Ince rested for Botswana match today

GABORONE: Trinidad and Tobago’s English-based goalkeeper Clayton Ince will be rested for  today’s international friendly football match against Botswana. This is due to an abdominal strain but he is expected to be fit for the international against South Africa next Saturday in Port Elizabeth. The rest of the team is injury free ahead of the remaining matches. Skipper Carrington said the Caribbean footballers hope to achieve their third win of the tour today. “Right now we are really looking forward to the South Africa match because we feel they will be our toughest opponents. But at the same time we are here for another international against Botswana and we are keen to get another good result,” Carrington said. “We have little knowledge of Botswana and we will give them their respect on the day and prepare for the match as any other. “The attitude of the players has been positive throughout the tour and we are just aiming to maintain some consistency in our performances. You can see  that a lot of organisation has gone into this tour and it has been successful so far. “We are looking forward to reap the benefits of this as we continue our build up for the (World Cup) qualifying matches later down the road,” he added.

The TT footballers arrived in Botswana from Johannesburg under strict police escort during a five-hour journey which was interrupted by a stop at the renowned Sun City Hotel in South Africa for lunch and a short rest. So far on the historic tour of Africa, TT have drawn and beaten Kenya’s national senior and Olympic teams respectively before defeating a South African club side 1-0 on Saturday. Coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier had one session yesterday evening at the National Stadium in Gabarone before today’s friendly international. Radio Botswana 2 has dedicated a one-hour segment in its morning programme over the next couple days to promote today’s match, playing strictly calypso music since the promotion started last Friday.