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Speid: We didn’t execute as we planned
September 30, 2026
Reggae Boyz coach Rudolph Speid has blamed poor execution for Jamaica’s 1-0 defeat by 10-man Honduras in the Concacaf Nations League, League A, Group B match at the National Stadium on Monday night.
Deyrol Figueroa’s 14th-minute strike was enough to give the visitors the three points and their first win over the Reggae Boyz in their last nine attempts.
It was a disjointed performance from the home team, who suffered a big setback 10 minutes into the contest when last Friday’s match winner Renaldo Cephas had to be replaced by Tyrese Campbell after picking up a leg injury.
Apart from a 10-minute spell in the first half, after falling behind, the Boyz showed very little in attack.
Speid put the team’s lacklustre performance down to fatigue, which he believes was a result of using the same set of players for two games in three days.
“We didn’t start so well. We were chasing the game for the first quarter hour and then we conceded the goal. We started to play better but I thought we were just off. We didn’t execute as we planned.
“Maybe it was just legs, with the people who started the last match we repeated them. It wasn’t (the performance I expected). Energywise we were not really there. We were behind Honduras who wanted it more and I think that decided the game,” he stated.
He lamented the early departure of Cephas in the game and how it affected their potency in attack.
“It did (affect us). We were expecting him to put on a good performance, using his speed and guile. When he went down we had to change tactics and made some adjustments, which probably was not as effective.
“He (Burrell) is out totally. He picked up an injury and he is going back to England for treatment. I don’t know as yet (the extent of Cephas’ injury),” he said.
When Cephas went out, most of the creative duties fell on Kaheim Dixon, who was the team’s most purposeful player on the night, though he was not as decisive as in the previous game. He also thought Miguel Freckleton was a game-changer on his introduction.
“Kaheim had a very good game. He worked hard both in defence and in attack. He attacked his wing back a lot and I thought he had a good game. He just wasn’t as effective as the last game.
“Freckleton came in and did extremely well. He has just told us he belongs here (with performance) and that is one of the positives to take away from the game.”
Speid said they will take some time to reflect but that the defeat means they have to stay perfect from here on if they are to progress beyond the group stage.
“It (loss) is a big setback. It means we have to win all our games to qualify from this stage. So it’s going to be tough and going away will make it even harder for us,” he said.
Suriname lead the group with six points from two games, while Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica and El Salvador follow on three points each. Martinique are at the bottom of the table without a point.
