Three Caledonia AIA of Morvant-Laventille starters are definitely out and another is battling injury ahead of their Good Friday Caribbean Club Championship Cup match against Haitian champions Tempete United.
By virtue of a second place finish in the 2010-2011 Trinidad and Tobago Pro League, Caledonia qualified for Caribbean competition for the first time in their history.
They play four-time Haitian champs Tempete on April 22 (Good Friday) in the second match of a Caribbean Club Championship Cup double-header at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain.
Defence Force, newly-crowned Pro League champions, take a 4-0 away victory into their second leg match against Guyanese club Milerock, which will be played at 6 p.m., while two hours later Caledonia face Tempete United in the opening leg of their second round series. The teams meet again on May 7 in Haiti.
Injuries have hit Caledonia AIA hard at the end of an extended Pro League season.
Swashbuckling, attacking midfielder Ryan Stewart is fighting to recover from a calf injury, while 17-year-old Guyanese striker Trayon Bobb is out with knee problems.
Both Stewart and Bobb were among the scorers when Caledonia won their home match 5-0 over St Kitts champs Newtown United on March 19.
Central defender Nuru Muhammad, who forms a regular partnership with Daniel Cyrus, is expected to be out for six weeks.
And their defence is further compromised by the departure of attack-minded left-sided Guyanese defender Walter Moore, who has left for greener pastures and is now playing with Charlotte Eagles in the United States.
Caledonia outclassed Newtown United in the opening round, winning 1-0 away and 5-0 at home, to take the tie 6-0 on aggregate. But coach Jamaal Shabazz expects Tempete to be far stronger.
Tempete are currently the most formidable team in Haiti and have won the Haitian league for the last three years (2008, 2009, 2010).
The last two of those wins have come under coach Plaisir Wilcuins, a former Haitian national player. Wilcuins, who holds a bachelor's degree in physical education, played in Europe for ten years.
He was a member of the victorious Haitian side who beat Trinidad and Tobago 2-1 in Port of Spain to win the 2007 Digicel Caribbean Cup tournament.
Also in the Tempete squad is striker Elifène Cadet, who was also in the 2007 squad that won the Caribbean Cup.
Despite their setbacks, Shabazz thinks Caledonia have enough quality to field a side good enough to beat the Haitians.
"This is the kind of challenge we have got to overcome if we want to go to the CONCACAF Champions League," he stated.
"We have just come off a super-long season and injuries are part of the reality of football. Other players will get an opportunity to justify their paychecks and presence on the roster.
"The competition for a starting position is still pretty keen and three or four players have an opportunity to get into the starting line-up," added Shabazz.
"The good thing is that they will want to perform to seal their places in the XI, so while it is challenging it is also quite interesting."
Shabazz said Moore's departure opens up a space for either Marcus "Schoolboy" Ambrose or Ishmael "Tech" Daniel, who will be competing for the left-back position. Ambrose recently returned to the team from Joe Public.
And Guyana Under-20 skipper Colin Nelson and Kemron Purcell are battling for the centre back position left vacant by Muhammad's injury.
"It gets even more interesting when you consider that Jean Luc Rochford and Abdallah Phillips are fighting for the spot left by Ryan Stewart," Shabazz said.
"These are two quality players who bring different strengths to the table and afford us an opportunity as a staff to really think things through and see what is the ideal balance for the team."
CARIBBEAN CLUB CHAMPIONS CUP SECOND-LEG:
(Good Friday–April 22)
6 p.m.–Defence Force (T&T) vs Milerock (Guyana), Hasely Crawford Stadium
8 p.m.–Caledonia AIA (T&T) vs Tempete FC (Haiti), Hasely Crawford Stadium