❒ Tired Reggae Boyz fall 2-0 to South Africa

Despite enjoying much of the early dominance, Jamaica's Reggae Boyz went down 2-0 to South Africa yesterday in their hastily arranged friendly international football match at the Kickers Offenbach Stadium, Germany.

Second-half goals by players recently recalled to Bafana Bafana, Surprise Moriri in the 51st minute and Siyabonga Nomvete in the 85th, did the job for the World Cup hosts, who took advantage of a tiring Jamaican team, which had arrived in the country on the morning of the game.

The Jamaican team, which was made up of local-based players and were last-minute replacements for China, who pulled out of the friendly last Friday, created several early goalscoring opportunities but failed to convert any before finding themselves behind after some reckless defending.

low shot

Moriri sent a low shot into the back of the net after latching on to a cross that was not dealt with by the Jamaican defence.

Nomvete secured the result five minutes from time, running on to a pass from fellow substitute, Andile Jali, before powering his shot beyond goalkeeper Duwayne Kerr.

positive

South Africa coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, said: "It was particularly positive that we used the few chances that we had. That can be a very important thing during the World Cup. The only team that scored twice against Jamaica was Argentina. That shows how good my side was."

Parreira, a Brazilian, added: "Jamaica was a very strong team, even though they only arrived in Germany on the same day as the game. They ran for 90 minutes and made our life difficult. They were the strongest team we have played during our preparations, even stronger than Paraguay or Cruzeiro, whom we played during our training camp in Brazil."