Cuba vs Ja: The numbers game

BY IAN BURNETT Sport Editor burnetti@jamaicaobserver.com

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Jamaica's Reggae Boyz will look to snap a five-game losing streak as they set the tone for the start of this summer's CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying semi-final campaign when they take on Caribbean neighbours Cuba here at the National Stadium next week Wednesday at 6:00 pm in an international friendly.

The Jamaica versus Cuba football battles started some 82 years ago on March 16, 1930, when the Spanish-speaking island, just a mere 90 miles away, defeated the land renowned for producing the infectious reggae music genre 3-1 at home in a CAC Games qualifier.

That game happened to be Jamaica's first official football match, and it was the nation's sixth game, with the first five all coming against the French-speaking Haiti. Jamaica's first ever match was on March 9, 1925.

Since then there have been some interesting statistics recorded in their 32 contests, which range from official FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Caribbean Championships, Olympic and CAC Qualifiers and friendlies.

But exactly what do the numbers between Jamaica and Cuba reveal? Here is the numbers game.

From the 32 games between them, Cuba have won 15, Jamaica nine and eight have been drawn.

Ten of the games have come in CAC or Olympic Games Qualifiers, 15 in friendly internationals and seven in World Cup Qualifiers or Caribbean Championships.

Cuba lead the match-up with 48 goals, with Jamaica scoring 39. The biggest margin of victory for Cuba was a 7-0 hammering on June 12, 1966 in Puerto Rico in the CAC Games. For Jamaica, it was a 6-1 victory in Jamaica on August 13, 1962 at the CAC Games.

The Reggae Boyz have been the dominant force in the friendly matches, having won five, with two losses and eight drawn games. They have amassed 23 goals, while conceding 11. However, Theodore Whitmore's Boyz had better be aware of the fact that the Cubans have won the last two friendlies — 1-0 in Cuba on March 13, 2003, and 2-1 here on July 6 the same year, when Richard Langley netted for Jamaica in a game where Onandi Lowe missed from the penalty spot.

So Jamaica won the first friendly 3-0 here on June 9, 1948, but lost the last one here on July 6, 2003. The Boyz's biggest friendly win was 5-2 on December 18, 1949 in Cuba.

But having won just four games from 10 outings last year, Whitmore and his technical staff would be looking to get the derailed Boyz back on track as they head into the serious business of World Cup Qualifiers starting on June 8 here against Guatemala.

So far, the Boyz are expected to be boosted by the presence of MLS players Ryan Johnson and the Houston Dynamo pair of Jermaine Taylor and Jevaughn Watson.

It is no secret that Reggae Boyz squads comprised of solely locally-based players have struggled on the international stage, a glaring indictment on the lack of real quality in the Premier League.

The Cubans will have no such problems, as most, if not all their players are locally-based. They are known to play good team football, though they are equally famous for imploding on the big stage as well.

They have also qualified for the semi-final phase of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying series, having been drawn in Group C where they oppose Honduras, Panama and Canada, while the Boyz are placed in Group A against the USA, Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda.

Jamaica are also set to play a second game against Cuba at the Catherine Hall Stadium two days later at 7:30 pm, before departing the following day for the long haul flight to Auckland, New Zealand, for their friendly against that country on February 29.

For that game Whitmore is hoping for a stronger team which would include players from Scandinavia and the United Kingdom.

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Cuba vs Ja: The numbers game