Three Caribbean stand-outs at 2015 Gold Cup

Nathan Carr of Caribbean Football looks back at three of the standout Caribbean performers from the recent Gold Cup…

Duckens Nazon – Haiti – 21 – Striker

Haiti scored two goals in the tournament and Duckens Nazon got both of them. The 21-year-old, who was born in Paris but has Haitian roots, came off the bench against Panama in Group A’s opener and made an instant impact: latching onto a long pass, turning his marker inside out and finishing with aplomb. It was a lovely individual goal and made people sit up and take notice. Six days later Nazon was given a starting spot against Honduras and he rewarded manager Marc Collat with another goal, a less clean strike this time but just as important. Les Grenadiers subsequently advanced to the last eight, albeit they lost to eventual finalists Jamaica 1-0. Nazon’s achievements at the Gold Cup are doubly impressive considering he was on the verge of quitting football altogether a year ago, when he was playing at amateur level in France. Receiving a call-up to the Haitian U-21s gave him hope and then in March 2014, he made his senior international bow in a 0-0 draw with Kosovo. Nazon has developed at a rapid rate ever since. At the moment he is contracted to Stade Laval having only recently put pen to paper with the Ligue 2 club. Speaking on securing a place in the Laval first team, Nazon explained: “These two goals [at the Gold Cup] are a bonus for me.” It will be interesting to see if he can maintain his Gold Cup form for the World Cup qualifiers, which begin in early September. Continue reading

Jamaica show ruthlessness on two-match Caribbean tour

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Nathan Carr, editor of The Home of Caribbean Football, takes a look at the current state of the Jamaican National Team…

A 2-0 win against Barbados on Sunday 2nd March and a 5-0 win against St Lucia on Wednesday 5th leaves Jamaica in impressive shape as they end their two-match Caribbean tour on a high. These two international friendless were arranged with the specific aim of preparing the team for the forthcoming Caribbean Cup tournament and Jamaica can take a lot out of them.

There’s no hiding the fact Jamaica were tipped to claim wins in both of these games, largely because of the opposition they faced in the shape of Barbados and St Lucia – two sides which still have a lot of work to do in order to be highly ranked within the Caribbean region. But Winfried Schäfer’s men had to be thorough, professional and avoid complacency. And they did just that, notching up seven goals and conceded a grand zero.

This presented the perfect opportunity for Schäfer – who had been visiting local domestic matches to monitor players before the two fixtures – to experiment with some inexperienced home-based individuals such as Harbour View’s Kemar Lawrence, Portmore United’s Ricardo Morris and Arnett Gardens’ Renae Lloyd. The German coach has harped on about giving young homegrown players a go since he was appointed last year, insisting there must be an effective blend with squad members based in Europe. Continue reading

Obscure Footballer of the Week #1: Lloyd Doyley

As our first Obscure Footballer of the Week, Joe Bookbinder gives a moment’s recognition to Watford defender Lloyd Doyley…

For those who don’t support Watford the legend and cult following that surrounds Lloyd Doyley may be hard to understand. A product of Watford’s under-appreciated academy which has produced the likes of Ashley Young, Luther Blissett and John Barnes, through thick and mainly thin as a Watford player Doyley has now been a first team regular for over a decade. He is one of only a number of players in the modern era of football to be able to boast the title of ‘a one club man’. Continue reading