Jason Morrison

Grand Cayman

The Reggae Boyz registered a comfortable 4-1 victory over the Cayman Islands in a friendly international at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex last night.

Bryan Bayliss (22nd), Rafe Wolfe (43rd), Keammar Daley (67th) and Jason Morrison (82nd) scored the goals for Jamaica.

Rene Carter scored for the Cayman Islands at the 40th minute.

It was the last competitive engagement for the Jamaicans prior to the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament. It also marked the climax of a one-week training camp in the Cayman Islands.

Jamaica had a very high percentage of possession and were clearly dominant as they moved the ball well to make easy advance deep inside Cayman territory in the first half.

However, they only trailed 2-1 at half-time because the finishing and decisions inside the final third were not good most of the times.

Luton Shelton had a shot blocked by the goalie then a goal disallowed later, after sliding a header taken by Devon Hodges across the goal line.

Hodges, on another night, might have had a quick hat-trick but missed open chances, while Wolfe had a header saved and there were several shots that were hit high when players found themselves open atop the penalty box.

On the occasions when the finishing was exceptional, they scored.

First, Devon Hodges turned a pass to Ricardo Fuller, who fed Bayliss. The latter tricked a defender into committing, then placed his shot past Cayman goalie Joseph Tatum for a 22nd-minute lead.

The Cayman Islands could hardly put four passes together and were never threatening, getting their first shot on goal at the 31st minute by virtue of a free kick that was fired well high over Dwayne Miller's goal.

They got a real opportunity to score from a free kick awarded at the edge of the penalty box when referee Kenville Holder adjudged Claude Davis to have handled the ball.

level the scores

Rene Carter made the most of it to level the scores at one-all in the 40th minute, superbly curling the ball over the wall and just under the bar at the pigeon-hole, a beauty that gave Miller no chance.

Jamaica responded shortly after when captain Damion Stewart played a pass to Rafe Wolfe, who slipped his marker and dribbled inside, before firing between Tatum and his near post to give Jamaica a 2-1 lead two minutes ahead of the interval.

Wolfe had another shot saved at the interval by Tatum, who was quite busy through the half.

The Jamaicans maintained their superiority, but never controlled proceedings constantly in the same manner in the second half, despite scoring two unanswered goals. It is not that they were under pressure of threat defensively, as the Cayman Islands only had one solitary kick for the entire half, a speculative effort from near half line that was easily handled by substitute goalie Duwayne Kerr.

What affected Jamaica more than anything else was their effort to inject more pace on a bouncy surface, which was quite plush but not easy for ball movement.

Despite this, the Reggae Boyz maintained the upper hand and improved their scoring with two well-taken goals.

Daley, who replaced Hodges at the 55th minute, took a well-measured pass off Richard Edwards and hit a firm shot into the far post at the 67th.

Eight minutes before time Morrison drove a firm left-footer from the top of the penalty box inside the post to close out the scoring.

The Boyz returned home today and will depart tomorrow for the United States, where they will participate in the Gold Cup. They will open their campaign on Friday against Canada at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles.

Keammar Daley - file photos