T&T Under-20 captain, Mariah Shade yesterday appealed to the public to come out and give support to the national team when it takes on Cuba at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya, this evening in the Caribbean Football Union Final Round Qualifying Tournament.
Speaking at a press conference called to inform the media about new developments within the various women’s squads, at Concacaf office, Port-of-Spain, Shade said, “I would like to urge the public to come out and support us in the same fashion they support the men, and I promise we will not disappoint.”
Commenting on Wednesday night’s match against St Kitts/Nevis, which T&T won 6-0, Shade said that while the team’s performance was commendable, there can still be some improvement where the application of set plays and adapting to U-17 coach Even Pellerud’s philosophy regarding more aggression on the field.
The prolific striker maintained however, that the team is excited heading into tonight’s match and the end result will depend on how the team plays on the day.
Assistant Coach of the team, Marlon Charles, also reiterated his philosophy on the need for intensity and aggression on the field, explaining that this is how they will approach the match against Cuba.
Based on his scouting report on the Cuban side last night, Charles described Cuba as skillful, and said that his team will have to be careful playing against them, especially in the midfield where they appear strongest.
Also present was Pellerud, who shared that progress with the U-17 and U-20 teams have been going well, and expressed his pleasure at three of his U-17 players (Kayla Taylor, Camille Borneo and Linfah Jones) making the step up to the U20 team, saying that he was also confident that more of them could have made the team.
He also confirmed that a squad of 20, U-17 players, (six foreign based and 14 local players), will be leaving for Mexico on Tuesday to play two friendly matches on December 6 and 8.