Sancho set to face Vincy Heat in big match

Just a couple weeks ago, he was forced to walk around in a neck brace and was rushed to hospital for treatment after suffering a concussion. But in three days, Scotland-based defender Brent Sancho will put on the Trinidad and Tobago football shirt for the eighth successive time in the 2006 World Cup campaign when the Soca Warriors host St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo. Sancho had been involved in a clash of heads with a Inverness Thistle defender in a Scottish League fixture last  month and had been ordered by doctors to rest after he complained of dizzy spells along with neck and back pains.

Added to that, he had been in the Sheriff’s Court for hearings on his alleged bust up with a Dundee man. The court later cleared him and team-mate Stephen McNally off all charges and two days later Sancho was hearing his name singing in the stands as he turned out for the derby with Dundee United. The dreadlocked player is now hoping to finish TT’s semi-final campaign in style on Wednesday after establishing his place in Bertille St Clair’s starting eleven. “I think this is a big game for us in more than one way. Not only will it seal our place in the next round but it will also mean for us that the team has taken another step towards that right gel that we are looking for going into the final round, once we can pull off a productive victory,” Sancho said yesterday. “I think one of the problems we always face back home is that we tend to take things for granted a bit before time. It’s fair to say that we have beaten the Vincentians before but at the same time, that doesn’t mean that we’ve already won Wednesday’s match,” he said.

“If I were a fan, for sure I would want to be in the stadium to see with my own eyes that the team comes through without any hiccups. Hopefully the real fans will see it that way also and come out and give us that support not only in this match but for the remainder of the campaign. There’s a lot of action to come still,” an excited sounding Sancho added from his Dundee home. “I think we, meaning the players as well as the technical staff and the others involved from the Federation, know all too well that the hill of the journey starts in February when the final round begins and we have to ensure that we are well geared and prepared for getting to the top of it,” he added. The former Finland-based professional is scheduled to arrive home today along with Gillingham defender Ian Cox, Crewe Alexandra goalkeeper Clayton  Ince, Wrexham  duo Dennis Lawrence and Hector Sam, China-based pro Anthony Rougier, Southampton’s Kenwyne Jones and Rangers defender Marvin Andrews.

Both Sam and Lawrence netted in Wrexham’s 4-0 FA Cup first round win over conference side Hayes yesterday. All arriving players will join the team for training tomorrow morning at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo. Wake Forest University striker Scott Sealy has been drafted into the team at the expense of Cornell Glen, yet to recover from a hamstring strain, and he will be one of the forwards alongside Errol McFarlane, Sam and Jerren Nixon. Coventry City striker Stern John was ruled out as he missed Coventry City’s match on the weekend. John’s airline ticket remains open though, just in case his condition improves over the next couple of days. The Vincentians remain confident of inflicting a defeat by three goals on TT. Yugoslavian-born coach Zoran Vranes said: “I think we have a fair enough chance of getting the result over Trinidad and Tobago. It’s not going to be an easy match because we all know that Trinidad is a powerful team but we won’t back down from the challenge.”