Dover shares views on ‘Golden Jaguars’ performance in Digicel C’bean Cup 2010

Dec 06, 2010 Sports

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Time for transition of new players

By Franklin Wilson
‘Golden Jaguars’ Head Coach Wayne ‘Wiggy’ Dover is pleased with the performance of his charges but disappointed that Guyana did not make it to the final four and qualification for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the 2010 Digicel Caribbean Cup.

Having qualified for the finals in Martinique after winning their Group in the first stage of the competition and finishing as the runner-up team to Trinidad and Tobago in stage two, Guyana drew with Guadeloupe before going down to Antigua & Barbuda (1-0) and defending champions Jamaica (0-4).
Speaking with Kaieteur Sport, yesterday, Dover revealed that his charges did the best they could have done in the circumstances while sharing the view that the time is opportune for a much more proactive approach towards the issue of new players being molded for the senior level.
Guyana’s most successful coach at the senior level said the team started off well by winning their opening Group (C) hosted by Suriname whom they defeated 2-0; edged St. Lucia 1-0 and got past the Netherlands Antilles 3-2.
After qualifying for Stage Two, Dover said that he felt more could have been done in preparing the team for the Trinidad leg where Guyana drew with Haiti 0-0, lost to the Soca Warriors 1-2 and defeated St. Vincent & the Grenadines 2-0.
“I felt that preparation could have been better going into round-two in terms of more training days which would have made the team more competitive and a cohesive unit.”
Dover made these comments given the fact that finishing has been one of the major challenges for the team in this year’s competition.
He also noted that after qualifying for the finals he was disappointed that no kind of proper preparation took place as a team.  “For sure you would have been facing the strongest teams in the Caribbean in the finals and it would have been excellent if we had the opportunity to have some vital training as a team ahead of those finals coming up against the likes of defending champions Jamaica, Guadeloupe and Antigua in our group.”

The Guadeloupe clash was a tough opener for the Golden Jaguars missing a few of their regular starters who opted to sit out the finals due to varying reasons which included the important Miami FC pair of Sean Cameron and John Rodrigues.
Dover highlighted that one of the strong areas of the team was their ability to play as a unit defensively while the weakest area continues to be their inability to convert the many opportunities created.
“We need to spend much more time working on finishing which continues to be our biggest challenge. It surfaced in the first leg in Suriname, confronted us in Trinidad and was again our downfall in Martinique.”
Anthony ‘Awo’ Abrams, once regarded as a prolific scorer was not able to sink many of the chances created as did Devon Millington who was Guyana’s leading marksman at the Suriname Independence Cup last year.
The desperate need to find a player who can finish saw former DCC leading goal scorer Nigel ‘Powers’ Codrington being recalled to the line-up for the Martinique finals.
However, to the credit of the ‘Golden Jaguars’, they were the only team from the first stage to make it through to the eight (8) team finals in Martinique which also featured Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba and Grenada.
Dover singled out a number of players for their outstanding contributions to the team during this year’s sojourn.
Among them is leading custodian Ronson Williams who continues to set himself apart from the competition. Williams was also outstanding in the inaugural Suriname Independence Cup last October/November where he won the best goalkeeper award and has led his local club side Alpha United to yet another National Super League Championship.
His ability to communicate with his peers and his command in the area are positive traits that will do Guyana well in the future.
Cameron, Rodrigues, Jake Newton and Christopher Bourne among others were also mentioned for their outstanding contributions to the team apart from the local based players.
Sharing his thoughts on what’s next for Guyana, Dover was quick to point out that new players need to be given the chance to get exposure going forward.   “We need an infusion of young players who would need experience at the Regional and International levels.”
The long standing Coach is of the view that the level of intensity locally is off key with what is required at the international level pointing out that clubs {locally} needs to revamp their training styles and programmes to bring it in line with modern trends.
“Our intensity level is very low and we need to re-look at the National League apart from the Club levels because players are not well prepared for national duty. We need to see some restructuring in this regard so that we can produce better players who sound when it comes to their physical, psychological, technical and tactical levels.”
Dover was quick to point out that due to the level of exposure the overseas players attain at their respective clubs, they are able to adapt better to the challenges at the International level.
“These players will continue to be assets for us but we need to see major upgrading of our standards and it must be done at a national level with all the clubs buying into the programme.”
“The governing body needs to go on a drive to expose new players in the New Year which would necessitate international games monthly or every other month and this would go a long way in building a formidable unit for the next Digicel Cup competition.”
Dover said he would like to thank all and sundry who would have played their part in assisting the team in whatever way including the fans and supporters.
“I would like to say to all that the Technical team and players are very grateful for your continued support which we look forward to always despite the fact that we did not qualify for the finals.”

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