Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
Jamaica's captain Ricardo 'Bibi' Gardner (second left) celebrates scoring his second goal and the third for the team with Demar Stewart (centre) and Khari Stephenson (second right), while El Salvador's Dennis Romero (left) and JoRamon Sanchez react during their friendly international at the National Stadium last night. Jamaica won 3-0.
Interim coach of Jamaica, Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore, dedicated the Reggae Boyz's emphatic 3-0 victory over El Salvador to former fallen teammates Peter Cargill and Stephen 'Shorty' Malcolm.
"I'd like to thank all the fans for coming out here to support us tonight and we would like to dedicate this victory to former Reggae Boyz Peter Cargill and 'Shorty' Malcolm," Whitmore said at the post-game press conference last night.
"This is a team that has their eyes on qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and this was a good way to start that objective," he added.
Captain Ricardo 'Bibi' Gardner (37th, 80th) led the scoring with a double, while Rudolph Austin netted the opener in the 24th minute.
Whitmore, former captain and midfield maestro for the Boyz, was appointed interim head coach for both yesterday's and Wed-nesday's upcoming friendly against Guatemala.
rebuilding process
The squad was the first full- strength team to be called for Jamaica in a little over a year, and Whitmore believes right now the team is in the rebuilding process.
"We thought when we looked at the El Salvador team that a 3-5-2 formation would have been the best bet, but we are still in the experimentation process," Whitmore explained when quizzed about the formation.
Jamaica captain Gardner also thanked the crowd for their support and asked the nation to get behind the national programme.
"It was great to see the fans out here tonight. I thank everyone for coming out, our journey to Africa starts right here and I would like to encourage all of Jamaica to get on board."
Gardner also welcomed the new Jamaica Football Federation administration, led by Captain Horace Burrell, back on board.
- K.M.
