LIVINGSTON SCOTT, STAR Writer

Jamaica's under-20 assistant coach, Lenworth Hyde, said the young players tried their best and should not be blamed for their poor performance in the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship.

The young Reggae Boyz drew their first game against Trinidad and Tobago 2-2 and lost 2-0 to Panama in their second.

Coach Hyde argued that the players did not get the preparation the other teams had coming into the tournament and believes the players did everything thing they could to make the dream possible.

"It was difficult for us out there," Hyde said. "We tried, given the situation that we are in. I think the players tried, but it wasn't meant (to be)," he said.

After the Panama match, Hyde noted that the opponents were clearly better prepared.

"Physically, they are well built. You can see those guys live in the gym, and when you see their team line-up, it's about six players that play for the same team in Panama. Some of those guys even played against Waterhouse (CONCACAF Champions League).

"They have an understanding, they have team spirit and they have had a longer preparation than we had. We just got together about a month, so it was difficult for us, but we tried, and we are not knocking the players," he stated.