Jay Tee Kamara Ready To Bring "Joy, Fun, Excitement" To Portland Hearts Of Pine
“One v one, he’s super exciting. He’s slippery."
It took longer than expected for Jay Tee Kamara to join Portland Hearts of Pine, but he made an immediate impact upon arrival.
Kamara, who signed with Hearts in late January, spent several months in Sierra Leone waiting for his visa to be approved. It was a less-than-ideal situation, as he was forced to train on his own.
In mid-May, Kamara was given the green light to travel to the United States. A few days later, he made his first bench appearance.
Kamara’s name was called early, as he was asked to replace Mikey Lopez in the 26th minute of the home game against FC Naples on May 17. He found the back of the net 17 minutes later.
“I spoke to my teammates about this,” Kamara said. “I was like, ‘Hey, I don’t care what time the coach is going to bring me in, I’m going to score if I get a chance. I’m going to get this.”
Over 64 minutes, Kamara showed an innate ability to offset opponents with shifty movements and quick touches.
When asked about his directness, Kamara said he can certainly pass before noting, “I love dribbling.”
Teammate Walter Varela, who scored the game-winner against Naples, sees a lot of positives in Kamara’s style of play.
“Dynamic player; fast and quick,” Varela said. “He goes past players one v one, one v two, it doesn’t matter. I think he will bring a lot to our squad.”
Kamara’s debut performance earned him the Man of the Match award from the Dirigo Union. Kamara, who was left speechless by the Hearts supporters, said his father called dibs on the buoy.
Head coach Bobby Murphy also offered praise for Kamara and is excited to see how he evolves as a player.
“One v one, he’s super exciting,” Murphy said. “He’s slippery. The challenge for him is going to be trusting the people around him. When he beats the first guy, to make the pass instead of feeling like he’s got to beat two or three.
“I think you see the composure he had on the goal, to not panic and let everybody run past him and then finish. When you see him 1v1, he brings something different, for sure.”
Kamara played 28 minutes in his second game with Hearts and is looking forward to continuing to show what he can do.
When asked what he will bring to the team as he gets more comfortable, the attacker said, “Joy, fun, excitement, a winning mentality, more goals, [and to] make people enjoy the game they love most.”
Note: The interviews for this article were conducted on May 21.