Reggae Boyz winger Leon Bailey in Concacaf Gold Cup action against United States. (Inset) Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson
Though his missed penalty saw the Reggae Boyz dropping points in their Concacaf Gold Cup opener against United States, winger Leon Bailey says it doesn't take away from the fact that he gave his best for the team.
With Jamaica up 1-0 in the first half of the game, Bailey could have doubled the lead but hit his 12-yard kick at a decent height for Matt Turner, in goal for United States to block. However, the Aston Villa man had a second bite at the cherry as the rebound came right into his path, but even then, he failed to capitalise with an empty net at his mercy.
The game ended 1-1 after Brandon Vazquez's 88th-minute strike, cancelled out Damion Lowe's 13th-minute goal at Soldier Field in Chicago.
While not using added pressure as an excuse, Bailey said critics have little idea of what it is like being a player of his calibre tasked with performing efficiently at all times.
"Do you know how much pressure I'm always under when I'm representing the national team? But that's no excuse for me because I've been in the game for too long now. I've been a professional for eight years. I'm used to pressure," Bailey said during a pre-game press conference on Tuesday.
The former Genk and Bayer Leverkusen player has often been heavily scrutinised for his style of play, as he tends to hog possession of the ball and oftentimes over dribbles, and, as a result, thwarts the team's progress in the process.
Still, Bailey, who made his Reggae Boyz debut in 2019 and has so far logged three goals and four assists in 19 games, rubbished those claims, while expressing his unwavering passion for leaving it all on the field.
"It has nothing to do with the way I play. If you watch how I play, you will see that I always try to do my best, I always work hard, and no matter what, I'll always give 110 per cent for my nation, and that will never stop," he declared.
"If that means I didn't perform well, then so be it. When I walk off the pitch I want to know that I gave my 110 and I did that against the US and nobody's ever going to take that away from me. Once my family is good, the team is good, we're all good, I'm good.
"I'm always going to be there for my teammates and so they're always there for me as well and that's what really matters. At the end of the day, football is a sport in that you win some, you lose some, you make mistakes, and you go again. That's just life and football," Bailey added.
The 25-year-old and the new-look Reggae Boyz team will be hoping to make amends when they take on leaders Trinidad and Tobago in their second Group A contest at City Park in St Louis, Missouri, this evening at 6:30 pm Jamaica time.
Meanwhile, United States and pointless newcomers St Kitts and Nevis, who went down 0-3 to the Soca Warriors in their open game, will do battle at 8:30 pm.
Reggae Boyz Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, who is still hunting his first win since taking the reins, knows the importance of this fixture with their Caribbean rivals and, as such, is backing his team to come good.
"The second game is always important. A win for Trinidad would get them through. We know what we are facing; we need to get good results against them. We just want to go out there so we can have a good performance and hopefully a win. That's the only thing we are thinking about at this stage of the tournament," Hallgrimsson said.
In their most recent meeting on Jamaican soil, Trinidad and Tobago won 1-0 with the other contest ending in as a goalless stalemate.
“The Trinidad games we played in Jamaica, there was a lot of long balls, there was a lot of fight everywhere on the pitch; it was not played much on the ground, those matches. We kind of played the same style in those games. It wasn’t pretty to watch, so, hopefully, we can do better. When we have the ball, we can hopefully play better than we did in Jamaica," the Icelandic coach stated.
“We will not get anything for free. We will face hard tackles, a lot of balls to fight for — the first balls, the second balls, we have just been talking about that. We are growing as a unit, as a team, and the understanding between the players about the tactics is increasing as we play more games together. We will grow as a team,” he ended.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Guirassy matches Kiessling, Muller record with another opener
Stuttgart's Serhou Guirassy matched a Bundesliga record previously shared by Stefan Kiessling, Ailton and Gert Muller with his opener against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Guirassy put high-flying Stuttgart ahead in the 23rd minute on Saturday, in their final game of the season.
That goal marked the 12th time the striker has scored the opener in a Bundesliga match this season, which equalled the record set by the great Muller in 1969-70, then matched by Ailton in 2003-04 and Kiessling in 2012-13.
It also brought up Guirassy's 27th goal of a stellar campaign.
Brighton confirm surprise departure of De Zerbi
Roberto De Zerbi will leave Brighton after the Seagulls' final game of the season against Manchester United on Sunday.
Brighton confirmed the surprising news on Saturday, revealing that the club and the Italian coach had mutually agreed to part company.
De Zerbi enjoyed great success in his first season with Brighton, guiding the club to Europe for the first time in their history after he took over from Graham Potter, who had left to join Chelsea.
Brighton had a strong start to 2023-24, but a series of injuries to key players left them depleted and, though they made it through their Europa League group, which also included heavyweights Ajax and Marseille, they were subsequently knocked out by Roma.
