The selector of Jamaica, Paul Hallaffirmed this Thursday that his team lacked the support of his followers to beat Mexico at the National Stadium.
The Jamaican national team received El Tri without spectators in the stands of the National Stadium. Getty Images
«The team changes when we play with a full stadium. We miss the fans a lot because they give us the energy we needed to win,» said the coach at the end of the duel for the ninth date of the octagonal final of the Concacaf qualifier in which they fell 2-1 to Mexico.
For the match at the Jamaican National Stadium, with a capacity for 35,000 spectators, fans were not allowed to attend due to the high incidence of covid-19 infections on the Caribbean island, a situation that the Jamaican coach regretted.
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«It was something we really wanted to have because we needed that boost from the fans to close out the game,» he explained.
The Jamaican team took advantage in the duel with a goal from Daniel Johnson. At the end of the first half he suffered the expulsion of Damion Lowe. In the second half, Mexico turned the scoreboard around with goals from Henry Martín and Alexis Vega.
Hall lamented that the visiting team snatched the victory from them in the last ten minutes of the game.
«When there were 15 minutes left we thought we would beat the Mexicans, we had control, but in a couple of plays we lost focus and they, who have a lot of quality, took advantage of the oversights.»
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The strategist denied that he was surprised by the approach of the team led by the Argentine Gerardo Martino.
«The Mexicans played as we expected. In the first half we were able to stop them, they practically didn’t come through, but in the second we fell and they showed their fighting spirit.»
With the defeat, Jamaica was left with seven points, in sixth place in the tie among eight teams, a position that according to the helmsman will not make them give up in the search for a ticket to the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
«As long as there are chances we will fight, but we need to go game by game and try to win one game at a time.»
In the next game of the tie, Jamaica will visit Panama next Sunday.