Not so fast

LOCAL REGGAE Boyz concluded their two-month camp with two friendly matches away against Trinidad and Tobago on the weekend.

However, the prospect of any of those players being included in Heimir Hallgrimsson’s squad for the upcoming Nations League semifinal tie against the United States (US) in March seems remote.

In his post-match interview following the final game on Sunday, Hallgrimsson said he was impressed with the players’ performance and said many made a case for themselves.

“They did pretty good. I thought we did better in the first game. Trinidad had the upper hand today (Sunday). But we didn’t concede a lot of goalscoring chances and when you do not have the upper hand, you are happy not to concede a goal and keeping the opponent away from creating chances.

“Overall, the players did well in the collective work that we wanted. There were more individual brilliance from us (first game). But the players did well. They did what we asked and we are happy,” said Hallgrimsson.

However, for the match against the US he admitted he will focus on the group that got them thus far.

“It is just to focus on the players that we have been carrying in the Nations League games. We are on a good run and we want to continue that.

“The US will be a tough opponent at home. So we have been watching and contacting the players we have been using.

“Some players from this camp proved a point, that they can fight for a spot in that roster,” he said.

Meanwhile, assistant coach Merron Gordon said it would not be easy for local players to displace the team’s established international stars.

However, he encouraged the locally based players to continue making a case for themselves with consistent performances in the Jamaica Premier League.

“These boys showed that they understand what international football is. So we were impressed by the group. But people must face the fact that these boys are competing against players playing in the top leagues in Europe.

“They just need to continue knocking on the door, that is the only way to get a look in. Knock on the door and knock hard and people must look and open the door,” he reasoned.

He added that: “The more we can get the (national) team to do well and improve our ranking in the world, more of our local players will get exposed.

“So I don’t want people to look at it as if we are not choosing local boys because we are. But the balance will come sometime in the future.”

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com