YOUNG Kaheim Dixon’s strike, which clinched Friday’s night’s 1-0 success for Jamaica over hosts Trinidad & Tobago, was the only goal of two unofficial back-to-back friendlies.

The tricky Arnett Gardens FC forward, who was vying to move overseas rather than compete in the Jamaica Premier League this term, snatched what proved to be the winner with a 58th-minute on his debut.

Being played behind closed doors at the 10,000-capacity Mannie Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, San Fernando meant that there were no fans to savour his goal.

The talented 19-year-old from Trench Town raced down the right wing, before confidently dispatching the ball past keeper Adrian Foncette.

Although the Reggae Boyz had a stranglehold on the friendly, Alex Marshall and Sue-Lae McCalla were unable to provide the finishing touch to give Jamaica the scoreline they warranted.

Both Jamaica head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson and his Trinidad & Tobago counterpart Angus Eve selected inexperienced squads in a bid to unearth potential future talent.

Overall Jamaica fielded 13 debutants for the first match, with a key objective being to help with the transition from local level to competing on the international arena. The entire 23-player squad had been involved in January’s training camp in Jamaica.

Players from Cavalier FC, who on Wednesday had tackled FC Cincinnati in Ohio in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, joined the squad late. They were all involved in Sunday’s dull scoreless encounter.

The two youthful sides cancelled each other out in the eerily empty the 10,000-capacity Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima with a plethora of missed opportunities.

This exposure for the development of players on the international stage proved invaluable. Both head coaches would surely be pleased that defensively their respective sides look strong, despite the friendlies failing to flow like a typical competitive encounter.

Top class strikers are hard to unearth and if Dixon’s talents could be honed then he may soon be on the radar of some of Europe’s leading clubs, possibly following in the footsteps of Dujuan ‘Whisper’ Richards who signed for English Premier League giants Chelsea in March 2023.