Livingston Scott/Gleaner Writer REGGAE BOYZ assistant coach Merron Gordon said, although they will miss Michail Antonio, who pulled out of the squad for their two Nations League games against Honduras and Haiti, they are blessed with attacking talent and can cope without the big striker. Antonio pulled out for personal reasons, while right back Dexter Lembikisa and forward Cory Burke had to be pulled from the squad because of injury. Romario Williams will come in for Antonio, Demario Phillips replaces Cory Burke and Javain Brown takes the spot previously occupied by Lembikisa According to Gordon, Antonio is a world-class striker any international team would be happy to have. Nevertheless, he believes their array of attacking options makes his absence less of a concern. “Michail is always a big part of the puzzle. He is a world-class striker. He is a striker that does well against teams internationally and for his club,”he said. He pointed that theWest Hamplayer had some personal issues he thought he could sort out in a day or two but, unfortunately, will require the entire international window to complete. “He really wanted to come. At one point, he was trying to fix things so he could come for the Haiti game, but it just wouldn’t work. “The good thing is we are blessed in terms of the attackers that we have. Even though we may not have our starting striker, the replacements have been very good and very effective,”said Gordon. “With Leon (Bailey), Bobby (Reid), Demarai (Gray), we can always tweak things around and make it work. “Shamar (Nicholson), even though he is not playing for his new club, he wasn’t playing for his old club in the latter part of the season. “Shamar is an international player who scores big goals against big teams and has proven himself to be a big player for Jamaica. So we will miss Michail but, at the same time, we have capable replacements.” Meanwhile, Gordon revealed Lembikisa suffered a bruised bone in Rotherham’s league game against Norwich on the weekend and is not sure to return immediately for his club after the international window. While Burke has been carrying a persistent injury, New York Red Bulls coaching staff, as well as Jamaica’s technical staff have agreed to allow him to try to recover during the window. Gordon believes Brown should slot right in, having been a regular under head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson. “It is a good time for Romario Williams to come and show the new coaching staff what he has to offer. Demario is so talented I don’t think I know which position is best for him,” he said. “We have three young right backs (Lembikisa, Brown and Tayvon Gray) to choose from. He (Brown) knows exactly what the coaches want. “It is not that Javain wasn’t playing well. We have three right backs and we wanted to really look at young [Tayvon] Gray and see how he fits in.” He added also that the coaching staff has no major concerns with the changes. “Having any of those (replaced) players is always welcome but, if they are not here, we do have capable replacements.” livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com Raymond Graham/Gleaner Writer ATHLETES WILL have last chances to earn spots at next weekend’s Diamond League finals in Eugene when they compete onThursday and Friday at the Memorial Van Damme Diamond League Meet in Brussels. World Championships 200 metres champion, Shericka Jackson, who has qualified for both the 100 and 200 metres in Eugene, will be one of 12 Jamaicans who will be in action. Jackson will contest the Women’s 200 metres with her main competition coming from Daryll Neita of Great Britain and Anthonique Strachan of The Bahamas. World Championships shot put finalist, Danniel Thomas-Dodd, will be the first Jamaican in action onThurday’s opening day. Over the years, fast times have been done at this meet and with several world champions down to compete, the trend is expected to continue. Usain Bolt, the meet record holder in the men’s 100 metres with 9.76 seconds, Yohan Blake with 19.26 over 200 metres, along with Shelly-Ann FraserPryce and ElaineThompson Herah, joint meet record holders in the women’s 100 metres with 10.72 seconds, are just some of the big names to have gone fast in Brussells. WOMEN’S 100 METRE CLASH Following her season’s best 10.92 in Switzerland on Monday, Olympic champion Thompson Herah will be hoping to go faster when she contests the women’s 100 metres. Two other Jamaicans in Shashalee Forbes and Natasha Morrison will also line up in the event, along with Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain, Tamara Clarke of the United States, and Zoe Hobbs of New Zealand. The trio of World Championships bronze medallist Rushell Clayton, Janieve Russell and Andrenette Knight will renew battle in the women’s 400 metres hurdles. World Championships gold medallist, Femke Bol of the Netherlands, fresh off her win in Switzerland on Monday, should continue her winning ways here. An improving Candice McLeod, who recently finished second at the Xiamen Diamond League in China with a season’s best 50.19 seconds, will be hoping to go faster when she contests the women’s 400 metres. World Championships bronze medallist, Sade Williams of Barbados, Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands and 400 metres hurdles specialist, Shamier Little of the United States, who have all gone sub50 seconds this season, should make it a very competitive affair. Triple jumpers Shanieka Ricketts and KimberlyWilliams, finalists in the event at theWorld Athletics Championships last month, will be the final set of Jamaican women to compete at the meet. Maryna Romanchuk of Ukraine, who won silver in Budapest, and Thea Lafond of the Dominica Republic will also contest the event. Rusheen McDonald, the country’s fastest man in the 400 metres this season with 43.03 seconds, will be the lone Jamaican in that event. He will contest the one-lap event against Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain, the World Championships silver medallist. Athletes make last stand for places in Diamond League final Shericka Jackson of Jamaica celebrates winning the Women’s 200m Final race during the World Athletics Diamond League meeting at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday, August 31, 2023. AP Elaine Thompson Herah SEPTEMBER 7 - OCTOBER 7, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com Reggae Boyz coach confident despite missing key players Jamaica’s Michail Antonio reacts after missing an attempt on goal against Mexico during the second half of a CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal football match on Wednesday, July 12 in Las Vegas. AP GORDON No Antonio, no problem THE NORTH AMERICAN BRANDED CONTENT EDITION
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