Supporters helped Guaya conquer Stars in Toyota Classic says Ron
Guaya United head coach Ronald La Forest believes that his players “lived up to expectations” on Sunday by ousting defending Toyota Classic champions North East Stars 2-0 in the preliminary round.
Ron also believes that his team’s strong fan support contributed to the win, which sends the second positioned Super League outfit through to the quarter-final round of the 2013 Toyota Classic against second positioned Digicel Pro League club Point Fortin Civic on Sunday at the Mahaica Oval from 3pm.
“Our players aren’t really committed to the coaches,” said La Forest. “It’s that they have a requirement to deliver to the people of Guaya. They know they have a crowd to answer to, and if you were there on Sunday, you would have seen and heard the reaction of the crowd towards our players.”
The Guaya coach dismissed the claims by some that a muddy surface at the Guayaguayare Secondary School Ground served as an advantage to his team.
He said, “Both teams played on it. They (North East Stars) have their fitness programme and so do we. I have to give kudos to my physical trainers and my players.
“It rained for two days and the ground was heavy … but it was playable. I was happy in terms of the fitness of our players and from Sunday’s game I can say that my players are starting to mature. They are starting to blossom as we go along.
“You couldn’t tell who were Pro League, who weren’t,” said La Forest, a former Trinidad and Tobago international.
“It was wonderful. As I said before, we needed to be challenged, and I think we delivered in the challenge. I told my players that Pro League and Super League are just names, and they needed to simply play their best against the opponents.”
La Forest welcomes his team’s next challenge, which is against another strong community-backed club, Point Fortin.
“This is what we were expecting … and what we wanted,” said the Guaya coach. “Their support is strong and so is ours. For football sake, this is good. We would now try to advance further in the tournament and welcome every challenge.”
The Toyota Classic quarter-final round kicks off on Friday 15 November from 6pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium when FA Trophy round of 32 opponents, Caledonia AIA and Super League leaders Club Sando, tackles each other.
On Saturday 16 November the action is back at the Ato Boldon Stadium with DIRECTV W Connection against Super League’s Malabar FC from 5pm, and Central FC against Defence Force from 7pm. The quarter-final round ends on Sunday 17 November at the Mahaica Oval between Point Fortin Civic and Guaya United.
2013 Toyota Classic Quarter Final Round [Friday 15 November]
Caledonia AIA vs Club Sando—6pm, Ato Boldon Stadium
Saturday 16 November
W Connection vs Malabar FC—5pm, Ato Boldon Stadium
Central FC vs Defence Force—7pm, Ato Boldon Stadium
Sunday 17 November
Point Fortin Civic vs Guaya United—3pm, Mahaica Oval, Point Fortin