Showdown in Georgetown

Guyana, also known as the "Golden Jaguars" are leading by a solitary point in the 2011 FIFA World Cup qualifying group B series ahead of the "Soca Warriors"; and with two games remaining for both teams, the outcome of today's game could determine the group champions and who will be moving on to the next round of qualification.

A loss for T&T (9pts) will mean certain elimination, while Guyana (10pts) is one win or two draws away from qualifying.  Awaiting the Group B winner are Concacaf giants Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador. This means the road ahead will be a tough one for either team, but that's in the future, let’s focus on the task at hand.

A closer look at Trinidad and Tobago.

Starting with their captain Kenwyne Jones, on his day the Stoke City marksman is uncontained and capable of bullying defenders and scoring dynamic headers. The former Sunderland talisman missed T&T's last two matches against Bermuda and Barbados respectively due to an injury and he is now back and eager to do some damage.

Jones, will more than likely be partnered with the inform Lester Peltier in a potentially lethal attack. Peltier is coming off a hattrick for T&T against Barbados and he too is driven to continue where he left off. His style of play would definitely compliment Jones up front.

The excellent shot-stopper Marvin Phillip may get the start between the sticks, while Julius James, Carlyle Mitchell, Seon Power and Anthony Wolfe will help stabilize the T&T defence. Ironman Christopher Birchall, talented right winger Carlos Edwards, Khaleem Hyland and Keon Daniel look sure to be the men running things from midfield.

The Soca Warriors are also packed with a talented and competent bench as Kevin Molino, Hughtun Hector, Kendall Jagdeosingh, Hayden Tinto, Osei Telesford, Andrei Pacheco, Akeem Adams, back-up keeper Jan-Michael Williams will all be pushing to make their contribution in the two do or die matches. Last but not least, T&T’s well travelled record breaking goal-scorer Stern John will be relied upon to lend his experience to the cause if needed.

The Soca Warriors are coached by Otto Pfister, and to date the German has had one defeat in 5 outings and no draws. In all fairness, he has had to deal with many setbacks and controversies surrounding T&T football. Due to the previous inactivity of the senior men’s football program, Pfister had no choice but to use all important World Cup qualifying games to experiment and gauge his players’ capabilities.

With the 5 games under his belt, Pfister now seems to have a clearer picture of what his team would comprise of and the strategy and tactics he would use.

Guyana’s “Golden Jaguars” meantime, under the direction of Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz have shown great improvement and renewed life. To date they are undefeated in their group stage matches and look motivated and desperate for success. They are definitely, a team that cannot be underestimated.

With conviction in his voice Shabazz even went on record to say in a recent FIFA.COM interview that: “I’ve done a hundred FIFA courses, and the things I’ve learned have filled me with the belief that a Caribbean coach can take a team from the region all the way to a major competition.”

“Before, the idea was always to get someone in from Europe or South America, but this is my chance now to change all that and open the way for my colleagues, added Shabaaz.”

Guyana’s captain, Christopher Nurse and his teammates are all hyped up for the important clash with the Soca Warriors. Guyana biggest victory was their 14-0 mauling of Anguilla in April 1998 but only a draw today is required to keep the South Americans in the hunt for their first ever World Cup qualification.

In a recent interview with Kaieteur News, Nurse reported that the leadership displayed by the players is excellent and with that, he thinks that the team has a good chance of excelling against Trinidad and Tobago."

"There’s a lot of tackles, running around and a lot of passion and aggression as everyone is fighting to earn a spot.”

Both English-born players Ricky Shakes and Leon Cort told Kaieteur News that they will be bringing their experience and determination to aid in overcoming Trinidad and Tobago Friday night.

Shakes, the right side mid-fielder declared that his talent and speed along with his determination, which will be displayed on the field, will assist in Guyana winning the group.

He continued, “We are really looking forward to this game on Friday and we know what the game can do for Guyana since we are playing to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.”

Shakes, who once played for Trinidad in a friendly game against Iceland in 2006, said that he would definitely like to do well against Trinidad and it will be a battle for not only the Golden Jaguars, but also for him.

