Canada 2, Jamaica 0: Three takeaways from Canada's victory against the Reggae Boyz

Rudi Schuller

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Canada 2, Jamaica 0: Three takeaways from Canada's victory against the Reggae Boyz image

TORONTO — It was billed as a chance for Canada to get a measure of revenge on Jamaica after the Gold Cup earlier this summer, and the players on the field backed it up as the Canadians defeated the Reggae Boyz 2-0 at BMO Field on Saturday night.

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From the outset there was an air of tension as the previous meeting between the two sides produced a scrappy quarterfinal victory for Jamaica at the continental championship in July. Clearly there were some hard feelings left over from that contest, and the match Saturday featured plenty of hard tackles and even a red card to teenager Alphonso Davies.

"I liked our intensity," Canada head coach Octavio Zambrano said. "We had some moments that were good and other moments that were not so good. In the end we won, and that's obviously pleasing."

Despite a few lapses, Canada was prepared for the physicality of the Jamaicans and played an entertaining brand of attacking soccer that gave the 21,724 in attendance a lot to cheer about.

Here are three takeaways from  Canada's well-deserved victory:

Action Jackson

The Montreal Impact striker was given the start by Zambrano, and he didn't let his coach down.

Anthony Jackson-Hamel had an influential first half, scoring the opener before acting as provider for the second. A sublime little flick fooled everyone except for Jonathan Osorio, who took advantage of the new found time and space to calmly slot it past Reggae Boyz goalkeeper Andre Blake.

"He is a very good finisher," Zambrano said of the 24-year-old Quebec City native. "I think he has a tremendous future because he's one of the coolest guys in front of the goal."

As hot as he has been as a goal scorer for Montreal this year, on Saturday Jackson-Hamel showed he could play an all around game, acting as the lone striker in Zambrano's system and giving the Jamaican back line fits.

With Cyle Larin looking on from the bench to start, it's become clear that Jackson-Hamel has tossed his name in the ring as a potential starter going forward.

Hungry Hoilett

In the lead-up to the match Saturday, Junior Hoilett spent a lot of time talking about how eager he was to finally play his first game in Toronto after turning professional as a teenager.

The 27-year-old Cardiff City star demonstrated that eagerness throughout the game, relentlessly hounding Jamaica's defenders when they had the ball and taking on numerous opponents while on attack.

"This was probably the best game I've seen Junior play," Zambrano said. "He is an elite type of player. He's [at] an elite level."

Hoilett set up the first goal with an inch-perfect cross to Jackson-Hamel for a tap-in, giving the BMO Field crowd something to cheer for early.

With his family hailing from Jamaica, Hoilett had a little bit of extra incentive to put on a show in his hometown debut.

Hutchinson irreplaceable

The most-capped active Canadian international showed just why so many coaches have relied on him over the years, in his return from a one-year absence from the squad.

His touch and vision in the centre of the park is unmatched in the Canadian pool, and even at 34 years of age Hutchinson effortlessly kept pace with a high-energy Jamaican side that was actively trying to keep him off the ball.

No one knows for sure just how many more matches Hutchinson will play in the red and white, but it'll be a massive task trying to replace him when he finally hangs the boots up for good.

For his part, Hutchinson kept the door open on his international future, especially following a good showing in the stands in Toronto.

"It's been a while since we've played here in Toronto, so for us to get a reception like they gave us today was great," Hutchinson said. "We're looking forward to coming back here and playing, and putting out a good performance and getting a good result."

Rudi Schuller