Golden Jags to take on Reggae Boys today

Searching for redemption

By Jemima Holmes

The Golden Jaguars of Guyana will tonight be looking to utter the predator’s roar against the fleet-footed Reggae Boys of Jamaica when these two teams clash tonight at the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora, WCD in Guyana’s second game of the CONCACAF Nations League tournament.

The Reggae Boys are an all-too-familiar opponent for the Golden Jaguars. There are those who would remember that the Golden Jaguars — and by extension Guyanese football fans — had experienced the worst kind of heartbreak imaginable when the Reggae Boys had, in 2016, come from behind to prevail over the Jags at the same venue. The Jaguars were leading the Reggae Boys 2-0 at the half, owing to a brilliant double from Adrian Butters; but the Reggae Boys had managed to pull off the unimaginable by scoring 4 goals in the second half for a win.

Those painful memories still haunt the recesses of the collective Jaguars’ mind, and this current squad is determined to exact revenge on the Reggae Boys tonight.
The first whistle of this CONCACAF Nations League match is expected to sound off at 19hrs, and Captain of the Golden Jaguars, Samuel Cox, has noted that the team is now in a better position to defeat the mighty Jamaicans.
“For me personally, I think you always remember the toughest defeat. I look back at that day at Leonora. Yeah, it was heartbreaking being up against one of the Caribbean giants, Jamaica, and losing 4-2 in the end; it was a tough one to take. We were that close back then, but we (have) learned from our mistakes and we (have) come back stronger,” Cox said at the pre- match press conference on Sunday at the Pegasus Hotel.
Despite the history between these two teams, Cox is confident that, on any given day, the local team can come up against any opposition and win.
“We know we’re coming up against a really strong side in Jamaica. We’ve brought along some really great players, who have a wealth of talent. On our given day, we know we can beat anybody,” Cox has asserted.
Assistant Coach of the Golden Jaguars, Charles Pollard, views the Jags as an underdog outfit.
“Starting as an underdog is a very good challenge, but I think the guys are excited and ready to rear and go for this game,” he declared.
Probed about his preferred result for tonight’s fixture, Pollard disclosed that a win is ideal, but a draw is also acceptable, given that both sides have won their first Nations League encounter.
“I don’t think a draw would be a bad result in this game,” Pollard said.

The Mighty Jamaicans
Present at yesterday’s press conference, Jamaica’s Head Coach Jerome Waite expressed all confidence in the Reggae Boys team. Questioned about the number of remaining players who competed in Guyana back in 2016, Waite revealed that a few of them are still with the team, and have gelled well with the new generation of players.
“This time around, it’s a new generation of players. They’re only a few players left who were in that game. So the new players look good. (As for) the chemistry, they are only getting better as they play more games, and we are looking forward to an exciting game,” Waite disclosed.
He declared that, regardless of the opponent, the team is always under some amount of pressure to do well, given its track record.
“Well, Jamaica playing any team from the region, it’s always added pressure, because it’s always the country’s dream to play against Jamaica, and they will put their best foot forward. So we’re always under a lot of pressure to perform at our utmost best,” he said.
The Golden Jags vs Reggae Boys encounter will kick off promptly at 19:00hrs at the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora. Tickets for the event are priced at $2000, and can be uplifted at the venue.