From Jamaica Observer

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao — The Cayman Islands performance is like a stubborn ghost that won’t go away.

But Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz are determined to exorcise the demon of their less than impressive 4-0 win over their neighbours in the opening Concacaf Nations League match in Kingston last month with the promise of of a more “professional display” against Bonaire here today.

Kick-off is at 6:00 pm (5:00 pm Jamaica time) inside the Ergilio Hato Stadium.

In Kingston, the Boyz were wasteful in front of goal, and as team captain Andre Blake puts it, there is no room for an encore.

“We didn’t score as many goals as we wanted to against Cayman. I think what happened is that after we scored the first couple of goals early in the game, we sort of took our foot off the gas, but we will try our best in tomorrow’s game to ensure that does not repeat itself.

“I think it is going to take a very professional performance, but the game is not going to be as easy, as every team in the Caribbean is going to come with their best punch for Jamaica, but once we go out there and implement our game plan, we should be good to go,” said the Philadelphia Union goalkeeper.

Elder statesman, midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson, believes that a “comprehensive victory” could be in the cards for Jamaica, but argues that all the right elements must come together for an efficient display.

“We have to go into the game firstly with three points in the mind… we know Bonaire is a team we should beat, so we can’t go into the game overconfident, but I know the goals will come as we missed a lot of chances in the game against Cayman.

“We know we have to win by a lot of goals tomorrow (today) and we will be going out there to play with a lot of confidence and to just enjoy ourselves,” he said.

Wide defender Shaun Francis, who plays for Louisville City FC in the US second tier, says today’s contest from a Jamaican point of view could be a goal rush, but within the precepts of a solid tactical and technical delivery.

“We definitely need a lot of goals in the situation that we are in right now, and after last night (Friday) where Curacao won their game 5-0, I think now with our points and goal difference, I think we are ninth in the standings going into our game against Bonaire.

“As you know, we want to finish in the top-six for obvious reasons, so goal difference can be crucial in the end. In the game we have to get goals early, so to get that we have to start to put pressure on them,” he told the Jamaica Observer after yesterday’s training session.

DC United frontman Darren Mattocks, always on the hunt for goals, concedes that getting it right against Bonaire will free the team of the bad memories of its modest offensive output against Cayman.

“In the game against Cayman I thought more [people] were disappointed than those who were happy. But against Bonaire we will not be taking anything for granted and we have already spoken about what we have to do, because you never know if this might come down to goal difference.

“So when we get games like these, people are not only expecting us to win, but to win convincingly. We aim to go out there and win convincingly, but that does not mean we are going to take Bonaire lightly, but I think we have the quality and the depth to get the job done [favourably],” he ended..

IMAGE: Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz gather at the start of a training session at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Curacao yesterday.

For more on this story go to:http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/boyz-anxious-to-lay-cayman-ghost-to-rest-with-bonaire-blowout_146880?profile=1511

FINAL SCORE : Bonaire 0 Jamaica 6