Trinidad and Tobagos senior footballers will attempt to redeem themselves as the number one playing Caribbean nation when they face off with top ranked regional rivals Jamaica in the opening match of the 2005 Digicel Caribbean Cup at the National Stadium in Barbados from 6pm.
The Warriors versus Reggae Boyz clash will be the first of a double header with hosts Barbados meeting Cuba from 8pm as the four teams begin battle for the US$100,000 first prize and three places up for grabs in the prestigious CONCACAF Gold Cup in July. Several football bosses from the region headed by FIFA Vice President and Caribbean Football Union President Jack Warner will be in attendance as they are also here for the CFU Congress.
T&T, under coach Bertille St Clair arrived in Barbados on Friday night after their BWIA flight was cancelled forcing them to travel on a BWIA flight heading for Manchester which was delayed by a little over an hour. Like so many of the other Caribbean islands the team has stayed in over the past few months, the Grand Barbados Beach Resort has the settings of a perfect holiday spot but St Clair had his men out on the Police Sports Ground for an early morning session which lasted for 90 minutes.
With all 18 players fit and geared up for Sundays clash, St Clair went concentrated more on his teams finishing on goal and did a final tune up with another session at the match venue in the evening.
The Jamaicans meantime, arrived in separate batches on Friday and also trained on Saturday. Team head coach Wendell Downswell was confident of pulling off a win stating emphatically that his Boyz were here to justify their position as the number one ranked Caribbean team. They are without Chicago Fire striker Damani Ralph but midfielder Los Angeles Galaxy Tyrone Marshall who scored the winner in the 1-0 win over T&T during the 2002 World Cup campaign, is in the side along with fellow US-based pros Khari Stevenson and Andy Williams and UK-based pro Omar Daley.
We are definitely going for the win. We still see ourselves as the number one ranked team in the Caribbean despite the fact that we are not in the World Cup for 2006, Downswell told TTFF Media. We want to justify that and theres no better way of doing that than starting off the tournament with a win over Trinidad and Tobago. I think the result of this game will also play a big part in how the teams finish in the tournament.
Asked as to what he expected going into this traditional clash of the regional giants, he added Its going to be challenging assignment. Both teams are always up for this and I am predicting a classic encounter. Theres no doubt the spectators are going to see entertaining football.
His opposite number, St Clair, believes that his troops will be tough to overcome, particularly after their gritty showing recently against the United States.
We havent played them since the last World Cup campaign and they have gone on to now be ranked higher than us. Our guys are up for this sort of game because we see it as an important one for our build up for the rest of World Cup matches, so definitely we want to get the best out of this game, St Clair said. They say all the Caribbean teams always want to beat Trinidad and I think Jamaica wants to do that more than the rest of them especially where we are still in the World Cup. I think once we put our heads down and play the sort of football we are capable of, then the match should go our way in the end.
T&T striker Cornell Glen, recently signed by Dallas FC will be T&Ts main hope for goals and he could expect fair support from the likes of Scott Sealy, Nigel Pierre and young Conrad Smith who looked sharp in the build up to Sundays match. The defense will be well stocked with Keyeno Thomas, Marlon Rojas, Derek King and Anton Pierre holding things up.
Midfielder Denzil Theobald, coming off a strong showing against the Americans, is also eager to step it up in the middle, particularly alongside veteran midfielder David Nakhid.
I think if both of us start we could definitely do some good things on the field. I have never played against Jamaica at this level but I am positive about us going out there are doing well, Theobald said. Team captain Angus Eve, Brazilian-born midfielder Jose Luis Seabra and returning midfielder Lyndon Andrews will also be keen to play a significant role. Everyone knows that when these two teams meet there is always a good and hard match in store. This is like any of the big derbies you see in various parts of the world and this time around we are obviously looking forward to taking the win. Eve added.
Word coming out of Jamaica was that big Jamaican striker Onandi Lowe, hours after being found not guilty of drug smuggling charges in England, was again eligible to play for his country, according to Jamaican Football Federation President Crenston Boxhill. But there was no word on whether he would take part in the current tournament.
The last time these two teams met was during the return leg 2002 World Cup qualifier which the Jamaicans won 2-1 over a T&T side coached at the time by Brazilian Rene Simoes. It was also the first game the team was playing after Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy announced their resignation from international football. Yorke has since returned to the fray and didnt forget to wish the boys well last week as the players left camp after the US game. This time around Nakhid is back and keen to help T&T nick another regional title.