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With more that 75% of this W Connection outfit under the age of 25, and no less than 10 players on the squad all coming through the club's youth programme, ttproleague.com spoke to 20 year old goalkeeper Kerwyn Beckles and young utility player Kern Cupid on what is undoubtedly the biggest game of their careers so far.


Both Beckles and Cupid will unexpectedly take their place in Coach Stuart Charles Fevrier's starting line up to face the experienced Mexican Champions Chivas in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup Quarterfinal.

Beckles made a sudden entrance in the first leg of the home and away tie when first call goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams was ejected from the game after receiving a straight red card for handling the ball outside his area.

While Cupid will have to step into the all important defensive midfield role in place of Colombian born Christian Viveros, who got stuck in Colombia after being denied a Mexican visa.

Viveros however, is expected to arrive in Mexico on Tuesday night, along with Viana ahead of the match on Wednesday.
The two young Connection players did not seem to be overawed by the task at hand.

Beckles said, "Preparation for the game went well, so I am confident not only in myself, but for the entire team and I hope we can go out there and pull off another victory for our club, and our country."

"We have gotten accustomed to the climate and we know how it feels and how to pace ourselves, so I think we can get the job done," said the 20 year old goalkeeper.

Looking back at when he was called into action during the first leg match, he said he was surprised, but gave it his best shot, "While in camp I have always kept an open mind, because I know anything could happen in football, so when I saw Jan got that red card, I just told myself I just need to go out there and do my best and that's what I did, and in the end I made my club and country proud.

The young keeper informed ttproleague.com of the big role national goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams is playing in his career.

"He keeps telling me to remain focused, concentrate on my game ignore all the negativity and focus on the positives and most importantly train hard, he has really kept me focused on the game against Chivas and even beyond, having Jan so close to me, I just want to follow in his footsteps and one day hopefully make the national senior team as well."

As for young Kern Cupid, he is also confident of a W Connection victory come Wednesday night.

"It's a big game, but I am confident in my own ability and the team's ability, in all our preparations leading up the this game the coach keeps telling us we can match anyone we play against, and we proved that in Trinidad when we beat Chivas, so I am hoping to take my opportunity in this game and play my role to help W Connection win."

The young attacking minded defender ruled out the possibility of overconfidence, he said, "We have to keep our feet on the ground, we always know we were capable of defeating Chivas even with 10 men, we will be confident, but we won't get overconfident, I am sure the team will remain focused and hopefully we can come out victorious."

"It's a big game for me personally, knowing Fox Sports will be there, knowing the stature of the game in itself, so with all that in mind I am looking forward to going out and doing my best, I want to make the club proud and by extension the country, including all the fans back at home, and I want to prove to the coach he made the right decision in putting the confidence in me to start the game."

He ended, "I honestly believe we can do it, the team has the potential, and with the responsibility of Trinidad and Tobago's football on our shoulders, I feel we will go out there and play with our heart and soul to get the result we need."