TRENCH TOWN CONNECTION
McLaren lauds chemistry among Nicholson, Cephas, Dixon
AFTER AN impressive 4-0 win over Bermuda in their Group B Concacaf World Cup Qualifier at the National Stadium on Tuesday, Reggae Boyz coach Steve McClaren said the chemistry between the Trench Town attacking trident of Shamar Nicholson, Renaldo Cephas, and Kaheim Dixon was key to their performance and the result on the night.
The Reggae Boyz got goals from Nicholson, Bobby Reid and Dujuan Richards, along with an own goal, to see off the lowly Bermudians, and regained top spot in the group with nine points, one more than Curaçao and four ahead of Trinidad and Tobago.
Bermuda, who are still without a point after four matches, have been eliminated with two games left play.
According to McClaren, Cephas, who had two assists on the night, and the threat he created with his pace; Dixon, with his energy; and Nicholson, with his presence up front and inside the box were crucial to the Reggae Boyz fast start.
He pointed out that the team needed the energy and intensity from the start, which Dixon and Nicholson gave them when they came into the match against Curaçao, and hence his decision to start them, which proved a master stroke.
“We said to the players that it’s nothing tactical about the way we play. It’s just pure energy we needed, and Kaheim gives us that.
“Cephas was different. He started the other two games, and now we got Shamar Nicholson, and eveybody knows what Shamar Nicholson can do,” he said.
“I thought the chemistry was excellent. We needed energy after Curaçao (defeat), and Kaheim and Shamar came on (in that game) and when they came in, they were a real handful, and Cephas was always a threat. He is now playing first-team football regularly and you can see that.”
“(Bailey) Cadamarteri and Tyreece Campbell played 60 minutes (in Curaçao). Kaheim and Shamar played 30. So I just flipped it and reversed it. I wanted the energy from the beginning, and to carry the energy through.”
Nicholson, currently the topscorer in World Cup qualifying in the squad, with seven goals in 13 matches, has struggled lately, looking off the pace and uncertain in front of goal.
However, he justified the coach’s decision to start him, and McClaren was happy to see the big man leading the line the way he knows he can.
“He had a great effect on the game. He helped not just in his effect on the game individually, he helped the team in terms of how he pressed, because it is difficult for a nine, when you are the first man pressing. But he did very well. His work rate, how he held the ball up, and he was always a threat in the box,” he said.
With Leon Bailey and Demarai Gray set to return for the final two matches in November, McClaren said after this performance, the competition for places is much closer than it was a year ago when he took charge of the team.
“What has been happening to the squad now, from a year ago, we had players up here and other squad members down there. Now the squad is coming together, and it’s the trust you put in the players to start, to come on, to impact. So the squad has got so close to such an extent so that the quality within it is a lot closer.
“So the competition for places is there, which is the key for me. The competition has been very fierce. So, in a year, the squad has accelerated. We brought in new players. We are delighted that the squad is strong and we will need that for the next two games.”
However, he added: “We are still watching players. Making sure the likes of Damarai and Leon Bailey, that they start playing for their clubs.
“It’s becoming a headache, not just picking a team, but a squad now. There is quality from the goalkeeper all the way, and as a coach, like today (Tuesday), you can change and nothing changes. It carries on, and sometimes gets better.”