The National Under-23 team continued preparations for upcoming Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Olympic Qualifiers yesterday at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Members of the team along with a number
The players going through their paces yesterday.
of local based senior players were taken through their paces by Coach Wayne Dover, Andrew Hazel (Goalkeeper Coach) and Anson Ambrose (Fitness Coach).
Guyana will be in action on June 24, 26 and 28 and has been placed in the said group with Cuba, Antigua and Aruba. The top team from the group will advance.
Speaking with Kaieteur Sport just before yesterday’s training session, Coach Dover said a number of overseas based players mainly from the USA, Canada and the UK have indicated their willingness to play and should arrive in the country by month end.
Dover stated that the fitness level of the players is below par but expressed confidence the players will rise to the challenge. “We had three weekends of training so far and the fitness keeps fluctuating and this is due to the lack of competitive football locally. But we have provided the players with the programme and hope that it will help them to improve in this area,” he added.
The coach feels that the team is a talented one. “The players haven’t played any football for some time and that makes our job more difficult, but we will do the hard work,” he pointed out.
The team includes Pernell Schultz, Trayon Bobb, Daniel Wilson, Joshua Brown and Domini Garnett who is expected home shortly from Trinidad and Tobago where he is plying his trade with Caledonia AIA.
Dover explained that the coaching staff is satisfied with the response shown by the players adding that expectations are high and the team can be a force to reckon with especially with the overseas players making themselves available.
“Once they exhibit discipline and execute what they learn in training we can qualify as the top team in the group,” Dover said. He thanked the authorities for allowing the team to train at Leonora playfield and the stadium. (Zaheer Mohamed)