Latest update December 12th, 2024 1:00 AM
Gutsy performance but not the best – Head Coach Collie Hercules
By Franklin Wilson
Head Coach of the National Under-20 team, which just returned from CONCACAF stage-two qualifying matches in Suriname, Collie Hercules, summed up the performances of his charges as gutsy, but not their best.
Collie Hercules
Guyana in their three matches, lost two; going down to Bermuda 3-0 and Suriname 2-1 before rebounding to win their final game against the Netherlands Antilles 2-1 at the Franklin Essed Stadium, Paramaribo, Suriname.
Hercules, who also made his debut as a Head Coach, felt that the players did their best given the time they had to prepare ahead of the crucial second round which saw Suriname emerging as the group winners with a clean slate of three wins in as many matches to take the final spot at the 12-team CONCACAF finals set for Guatemala in April.
“I felt the performance of the guys especially in the second and third matches was good and gutsy. It wasn’t the best in terms of how we can play but we fought and dug in hard and as you saw, we came out victors in the final game against the Netherlands Antilles.”
Against Suriname, the young Guyanese played very well and further improved the level of their play against the Netherlands even though it was not their best in a clash that was very physical and tough. Two of the Netherlands players were eventually evicted from the game.
“I must compliment the guys for putting up a tough fight in the final game and getting the victory but in terms of actual play, it was not the best of games.”
“It was a disappointing tournament and I felt that we could have done much better. Now the guys understand and believe that if they had stuck it out or we had a better start in the first game our fortunes could have been different because we can compete with anyone of these teams.”
Looking ahead, Hercules stated that a consorted effort is need to start working on the area of tactical discipline at the club level and understanding the game in a certain way. He reiterated the fact that given the limited time that is available to national teams in terms of preparation, the players must be of a certain level.
“We need those players having good experience at the club level so when they come to the national level they are already at a certain standard.”
The former Guyana forward believes that a consorted effort has to be made to get clubs much more structured and the grass roots programme must be done continuously.
“We can afford to start and stop, start and stop; all our national teams need to be active year round. We need to continue training all year but of course finances is one of the main challenges but we have to see how best we can restructure and reorganize so that we can benefit when we come to tournaments like these.”
Hercules also commented on his debut as Head Coach: “I always knew it was going to be difficult, it was going to be an uphill task. Why? Because I only had about 11 days preparation with the team; but I wanted to help my country and wanted to see how best I could have gotten the guys ready in two weeks.
I am satisfied in terms of where we came from and where we’re at right now but not totally. But must commend the players for the efforts they showed in training and the camp. We moved from one level to the next but we can be much better.”
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