First Win of McClaren Era a Critical One for Jamaica Away to Honduras

Reggae Boyz take big step towards Nations League Quarters and 2025 Gold Cup thanks to Antonio’s late winner in Tegucigalpa.

After Friday’s disappointing draw with Cuba, Jamaica entered Tuesday’s match away to Honduras with a big opportunity to go top of Group 2 in CONCACAF Nations League A after the other four teams in the table all drew earlier in the day. And despite a back-and-forth contest that saw the hosts maintain control in stretches, Steve McClaren’s team did just that — giving the Englishmen his first win in charge of Jamaica. Let’s dive into my post-game notebook highlighting the positives of the performance and noting some of the victory’s standout individuals.

Blake and Bell’s missing presence felt once again.

While Jahmali Waite and Greg Leigh did an admirable job at the Copa América, Tuesday’s game was a perfect representation of the value captain Andre Blake and left back Amari’i Bell bring to the team. Blake, on the whole, was solid, but a couple of remarkable saves late reinforced his position as CONCACAF’s top keeper. Waite had some strong outings in the Copa and a handful of other Jamaican keepers have had good runs at the club level in the last few years, but there’s very few in the world — much less in the Jamaican player pool — who can make the saves that Blake does. His final stop on Bryan Róchez can only be described as world class, and the overall quality of the performance was deserving of a shutout — though one moment of defensive insanity kept Blake from recording his second clean sheet of the break and 24th overall for Jamaica.

Bell, meanwhile, has been solid across both games of this window but was particularly impressive on Tuesday night against Edwin Rodríguez — who had scored a goal and given Trinidad and Tobago plenty of headaches in Honduras’ first game of the window last week. Bell used his anticipation to cut out the play and limit Rodríguez’ attacking opportunities, and he used his strength and physicality with good effect when needed to take the ball off the Honduran right-sider. Going forward, Bell showcased a different side of his game than on Friday (when he was tucking inside in an attempt to create overloads against the Cuban block), but he was still getting up and down the field — even if the Jamaican attacking play was primarily down the right flank for the majority of the game. Bell was a standout in each of his last two Championship campaigns with Luton before last season’s run in the Premier League (which was affected by the same injury that cost him the Copa América), and another strong run in the English second-tier plus more performances like this should have him just behind Blake as far as first names on the team sheet go.

McClaren’s midfield a work in progress but full of positives.

The domestic press have questioned McClaren on the midfield several times since he took over after it was frequently pointed to as an area of weakness under Heimir Hallgrímsson, but the former Manchester United assistant was quick to jump to the defense of his central trio after their performance last Friday against Cuba. And while I had my doubts about the overall showing in that match, Tuesday’s performance did seem to reflect a step in the right direction with each of the three midfield starters from the last game against Cuba performing well, and a perceived change in shape allowing for more numbers in the midfield battle. Kasey Palmer, off the back of a standout showing against Cuba, was impressive once again and figures to have secured his place as one of the starters for the foreseeable future. Joel Latibeaudiere, meanwhile, seemed marginally more impactful in this game, and it’s quickly becoming evident the exact type of role that McClaren envisions for him — one which should help players like Palmer or Bobby De Cordova-Reid freely go forward and attack.

And speaking of De Cordova-Reid, I thought he was much more influential Tuesday in a slightly different role that encouraged him to float between the midfield and attacking lines with more regularity — something that he became known for doing (and excelling at) in Hallgrímsson’s tenure. While his positioning was extremely fluid, his deployment further forward could have posed problems in the midfield areas, but the set-up of the team saw Norman Campbell and Demarai Gray deployed more conservatively than the wide players had been in the Cuba game. The pair staying home slightly more often was a natural choice in a difficult away match, and it seemed to have the desired effect of freeing De Cordova-Reid to have a wider impact on the game. That said, the more defensive role did seem to have a very different impact on Gray — who worked hard but wasn’t as present in the team’s actions in the final third as on Friday. Finding a balance that allows all of Gray, De Cordova-Reid, Palmer and a right-sided attacker to play freely at the same time will take more than one camp, but the big takeaway from McClaren’s first two games should be that he has a clear vision that he’s using to shape the midfield — which should pay dividends long-term.

Campbell showing return to Reggae Boyz is well deserved.

Campbell, having last been capped in 2021 before Friday’s seven minute cameo against Cuba, made an extremely positive impression in his first international start for over 1,100 days. His end product was lacking at times, but he got the ball into the box right on the opener after a fantastic nutmeg of Joseph Rosales along the touchline. Beyond that would’ve been assist on the Honduran own-goal, Campbell’s offensive game was a bit imprecise on the whole, but his industry and willingness to work off the ball will have left McClaren delighted. Meanwhile, the confidence and ambition he showed to keep taking possession and going at Rosales and Honduras’ defense in possession show he’s clearly a player who has the personality play with the ball — something the Englishmen mentioned as a key trait he’s looking for in players for his squad. A continuation of his strong start to life with Danish Superliga club Randers is needed to promise Campbell a spot in the squad long-term (especially given the amount of competition in the wide areas), but the performances in his audition for a more regular return to the Jamaica set-up have surely earned him another call-up for the October window.

Dixon’s lengthy cameo flashes unique impact.

Speaking of personality in possession, there’s few that make a better case for being one of the team’s primary ball carriers than young Kaheim Dixon. After only a couple of minutes to impact the result against Cuba, McClaren was careful to give his young star a longer run out in game 2, and the result was a bright performance — with Dixon’s clever dummy creating the extra space for De Cordova-Reid to work on the ball before he played Antonio in for the winning penalty. Beyond that, Dixon’s touches almost all had the Reggae Boyz moving forward — something that wasn’t always promised when the ball played through other areas of the pitch. That lack of fear to go forward makes Dixon a dynamic bench option, but the quality he shows when he carries the ball or takes on a defender continues to suggest that it can’t be too much longer before he’s starting games with regularity. To make starts a reality, Dixon will need to show he can work for the team out of possession, and he did just that in his 25 minutes on Tuesday. He recovered the ball twice, tracked back to support Leigh (deployed as a right-sider Tuesday) as needed and even registered a needed clearance in his own box as Jamaica defended the lead late. Next up for Dixon (and Karoy Anderson who also got valuable minutes against Honduras) is a return to Charlton where both will hope to carve out a regular role in Nathan Jones’ team who sit 5th in League One after 5 league matches.

Nations League and Gold Cup destiny in Jamaica’s hands after win.

Thanks to results elsewhere, Jamaica end the September window exactly where they’d want to be — on top of Group 2 in the Nations League and fully in control of their destiny when it comes to achieving both key objectives for the Fall 2024 windows. When McClaren and company return to action in October, they’ll face a tricky trip to Nicaragua and a visit from the same Honduran team they beat Tuesday— with 4 points from those two matches guaranteeing top spot in the group. As the table looks now, even 2 points would likely be enough to progress — with a top two finish ensuring a place in November’s Nations League quarterfinals and next summer’s Gold Cup. A win away to Nicaragua on October 10th would all but sew things up, and I’m sure the Reggae Boyz would love to earn a second straight road victory and meet two major objectives in the process.

Photo by Shufu Liu.