The Jamaica Star :: Sport :: Simoes pleased with fan turnout, despite the odds

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

National Technical Director Rene Simoes - Ricardo Makyn

With many Jamaicans facing a burgeoning cost of living, National Technical Director Rene Simoes was pleasantly surprised at the turnout of patrons at the National Stadium on Wednesday night.

An estimated 10,000 fans, clad in mostly gold and green garments, braved the threat of heavy showers and filed into the National Stadium to watch Jamaica's Reggae Boyz tackle a St Vincent and the Grenadines team ranked 145th in the world standings, ignoring all the factors, which are generally a recipe for low fan turnout.

"We prepared the team to not expect that many spectators here today, not only because of the Reggae Boyz, but also because of the situation around the world, with rising oil and food prices," Simoes said at the game's post-match press conference after an easy 5-1 victory.

"When you see people buying less bread, you know things are tough," remarked the heavily moustached Brazilian. The comment brought peels of laughter from media personnel and other officials on hand, particularly Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) boss, Captain Horace Burrell, who also doubles as CEO of the Captain's Bakery franchise.

Positively surprised

"We see the situation in Jamaica. I didn't expect more than 5,000 people, I was surprised and positively surprised. Thank you very much for your help and support," Simoes said.

"It was good because I think the players knew it and put a game together that everyone could have enjoyed," he added.

The supporters got much to cheer about, as many flashed out of their seats screaming 'goal' all of five times as Demar Phillips (17th), Marlon King (27th, 42nd) golden boy Deon Burton (74th) and captain Ricardo Gardner (88th) all hit the back of the net. With the exception of missed chances, the lone disappointing moment for the fans came in the 57th minute, when Marlon James headed into the back of Jamaica's net for St Vincent.

The outing was certainly a happier one for the Jamaican spectators, as the last time they queued to watch the Reggae Boyz tackle little-regarded St Vincent, it was the eastern Caribbean team that emerged 2-1 winners at the National Stadium two years ago. The result eliminated Jamaica from the Digicel Caribbean Cup.

The Reggae Boyz's next two assignments will be away against Trinidad on June 7 and Grenada three days later. The team will then return to Jamaica to begin the World Cup qualifiers against the Bahamas on June 15 and 18.