Friendly Match

Jamaica - Australia

DALEY... we tried not to break him, but to let him settle in.

READING FC's midfielder, Omar Daley will miss Jamaica's opening Under-23 Olympic qualifier against dangerous Caribbean neighbour, Cuba, in Havana on Sunday.

Instead, the former Portmore United ace was yesterday named in Jamaica's 18-man senior Reggae Boyz squad to face Australia in a friendly international in England on the same day.

Technical director of football, Carl Brown revealed to the Observer last night that thought was given to Daley joining the Olympic group for the important opening game. But he explained that because the speedy 22-year-old has only recently joined Reading, "we tried not to break him, but to let him settle in."

Daley joined the English Division One club on a one-year loan deal from Portmore United last month. However, Brown noted that the player was expected to join the Under-23 team for the return leg in Kingston on October 12.

"... Agreement is for him to be in the return leg," said the technical boss.

The Cubans, who gave a good account of themselves in the recent Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic, are said to be very organised, tactically aware and physically strong. Reports are that they have been preparing for the Olympic qualifiers for some time.

Incidentally, on Sunday Daley will not have to leave his home field as the game against the Socceroos, set for 8:00 am (local time), will be played at Reading's Madejeski Stadium, just outside London.

Fourteen overseas-based players have been included in the squad which sees the return to action of tricky Preston North End (PNE) forward, Ricardo Fuller, who has not represented Jamaica since suffering a bad knee injury last December.

Also returning to the Reggae Boyz squad for the first time in over a year are Fulham's Barry Hayles and Leicester City's Trevor Benjamin. Hayles last donned the Jamaican colours against Japan in Tokyo last October, but was forced out with a serious neck injury, and Benjamin made his sole appearance against Nigeria in Lagos last November.

Brown has called up six strikers for this engagement and says he will be utilising three of them in attack. "This is the time to look at the composition of some of the players who we expect to represent us in the (World Cup) qualifiers," he said. "This is a great opportunity to play with three strikers and see how they fit into the system," he added.

Meanwhile, according to a report in the Australian newspaper, The Age, an injury crisis will force Socceroo coach Frank Farina to experiment with his team line-up and almost certainly name an unfamiliar defence for the game.

There are also concerns over Birmingham wing-back Stan Lazaridis, who injured his groin in his club's 1-0 win over Newcastle, and Brett Emerton, who did not figure in the Blackburn side that earned a 2-2 draw with Chelsea on the weekend.

Describing the potential loss of his entire central defence as a "potentially unique situation", the coach nevertheless took the traditional view that the injuries offered fringe players and newcomers a chance to impress.

Jamaica's full squad: Donovan Ricketts (Village United), Shawn Sawyers (Portmore United), Claude Davis (Preston/ENG), Michael Johnson (Derby/ENG), Frank Sinclair (Leicester/ENG), Tyrone Marshall (LA Galaxy/USA), Craig Ziadie (MetroStars/USA), Damion Stewart (Harbour View), Omar Daley (Reading/ENG), Micah Hyde (Watford/ENG), Theodore Whitmore (Livingston/SCOT), Ricardo Gardner (Bolton/ENG), Trevor Benjamin (Leicester/ENG), Onandi Lowe (Rushden & Diamonds/ENG), Barry Hayles (Fulham/ENG) Kevin Lisbie (Charlton/ENG), Ricardo Fuller (Preston/ENG) and Fabian Taylor (Harbour View).