National Senior team coach Bertille St Clair has challenged his team for Sundays Digicel Caribbean Cup third round match to better their last performance and result from the previous encounter with St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Both teams will meet at 3:30pm at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella and the Soca Warriors will be aiming to achieve a sizeable advantage ahead of the return leg in St Vincent on January 16. An Angus Eve winner six minutes from time gave T&T a slim 201 win in the 2006 Semi Final round World Cup qualifier at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in November following a dismal showing for much of the match by the home side.
Now St Clair wants to see better.
I have told the guys that not because we think these kind of teams are below us in the rankings means that we must look down at them and then drop our standard of play. From now on we must take every game as a stepping stone and we must aim to do good stuff on the football pitch. I am asking these guys to wipe off the last match with a better showing on Sunday, St Clair told TTFF Media on Thursday shortly after announcing the 19-man squad.
The players have continued the growing process and have responded quite well in the training and I am happy about this. Now every session, every match is important before that game on February 9, so no we can have the chance to see where we are going right and what areas we need to work on.
Wake Forest University striker Scott Sealy joined the rest of the team at a media appreciation gathering hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation at the Crowne Plaza on Thursday morning but he will not be in the squad for Sunday. Sealy leaves on Friday for the Adidas MLS Combine where he will be hoping to catch the eye of MLS coaches.
But St Clair will have the services of New York/New Jersey MetroStars striker Cornell Glen, who is coming off a slight hamstring pull while experienced players as Angus Eve, Anthony Rougier, Avery John, Keyeno Thomas, Nigel Pierre and Gary Glasgow are also in the squad.
The two goalkeepers selected are Daurance and Jan Michael Williams with young Arima Morvant Fire striker Conrad Smith and fellow teammate, midfielder Denzil Theobald, CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh midfielder Michael Celestine and defender Cyd Gray as well as Joe Public duo Marlon Rojas and Derek King also making the cut.
US-based midfielder Leslie Fitzpatrick, playmaker Kerwyn Jemmott, Anton Pierre and Atiba Charles round off the squad which will move into camp at the Royal Hotel, San Fernando on the weekend ahead of Sundays match. The squad will then depart for Antigua on Monday morning for a one-week training camp before moving across to St Vincent for the return leg.
T&T 19-man Squad:
Goalkeepers:
Daurance Williams (San Juan Jabloteh), Jan Michael Williams (W Connection).
Defenders:
Marlon Rojas (Joe Public), Derek King (Joe Public), Cyd Gray (San Juan Jabloteh), Anton Pierre (Defence Force), Atiba Charles (W Connection), Avery John (New England Revolution), Keyeno Thomas (San Juan Jabloteh).
Midfielders:
Leslie Fitzpatrick (Alanta Silverbacks), Kerwyn Jemmott (Un-Attached), Anthony Rougier (Nanjing FC), Angus Eve (San Juan Jabloteh), Denzil Theobald (Arima Morvant Fire), Michael Celestine (San Juan Jabloteh).
Forwards:
Cornell Glen (MetroStars), Gary Glasgow (Gaungzhou FC), Conrad Smith (Arima Morvant Fire), Nigel Pierre (San Juan Jabloteh).