U20 Lady Jags ready for Cuba qualifiers following Mini-camp in Canada

Jan 05, 2012 Sports

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Face Cuba, T&T & Puerto Rico from Saturday

Guyana’s Under-20 Lady Jags will begin their quest to overcome the challenges that will be posed by host team Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago and Puerto Rico when the respective countries collide in the second round of Caribbean qualifying for the 2012 CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship.
The Lady Jags will face Cuba in their first game on Saturday at the Estadio Pedro Marrero
Ciudad de La Habana from 15:00hrs with T&T and Puerto Rico kicking off group action at 10:00hrs at the same venue.
Technical Director of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Women’s Programme, Mark Rodrigues, speaking after the team held a Mini Camp in Canada, stated that they Lady Jags (Seniors) which became first Guyanese team (male or female) to advance to a CONCACAF finals will continue to make all Guyanese very proud to wave their flags and say “I AM GUYANESE, I AM A (LADY) JAG – HEAR ME ROAR”.

Rodrigues, who has been with the Programme from its inception, noted that whilst the ultimate goal is to advance to the next round, the aim in Cuba is to win the group and advance as the Caribbean threat.
“Winning the group will also give the players the much needed confidence required heading into the CONCACAF Finals in Panama in March. It will force teams to view us differently and play us more cautiously, which we could then use to our advantage.”
The Lady Jags won their first round group which was hosted at the Uitvlugt Community Centre following wins over Antigua & Barbuda 7-0, Anguilla 5-0 and a bruising win over the Dominican Republic 2-1 in a thrilling end to the group.
The squad under Rodrigues, Coach – Chris Brown, GK Coach/Trainer – Ali Tabrizi and Physiotherapist – Neena Gupta recently concluded a Mini Camp in Canada where the younger players, some of who were part of the senior programme rubbed shoulders with the seniors Jags.
The camp has been deemed a success by Rodrigues who said the players and staff are all focused and committed to making their country proud by maintaining and surpassing the high standards that they have set.
Rodrigues noted that the Technical Staff has been doing their homework: “I have done a considerable amount of research on our opponents and will be approaching each game with a specific game plan as they all play differently. Cuba has very crafty players especially in midfield. Trinidad relies heavily on speed and attacking from their wide players. Puerto Rico is a very technical team who can punish you if you do not defend as a group.”
He informed that the Guyanese team is well balanced with five senior players in the starting lineup complimenting a quality group of newcomers.
“The Under-20’s are very fortunate to consistently have a great goalkeeper in Simone Busby who only conceded a solitary goal (a redirection) in the first round in Guyana and will be looking to her for continued quality leadership between the pipes both in defending and starting our attacks. Simone is not just a shot stopper, she handles the ball extremely well with her feet and is very calm, which allows the team to go forward with confidence.
We welcome senior player Olivia Gonsalves back into the squad as she was unavailable in Guyana. Gonsalves was just a junior trust into the spotlight with the senior team in Cancun Mexico and performed very well. One could say she is now a veteran, as she displayed in the game in Toronto with her quality play.”
The only two surviving players from the original Lady Jag squad ( June, 2009) are Captains Justine Rodrigues and Ashlee Savona when they had just celebrated their 15th & 16th birthdays respectively, their wealth of experience will serve this team in good stead.
They have both earned scholarships in the USA and are starters on their College teams, Justine as a freshman and Ashlee as a sophomore. Both of these players fully understand and play each game like it’s their last, leaving everything on the field and are great teammates.
Rodrigues stated that the newcomers to the programme are very talented and are slowly understanding the magnitude of what they have embarked upon. Some stepped up in Guyana while others were slow in getting started, but have since garnered more experience from round one.
“While the Cuba test will be challenging for us as a unit and given the challenges we face preparation and otherwise as a smaller nation on a limited budget; Belief, pride, passion and an amazing coaching staff carries us a long way.”
Team Guyana : Justine Rodrigues (Captain), Ashlee Savona (Captain), Martyne Alphonso, Simone Busby, Leah Marie Ramalho, Chantal Lynch, Leah Chisholm-Allison, Olivia Gonsalves, Tessa Edwards, Elysia Prasad, Kailey Leila, Kelly Pelz-Butler, Alisha Leila, Esther Frotten, Otesha Charles, Sara Vaughan.
Technical Staff: Technical Director – Mark Rodrigues, Coach – Chris Brown, GK Coach/Trainer – Ali Tabrizi, Physiotherapist – Neena Gupta.

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