DIRECTV North East Stars will have an extra "player" in the F.A. Trophy final on Friday, as North East's supporters aim to party their team to victory . "The whole North East region is buzzing" said Stars C.E.O. Brent Sancho.
"Everyone's excited about the game and when I'm in Sangre Grande people are stopping me to wish us luck"
The club has put together a free supporters pack for those attending the game. "Our sponsors have been fantastic" said Operations Director Kevin Harrison "DIRECTV and Carib have supplied items, and Japs Fried Chicken has purchased 100 supporters T shirts.
We want to create lots of noise" Harrison admitted he lost his voice at last fridays league match against Joe Public. "I do get a bit noisy" laughed Harrison "I guess its the Englishman in me coming out!
There are some things about English footballer supporters I am glad to leave behind, but I do miss the passion of the crowds singing and intimidating the opposition."
North East Stars Head Coach, Shurland David said "I expect the match was really exciting for the supporters, with Public taking the lead in the first few minutes and North East piling on the pressure for the equaliser. But for me it was frustrating as we had so many near misses.
I think we had two chances cleared off the line and I'm told we had a good shout for a penalty declined." But David was delighted with the players attitude "Although we drew 1-1, it felt like a victory. The players created a huge attacking momentum and that attitude is now apparent in training.
The players will take the field on Friday with a positive attitude, knowing even if we concede a goal, we have the mental strength and ability to still win." David said his teams finishing league position of 7th gives a false impression. "When you remember that we built this squad from scratch in March, we have come a long way.
Our first half of the season saw us drop points due to a lack of cohesion both on and off the field. But now we are a tight unit and our second round performance should signal our intentions of a top 3 finish next season"
David, a former national team goalkeeper added" This is a big game team. The players rise to the occasion and love a big match atmosphere. We've beaten Defence Force twice this season and already beaten Jabloteh in the Lucozade Goal Shield. The boys are confident.
Even though Jabloteh are coming off the back of a defeat, we still are aware that we need to remain focused, but last weeks match felt like a victory and we'll carry that feeling forward."
Sancho is confident of taking a second trophy home this season " Jabloteh are a hard team to beat and Terry Fenwick is a coach I greatly admire, but we have played some great football over the last few weeks and the momentum is with us."
Sancho went on to say he is delighted by the support of his community. "Everyone stops to wish us good luck and I'm sure our supporters will make enough noise to act as a 12th player"
Harrison added " We've had so much interest in the supporters packs, we may need to order some more!" The supporters packs will include a free T shirt and giveaways from sponsors, DIRECTV and Carib.
"We want everyone to sit together, so those attending should look for us distributing the supporters packs outside the stadium between 6pm and 6.45. Once inside the ground, everyone wearing a supporters T shirt will receive a gift courtesy of Carib."
The F.A.Trophy final kicks off at 7pm at Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya. Tickets are $40 for covered and $20 uncovered. There will also be a match between the National Under 20's and Under 17's kicking off at 5pm.
"We want to make lots of noise" said Harrison. "DIRECTV are bringing bus loads of supporters and we want all of our MaltaCarib coaching school and academy players to bring their parents!"