Audley Boyd, STAR Sports Writer

Skipper Ricardo Gardner (left) and Rudolph Austin (centre) will be two key players for Jamaica. Demar Phillips is suspended. - file

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras:

ANYTHING but a loss. That's the Jamaican mandate against Honduras, the Central American country, they will face in a crucial CONCACAF semi-final round Group Two World Cup qualifier, at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano, in San Pedro Sula tonight.

Kick-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. local time), later than the opening match of this important Central American tour that started with a 3-0 loss to Mexico at the Azteca on Saturday night.

Having been beaten there on all six of their previous trips, and convincingly at that, the weekend's seventh at the hands of the CONCACAF giants was not surprising. But whatever the expectation, the Boyz, whose projections were thrown off by Honduras' 2-1 away victory over Canada, have their work cut out.

"We can't lose the game," stressed René Simoes, the Jamaica Football Federation technical director, in an interview yesterday.

"If Honduras reach six points, they've two other games at home and they can reach 12 points. So that would be out of our control."

Cannot lose the game

Simoes added: "Mexico have six points and they could move to nine with three more games to come, so it's crucial, we cannot lose the game."

Comparing the situation Brazil found itself in prior to Sunday's 3-0 Cup qualifying win over Chile, Simoes reasoned it'll take more guts than guile to succeed.

"If Brazil had lost to Chile, Brazil would be in eighth position. If they lost, they would be in a crisis," he said. "That'll be an inspiration."

He added: "More than tactics and format is the fight that you put in."

Mexico, with two wins from as many matches, lead the four-team standings with a maximum six points. Honduras' victory over Canada lifted them into second on three, while Jamaica, which had hoped for anything but a Canada loss at the weekend, are tied at the bottom of the standings with the latter after sharing a point in their 1-1 at Toronto's BMO Field on August 20.

Only two from the group - one of three in this quadrangular round-robin series - will advance and Jamaica will have to totally transform their showing against Mexico to survive the challenge from Honduras, who now view Jamaica as their real rival for a berth in the CONCACAF finals.

"It appears to me that it is the most important game since winning, it should allow us to make a big step towards the qualifying phase," Ramon Nunez, Honduras' two-goal hero against Canada, was quoted as saying in his country's daily sports tabloid Golazo.

Nunez and strike partner David Suazo, who set up both goals, are Honduras' main threat along with its midfield general and captain, Amado Guevara.

Simoes called Honduras "a really strong team" and says their format, which includes two strikers and a diamond-shaped midfield, will influence "some adjustments because it'll be the first time we face a team this way."

Immediately upon their arrival in Honduras, Jamaica split its team and got down to business, with one group training feverishly at the Estadio Francisco Morazan and the other pool stretching at the Hilton hotel, where the team is based.

They were due to for an extensive training session last night but even ahead of that schedule, Simoes was optimistic.

"At this point we're confident that we'll be really ok."

Key central defender Ian 'Pepe' Goodison, who suffered a bad injury that included heavy swelling and deep abrasions to his right leg in Saturday's game and captain Ricardo Gardner received physiotherapy at Sunday night's training.

"Goodison told me he'll play the game and doctor (Dr Charles Roberts, the team physician) is pretty certain also," admitted Simoes of the man to be partnered by Jermaine Taylor at central defence.

Close to chest

Simoes is keeping everything close to his chest as far as team strategy is concerned, but Demar Phillips is out due to an accumulation of yellow cards from The Bahamas and Mexico matches. He will be replaced by Wolry Wolfe.

In the meantime, Gardner's treatment is purely precautionary.

Performance constitutes a most necessary change for the Jamaicans.

"It was not the loss, it was the performance," Simoes noted of the spineless clash. "We lost to Mexico ... nobody likes that, it was the performance."

Asked if there was any segment of Jamaica's play that impressed him in that clash, Simoes replied: "There's no area ... we didn't play.

"It was a shame. Even when we lost six-nil against Mexico we played."

He added: "Even when you look at the first half, the first time we kicked the ball it was when Ricardo Fuller kicked a shot after 43 minutes. There was nothing."

Fuller, incidentally, look set to lead the offence alongside Deon Burton, while Rudolph Austin and Andy Williams are also key elements of the cast expected to deliver goals, while Marshall and Gardner are other members of a cast that will be looking to defend the goal, which is kept by Donovan Ricketts.

The countries have played eight time overall in World Cup qualifying, with Honduras winning four (including 1-0 wins in 2000 and 2001) and Jamaica twice. Jamaica have never beaten Honduras in this country, but 1996's 0-0 draw may be instructive as it decided Jamaica's advance past the semi-final phase in the CONCACAF qualifying series.

Anything but a loss. That's the mandate.