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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>Jamaica tackle China in Lunar Cup final</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline>Bora's boys seek historic triumph in Hong Kong </SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
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<P class=StoryText align=justify>Goalkeeper Allien Whittaker is expected to make his long-awaited debut at the senior level when Jamaica take on China's Olympic team in today's Lunar New Year Cup final here at the Hong Kong Stadium at 8:15 pm (7:15 am local time).<P class=StoryText align=justify>Whittaker, a Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) soldier with two World Cup (Under-17 in New Zealand in 1999 and Under-20 in Argentina in 2001) experiences under his belt, will replace Richard McCallum, the hero of Sunday's 5-3 penalty shoot-out victory over host team Hong Kong League XI.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=330 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>TAYLOR (centre #9)... scored on return to international stage</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>McCallum, of Waterhouse, is still hurting from two swollen fingers on his right hand, which poses a problem whenever he clutches the ball.
The winner of today's final will take home the Lunar New Year Cup and gold medals, while the most valuable player will receive two airline tickets to Dubai.
At 6:00 pm (5:00 am local time), Hong Kong League XI face Australia for third place.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Technical director Bora Milutinovic is looking forward to today's encounter against his fellow Serbian, Ratomir Dujkovic, the coach of China, who guided Ghana at last summer's World Cup Finals in Germany.
"It is important that they (Boyz) play with confidence, especially when they are playing in a country with such a big difference in time zone," Bora said.
He added: "They (China) have good organisation and are a good team. They will be tough, they play at home where everything will be in their favour."<P class=StoryText align=justify>On Monday evening, Bora held an indoor session where Sunday's game was reviewed and analysed on film. A similar analysis was also made of the Chinese team at the same session.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Yesterday morning, the team worked out at the Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground for about an hour, after another lengthy indoor session.
And late evening, just prior to dinner, Bora held further indoor tactical sessions with the defenders separate from the midfielders.
Dujkovic, too, is looking forward to the meeting against Bora.
"It will be a most interesting game and one the fans will enjoy," he said. "Bora and I are good friends outside the ground, but when our teams are on the pitch, it's a different story."<P class=StoryText align=justify>The China coach has earned something of a reputation as a magician after guiding Ghana to their first ever World Cup Finals appearance last summer, while Bora is revered in this part of the world, after making China his fifth World Cup team in the 2002 edition in South Korea and Japan.
The match-up of the two Serbs became a reality after contrasting wins on Sunday.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The Jamaicans edged the home side 5-3 on penalties after playing to a 1-1 result at the end of regulation, while China were convincing 2-0 winners over Australia.
It was a good performance by the Chinese, whose recent tour of the UK ended abruptly after a massive brawl in a friendly against Queen's Park Rangers.
Captain and midfield general Zhou Haibin pulled the strings for attackers Yu Hai, Shen Longyuan, Li Wei and Jiang Chen to create havoc for the Australians.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The Boyz will be looking to the skills of Fabian Taylor, who returned to international football with a goo
<SPAN class=Subheadline>Bora's boys seek historic triumph in Hong Kong </SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>Goalkeeper Allien Whittaker is expected to make his long-awaited debut at the senior level when Jamaica take on China's Olympic team in today's Lunar New Year Cup final here at the Hong Kong Stadium at 8:15 pm (7:15 am local time).<P class=StoryText align=justify>Whittaker, a Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) soldier with two World Cup (Under-17 in New Zealand in 1999 and Under-20 in Argentina in 2001) experiences under his belt, will replace Richard McCallum, the hero of Sunday's 5-3 penalty shoot-out victory over host team Hong Kong League XI.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=330 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>TAYLOR (centre #9)... scored on return to international stage</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>McCallum, of Waterhouse, is still hurting from two swollen fingers on his right hand, which poses a problem whenever he clutches the ball.The winner of today's final will take home the Lunar New Year Cup and gold medals, while the most valuable player will receive two airline tickets to Dubai.
At 6:00 pm (5:00 am local time), Hong Kong League XI face Australia for third place.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Technical director Bora Milutinovic is looking forward to today's encounter against his fellow Serbian, Ratomir Dujkovic, the coach of China, who guided Ghana at last summer's World Cup Finals in Germany.
"It is important that they (Boyz) play with confidence, especially when they are playing in a country with such a big difference in time zone," Bora said.
He added: "They (China) have good organisation and are a good team. They will be tough, they play at home where everything will be in their favour."<P class=StoryText align=justify>On Monday evening, Bora held an indoor session where Sunday's game was reviewed and analysed on film. A similar analysis was also made of the Chinese team at the same session.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Yesterday morning, the team worked out at the Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground for about an hour, after another lengthy indoor session.
And late evening, just prior to dinner, Bora held further indoor tactical sessions with the defenders separate from the midfielders.
Dujkovic, too, is looking forward to the meeting against Bora.
"It will be a most interesting game and one the fans will enjoy," he said. "Bora and I are good friends outside the ground, but when our teams are on the pitch, it's a different story."<P class=StoryText align=justify>The China coach has earned something of a reputation as a magician after guiding Ghana to their first ever World Cup Finals appearance last summer, while Bora is revered in this part of the world, after making China his fifth World Cup team in the 2002 edition in South Korea and Japan.
The match-up of the two Serbs became a reality after contrasting wins on Sunday.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The Jamaicans edged the home side 5-3 on penalties after playing to a 1-1 result at the end of regulation, while China were convincing 2-0 winners over Australia.
It was a good performance by the Chinese, whose recent tour of the UK ended abruptly after a massive brawl in a friendly against Queen's Park Rangers.
Captain and midfield general Zhou Haibin pulled the strings for attackers Yu Hai, Shen Longyuan, Li Wei and Jiang Chen to create havoc for the Australians.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The Boyz will be looking to the skills of Fabian Taylor, who returned to international football with a goo