Soca Warriors, Reggae Boyz clash

TRINIDAD and Tobago footballers will attempt to redeem themselves as the top Caribbean football nation when they face top ranked regional rivals Jamaica today in the opening match of the Digicel Caribbean Cup at the National Stadium in Barbados from 6 pm. The Warriors versus Reggae Boyz clash will be the first of a double header with hosts Barbados meeting Cuba later at 8 pm. The four teams are battling for the US$100,000 first prize and three places in the prestigious CONCACAF Gold Cup in July.

Several leading football officials from the region headed by FIFA Vice President and Caribbean Football Union President Jack Warner will be in attendance and also take part in the CFU Congress. TT, under coach Bertille St Clair arrived in Barbados on Friday night after their BWIA flight was cancelled forcing them to travel on another flight heading for Manchester, England which was delayed by a little over an hour. Like so many of the other Caribbean islands the team has stayed in over the past few months, the Grand Barbados Beach Resort has the settings of a perfect holiday spot but St Clair had the players out on the Police Sports Ground for an early morning session yesterday which lasted for 90 minutes. With all 18 players fit and geared up for today’s clash, St Clair concentrated more on his team’s finishing on goal and did a final tune-up with another session at the match venue in the evening.    

The Jamaicans meanwhile, arrived in separate batches on Friday and also trained yesterday. Team head coach Wendell Downswell  was confident of pulling off a win stating emphatically that his “Boyz were here to justify their position as the number one ranked Caribbean team.” They are without Chicago Fire striker Damani Ralph but midfielder  Los Angeles Galaxy Tyrone Marshall who scored the winner in the 1-0 win over TT during the 2002 World Cup campaign, is in the side along with fellow US-based pros Khari Stevenson and Andy Williams and UK-based Omar Daley. “We are definitely going for the win. We still see ourselves as the number one ranked team in the Caribbean despite the fact that we are not in the World Cup for 2006,”   Downswell said.

“We want to justify that and there’s no better way of doing that than starting off the tournament with a win over Trinidad and Tobago. I think the result of this match will also play a big part in how the teams finish in the tournament,” he said. Asked what he expected going into this traditional clash of the regional giants, Downswell said: ”It’s going to be a challenging assignment. Both teams are always up for this and I am predicting a classic encounter. There’s no doubt the spectators are going to see entertaining football.” His opposite number, St Clair, believes that his team will be tough to overcome, particularly after their gritty showing recently against the United States.

“We haven’t played them since the last World Cup campaign and they have gone on to now be ranked higher than us. Our guys are up for this sort of game because we see it as an important one for our build up for the rest of World Cup matches, so definitely we want to get the best out of this game,” St Clair said.  “They say all the Caribbean teams always want to beat Trinidad and I think Jamaica want to do that  more than the rest of them especially where we are still in the World Cup. I think once we put our heads down and play the sort of football we are capable of, then the match should go our way in the end.”

T&T striker Cornell Glen, recently signed by Dallas FC will be TT’s main hope for goals and he could expect fair support from Scott Sealy, Nigel Pierre and young Conrad Smith who looked sharp in the build-up to today’s match. The defence will be well-manned with Keyeno Thomas, Marlon Rojas, Derek King and Anton Pierre.

TT team:
Goalkeepers: Duarance Williams (CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh), Jan Michael Williams (Vibe CT 105 W Connection)
Defenders: Keyeno Thomas (Jabloteh), Marlon Rojas (Real Salt Lake), Derek King (Joe Public), Anton Pierre (Defence Force), Cyd Gray (Jabloteh)
Midfielders: Leslie Fitzpatrick (Atlanta Silverbacks), David Nakhid, Densill Theobald (Caledonia Fire), Angus Eve (Jabloteh), Lyndon Andrews (W Connection) Jose Seabra (W Connection), Kerry Baptiste (Jabloteh).
Forwards: Scott Sealy (Kansas FC), Cornell Glen (Dallas FC), Nigel Pierre (Jabloteh), Conrad Smith (Caledonia Fire)
Jamaica team: Shawn Sawyers, Leighton Murray (goalkeepers); Damion Stewart, Jermaine Taylor, Tyrone Marshall, Robert Scarlett, Garfield Reid, Tyrone Sawyers, Fabian Davis (defenders); Omar Daley, Khari Stephenson, Keith Kelly, Jermaine Hue, Andy Williams (midfielders); Luton Shelton, Roland Dean, Newton Sterling, Teofore Bennett (strikers).