Jamaica's Tyrone Marshall (centre) scores his team's second goal past Trinidad & Tobago goalkeeper, Jan Michael Williams, during their friendly match at the National Stadium on Wednesday night. Skipper Aurtis Whitley is at right. The game ended 2-2. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)

National technical director Rene Simoes begged the Jamaican people not to cast blame on his players, but on him instead, after the Reggae Boyz gave up a 2-0 first-half lead to draw 2-2 with Trinidad & Tobago at the National Stadium on Wednesday night.

"I learnt what it is like to be the coach of a Jamaica team on Jamaican soil when the result goes against us. Today's (Wednesday's) result is hard for the supporters to take... don't blame the players, blame me," said the Brazilian at a post-match press conference shortly after the friendly match between the Caribbean rivals.

Fans left 'The Office' with a bitter taste in their mouths after the Boyz squandered a 2-0 half-time lead when it seemed they were headed for another victory over their arch-rivals, popularly known as the Soca Warriors.

"With us leading Trinidad 2-0, they (supporters) expected us to kill Trinidad. In a good way that is, but we didn't. I take full responsibility for the performance and the result. The players must learn from their mistake, but in the end I take full responsibility," said Simoes, who is on his second stint in charge of the national programme.

The Jamaicans looked in full control at the half-way mark after goals from rookie captain Marlon King in the 34th minute and Tyrone Marshall in the 40th, but the home team lost its keel on the second sail when Simoes packed the team with a number of "local and inexperienced" players for the more seasoned overseas professionals who started the contest.

"When things are not going good, it is me the coach that everybody will look at. It was my decision to make the changes... it was my decision to take out Marlon King and put in Deon Burton.

"Also I am responsible for taking off Omar Daley and replace him with young (Ricardo) Cousins and it was (my) responsibility to take out (Demar) Phillips," said Simoes.

"They (local) are talented players and they proved that, especially in the first half. Maybe in the second half I didn't make the right changes at the right time. I am proud of the players," he added.

Bringing in the local-based players in the second half in this high-stakes game, noted Simoes, was part of his plan to give exposure to the local pool.

"I must congratulate Trinidad for the way they played and how they are using young players, and we are doing the same. We can't just look at overseas players; we have to have a mix.

"I have all the confidence in the players who played in the game," said the Brazilian, who guided Jamaica to their first World Cup Finals appearance in France in 1998.
Jamaican football boss, Captain Horace Burrell, said he was disappointed with the result, but was "not perturbed".

"I, too, am disappointed, to say the least. It was very unfortunate that we did not win the game, but when you looked carefully at what happened, you would have seen that in the first half we had our more experienced players on the pitch.

"But one has to also understand... that there are players that the coach must look at with World Cup qualifiers just around the corner in June," Burrell said.

Meanwhile, Trinidad's assistant coach Anton Corneal praised his young side for a gutsy second-half display.

"We came into this game with a very young team... we started training with this team about four weeks ago... there was one 16-year-old starting the game, a couple of 18-year-olds, and using these young players is to help secure the future of
Trinidad & Tobago's football," he noted.

Corneal suggested that Jamaica lost their grip on the game because of "a false sense of security".

"The worst thing that can happen is to have a 2-0 lead because it gives you a false sense of security, and I think that is what happened to Jamaica. In the second half... we saw... a lot of heart from our players, and that is what we were looking for," he said.

Osei Telesford (74th minute) and skipper Aurtis Whitley (90th) scored for T&T.