New-look Warriors face P/Rico

The road to a winning prize of US$100,000 and a place in next year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup starts today for Trinidad and Tobago when they face Puerto Rico in the first match of a double- header. The match kicks off the Trinidad and Tobago leg of the Digicel Caribbean Cup preliminaries at the Marvin Lee Stadium, at Macoya. A new look Soca Warriors outfit will go into action from 5 pm while Grenada faces Suriname  from 7 pm. TT coach Bertille St Clair has included several non-regulars in his team for the tournament with the hope that they will be able to step up to the call. Among them is striker Nigel Pierre and Kerwyn Jemmot with Defence Force defender Anton Pierre and Tobago-born Cyd Gray  also getting another try.

The only members of the current World Cup team are Avery John, Cornell Glen, Joe Public defender Derek King who has gotten the armband for the tournament and second string goalkeeper Duarance Williams. US-based defender Derek Phillips was also impressive in his last appearance against South Korea and having recovered from a thing strain suffered against Guatemala, he is expected to add some stability to the TT backline. Leslie “Tiger” Fitzpatrick is coming off a season with American A-League side Atlanta Silverbacks and will be keen to impress in his first appearance in national colours since representing the Under-23s in the past. “This is an important tournament for us because it is a chance for some of the other guys to go out there and show their capabilities.

Some people might say we have a below strength team but I think these guys could actually pull of some good performances,” St Clair said yesterday. “They know that the door remains open to all players in the World Cup effort but only those who can step up the task will get that chance to be part of the World Cup team and that is an incentive for them to perform at their best.” King, a longstanding member of the team is keen to make an impression in the starting 11 having last appeared in a 1-1 draw with South Korea. With proceeds from the gates going to hurricane victims in Grenada, the Spice Boyz are also hoping to grab one of the two spots from this group which will take them through to the next round.

They are coming off a 3-2 win over St Vincent and the Grenadines last Saturday with goals from Anthony Modeste and  Ricky Charles (2). Coach Mike Adams said his team realises the importance of doing well in the tournament as it would give their people something to cheer about following the horrors of the Ivan. Matches continue on Friday at Manny Ramjohn Stadium with TT facing Grenada from 8 pm and Suriname taking on Puerto Rico at 6 pm. On Sunday the action shifts to Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar with TT facing Suriname from 6 pm preceded by the Grenada versus Puerto Rico clash two hours earlier.