TD Shabazz analyses Guyana’s performance against Guatemala

Mar 02, 2012 Sports

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Despite the 2-0 loss to Guatemala on Wednesday evening at the National Stadium, Technical Director (TD) of the ‘Golden Jaguars’, Jamaal Shabazz speaking with the media shortly after the match said the real win for Guyana was the fact that they were able to give as many players as possible valuable time on the pitch.
According to the TD, the exposure was all in the interest of arriving at the best possible combination for the upcoming third round of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers scheduled for June this year.
“I think the win for us was getting as many players on the pitch, but still trying to maintain quality. We were able to make six changes, get some younger players in too, all part of our strategy to widen the pool at this stage and provide more players with exposure so that when we call upon them in the actual qualification matches, they will be very aware of what to expect in the atmosphere. I think it is a necessary process,” he elucidated during the post-match interview.
Commenting on the way forward, Shabazz said, “In the initial stages the quality and the result will suffer, but our preparation is not for this game…our preparation is to use this game to prepare for the 8th of June.”
After successful stints in the previous two rounds of the Qualifiers, the Guyanese have advanced to the third round where they are alongside Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador in Group ‘B’. The ‘Jaguars’ first match in the round is against Mexico on June 8. Questioned whether a victory, as against experimentation, against the Guatemalans should have been the ultimate goal in order to send a strong message to the three Group ‘B’ nations, Shabazz responded by saying, “Winning and losing is not in our hands I think for us we don’t need to send a message. Mexico is an opponent that only failed to qualify once for the World Cup in the whole history; they’re ranked 21 in the world. We don’t need to send a message to Mexico, we need to take as many messages as we can get from them,” he pointed out.
Shabazz indicated that he’s not really concerned about sending a message to them, but more concerned about building a team, building a programme that could really make us proud by June 8.
“It’s not going to be an easy situation; remember this is not a level any of us has played or any of us has coached at, but we’re up for the challenge.”
He posited that at this level the margin for error is very slim, and “more games at this level will create the right environment for us to improve. I think we were business-like in the first-half, we held our own for long periods…goes to show that we can match this team, but then the margin for error at this level is very slim and we showed that by giving up two relatively soft goals, so this is a good lesson for us. I feel happy that we were able to hold our own; not the result we would’ve liked, but in the learning curve against quality opponents, this is how it’s going to be.”
Before the game, Shabazz said one of the areas that needed to be addressed was regaining possession of the ball. He felt the players were able to make some headway in this regard.
“I think in the first half we did very well, we forced them to kick the ball and it was really ping-pong, almost like a dog fight…so I was satisfied with that in the first half, but I think in the second half when we started to wear down and we had to make changes, I think the quality dropped a bit in terms of us winning the ball back.”
The motivational TD also highlighted a few concerns that the coaching unit will be looking to correct in the coming weeks.
“I think the distribution of the ball could have been much better from the goalkeeping; attacking the ball in the air; and winning the second ball. If you saw (Charles) Pollard and JP (Rodrigues) go up well with them (Guatemalans) initially, but when the ball was in no man’s land, they weren’t able to get there first…that’s another element of our game we need to address- the second ball- I think we need some work with that as well,” he disclosed.
Shabazz also had a few harsh words for forward Walter Moore, who received a red card in the dying stages of the second half after he chucked Gustavo Cabrera, who had initially pushed him during the run of play. He said he wasn’t too impressed with Moore’s reaction.
“But it’s also a learning process for us and for him because guys on the opposing team will do things to get under your skin. We will also learn from that; we should keep our wits and emotions under control because we need to play with 11 players. Actually I’m more disappointed in Moore getting a red card than us losing the game because this is part of the process. We see how the Central American teams’ play- they will bump into you, mash your feet, and hit your elbow. It’s a tough game and sometimes being tough means being able to control your emotions,” Shabazz mentioned.
Before the resumption of the Qualifiers, the ‘Jaguars’ will be involved in a number of international friendlies to boost their preparation.

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