Their form in the Premier League has also dropped off, with Brighton managing just four wins since the turn of the year, and ahead of Sunday's meeting with United, the highest they can finish is 10th.
In fact, across their first 19 Premier League matches this season, Brighton were the fifth-highest scorers in the Premier League (38 goals) and had a conversion rate of 13.3 per cent.
However, in their last 18 games since the turn of the year, only Everton (15) have scored fewer goals than the Seagulls (17), with their conversion rate of 6.6 per cent the worst of any side in this time.
De Zerbi was linked with taking over at Liverpool following Jurgen Klopp's departure, but the Reds have instead turned to Feyenoord's Arne Slot.
Brighton chairman Tony Bloom said: "Roberto has given us two excellent seasons of service in which he has led the club to new heights, not least our first ever European campaign which will live long in the memory of Albion fans.
"We have mutually agreed to end Roberto’s contract at a time that suits both parties allowing us the earliest opportunity to plan for next season, and Roberto plenty of time to consider his next move and his future.
"I am sure our fans will give Roberto and his staff a wonderful and fully deserved send-off. In the meantime, I'd like to thank Roberto and his staff for all their hard work in the past two seasons. They all leave our club on good terms and with our very best wishes for the future."
De Zerbi said: "I am very sad to be leaving Brighton, but I am very proud of what my players and staff have achieved with the support of everyone at the club and our amazing fans in the past two historical seasons.
"We have agreed to end my time at Brighton so that the club and I can continue to work in the way that suits each of us best, following our own ideas and visions, as well as our work and human values.
"I have really enjoyed an intense and challenging two years working in the Premier League, not least competing in four major competitions this season. Leaving now provides me with time to take a break before deciding on my future plans."
Edwards urges Luton to 'reward' supporters on final day
Rob Edwards wants Luton Town’s players to "reward" the fans for their support throughout the season when they welcome Fulham on the final day.
The 18th-place Hatters' survival hopes are still mathematically alive, but they require an ambitious 12-goal swing to leapfrog Nottingham Forest, who are away at already relegated Burnley, in 17th.
Despite their immediate return to the Championship being all but confirmed, Luton have earned many admirers this season, scoring 50 goals along the way.
In a 20-team Premier League season, only Blackpool (55, 2010-11), Middlesbrough (51, 1996-97) and Leicester City (51, 2022-23) have netted more times during a campaign in which they were relegated.
Edwards has urged his players to give the supporters plenty to cheer about and, regardless of the end result on Sunday, is optimistic about the club's future.
"We want to reward them with a good performance and want to win the game," he said. "I think it will be really good atmosphere.
"Everything I have had from fans has been really positive. Everyone has been proud of players and club and what they have shown. We want to make it a really positive day with the performance as well.
"We have given everything and given a really good account of ourselves. We have shown Luton to the world in a really good light.
"I'm really proud of what we have done the past 18 months. The club is in a really healthy position. We have been saying since we arrived, this club is only going one way."
With Fulham safe in 14th and looking forward to a third successive season back in the Premier League, Cottagers boss Marco Silva also paid tribute to the spirit shown by the Hatters during their maiden campaign.
"It will be a really tough game for us," he said. “Even if they don't achieve [safety], they are going to fight to the maximum – and this reflects Rob and his staff.
"For them to fight until the end to stay up, shows how much they have improved. Their fans are proud of their team and you can see it every time they play."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Luton Town - Alfie Doughty
With 42, Doughty has created the most chances from set-plays in the Premier League this season.
Meanwhile, only West Ham's James Ward-Prowse has registered more such assists (six) than the Luton full-back (five).
Fulham - Andreas Pereira
Pereira has created 84 chances in the Premier League this season, the most by a Fulham player in a single campaign (since 2003-04).
Meanwhile, his tally of seven assists is the highest by a Cottagers player in a single term since Simon Davies in 2007-08 (eight).
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Both sides are on winless streaks; Luton failing to win any of their last five matches, and Fulham without victory in four attempts.
The Hatters have failed to win any of their last six league games against the Cottagers (drawn two, lost four), though both those draws have come in the two most recent meetings at Kenilworth Road.
Luton have only kept two clean sheets this season and conceded 81 goals – only letting more in during a top-flight campaign in 1982-83 (84).
While Fulham have kept two successive away clean sheets – after 12 straight games without one – they have not registered three in a row since a run of four in late 2008.
The Cottagers have not won their final league game in any of the last six seasons (drawing one, losing five), with a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday in 2016-17 representing their most recent such success.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Luton Town: 33.9%
Fulham: 37.7%
Draw: 28.4%
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