Cort also plans to use the experience he gained while playing football in Europe to help the “Golden Jaguars” to victory. “We are presently fine tuning in their training sessions since a win is needed badly by Trinidad and Tobago,” ended Cort.

Cort was born in South London and has played for many top English teams including: Stoke City, Millwall, Hull City, Crystal Palace, Burnley, Preston North End and now Charlton Athletic.

The Guyana Football Federation is urging the entire nation to wear yellow in support of their team and is hoping to create a hostile atmosphere for their visitors.

Let’s take a closer look at Guyana's team.

Ronson Williams will most likely stand between the uprights, Leon Cort will lead his charges in defence alongside, Jake Newton, Walter Morre and the experienced Charles Pollard. Dwain Jacobs, Kayode McKinnon, Shawn Beveney and Howard Newton will pull the strings from midfield, leaving Vurlon Mills and Anthony Abrams to lead their potent attack.

Their possible bench players are also an interesting one with Ricky Shakes, Travis Grant, Alinani Mounter, Anthony Benfield, Eusi Phillips and experienced Richard Reynolds as their back up keeper.

Despite making only two appearances for Guyana, both in the opening matches against Barbados and Bermuda, the talented but undisciplined former Joe Public striker Gregory Richardson could also feature in today's game and if he does, he would definitely be a handful to contain.

The striker is currently attached to Caribbean Champs Puerto Rico Islanders and became the first Guyana footballer to play Major League Soccer (MLS) when he signed a US$75,000 contract with the Colorado Rapids in 2009.

Guyanese players are no strangers to Trinidad and Tobago, with many plying their trades in T&T at the Pro League level. Dwain Jacobs, Gregory Richardson, Kayode McKinnon, Nigel Codrington, Charles Pollard, Walter Morre, Andrew Durant, Konata Mannings, Dwight Peters, Carey Harris, Collie Hercules, Tyron Bobb, Abassy McPherson, Shawn Bishop, Howard Lowe, Richard Reynolds, Shawn Beveney, Vurlon Mills and Anthony Abrams have all played in the T&T league for many years.

Today only 3 Guyanese players that I am aware of are currently still based in T&T, they are Charles Pollard (North East Stars), Tyren Bobb (Caledonia AIA) and Vurlon Mills (T&TEC FC). Another interesting fact about the Golden Jaguars is that their head coach and Technical Director Jamal Shabaaz is Trinidadian-born.  The multi-tasking coach occupies many positions including one with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) and the other with T&T Pro league outfit Caledonia AIA, as head coach as well.

Head to head

In thirteen games between both nations T&T stands undefeated with 10 wins and 3 draws. The only previous FIFA World Cup qualifying meetings between the Soca Warriors and the Golden Jaguars came in 1988 during the final six-team group in the preliminaries for Italy 1990. T&T won both matches, 4-0 in Guyana and returned home to a 1-0 win at Skinner Park.

The team were coached then by Everald "Gally" Cummings, among the goalscoers were; Paul-Elliot Allen, Dexter Skeene, Geoffrey Lake, Marvin Faustin and Anton Corneal.

My predictions.

Guyana today, is not the same team T&T defeated in the Digicel Cup last November; they are also playing for survival and want to create history at the same time.

I believe that being the host nation in the first leg of this 2 match series adds a bit pressure on Guyana; furthermore T&T is more experienced at this level and on paper they have a better squad and better individual players.

In watching Guyana play in their last game against Barbados, it’s obvious they are no powerhouse as they started off shaky; however their confidence built during the game and they started to play a good brand of football. On the flip side, they were allowed acres of space by their opponents.

This match against Guyana should be an interesting one for T&T, as it definitely is T&T's biggest and most important game of 2011.

If T&T plays to its potential and keep their concentration for a full 90 my prediction without being bias is that the Soca Warriors will be victorious in both legs;  which by the way is carded for today and the return-leg game on the 15th of November.

Let’s go T&T !!!!...