight calf strain, but there aren't any major concerns
Robinson concluded, “The Jamaican coach spoke at the press conference after the match and said the scoreline was in no way a reflection of how we played. He said had we put our chances away it would have been a totally different outcome. The girls played to the very last minute. It was great to see Micah Pond save a penalty when the score was 5-1. She had some work to do to keep the ball out and she kept her teammates in the game. These girls have made Bermuda proud and I hope the country stands behind them. We must remain positive and encourage the girls as we move forward.”
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