Golden Jaguars to battle Les Matinino at MSC ground in Linden tonight

Mar 28, 2017 Sports

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GT Beer onboard to add fuel to the action; 12th man urged to support

By Franklin Wilson
International football will make a welcome return to the Bauxite Mining Town

of Linden tonight when Guyana Golden Jaguars battle visitors, Martinique’s Les Matinino from 20:00hrs as the latter continue preparations for the 2017 Caribbean Cup and CONCACAF Gold Cup, competitions.
When the two sides last met in 2012 they battled to a 2-2 draw but both will be hoping to go one step further and record a victory. A win for Guyana against one of the best from the Caribbean would be a morale booster for the players and Guyana Football Federation (GFF), whilst a win for the French side would also be a morale booster for them having suffered a 1-2 defeat to Barbados on Sunday night last in the land of the Flying Fish.
Both nations would be featuring a bevy of young and exciting players who were not a part of the set up when they last met.
At a press conference hosted by the GFF yesterday at Signature Inn Hotel, Laluni Street, Queenstown, Interim Head Coach Wayne ‘Wiggy’ Dover assured fans that they can look forward to a win from the Golden Jaguars which would be Captained by Sam Cox.
Dover said that he is looking forward to this challenge once again as the chief tactician for the game at the senior level in Guyana, a position he has held on multiple occasions before and is once again honoured to aid in the forward thrust of Guyana’s football.
”We will assure that tomorrow evening we give the fans and the nation a desired victory and all would be very happy at the end of ninety minutes.”
Captain Cox in his remarks said that his charges are eager and ready for the challenge whilst noting that it is a privilege to be under the guidance of both Dover and his assistant, former national player, Pollard.

He also expressed gratitude to the GFF for putting on such a match against a leading CFU side.
”The boys have been training well, preparations have been good and now it’s really time to focus on the game and bring the result home tomorrow.”
Pollard said that he was happy to be on board as part of the Technical staff which fulfills a lifelong dream of his.
”Transforming from player to coach is something different but I think the desire is still here. Ever since I got the phone call from Mr. Dover, it was a privilege for me to come back in this capacity to represent Guyana.”
Pollard emphasized that he is happy to be supporting the Guyana team and contribute towards taking the product forward and to a next level.
Banks DIH’s Troy Peters shared that his company is very excited to be on board to support the GFF and by extension Guyana. He noted that it was also a great opportunity for the company to show support for the community of Linden which is one of their strong areas and where GT Beer was unveiled some three years ago.
”In fact the brand has taken off not only in Linden but around the country. So we look forward to an exciting match, we urge the fans to come out and we are so pleased to be partnering with the GFF in this particular venture and we look forward to more exciting times and plans with the GFF.”
Peters posited that that they are on board to help develop the sport which has encouraging potential.
”We’ve seen the sport growing from strength to strength and tomorrow, let’s look forward to a victory from the Golden Jaguars as we move forward with preparations for other international tournaments.”
Forde in his comments first expressed thanks to Banks DIH for their partnership and for using a brand that is progressive, stating that they would have had very late confirmation from the Martinique Federation for the match but they were up to taking on big challenges.
”We had two options, we could have simply said to them we do not have enough time to pull this off or we could have done what we have been doing for the past couple of months, proving to Guyana that we take on all challenges and so far we’ve been very successful.”
With the goal of his executive being to bring back prominence to the Golden Jaguar brand, Forde said that they will be exploring all possible avenues to ensure that there is consistent football played on international dates so as to ensure that Guyana becomes a force to reckon with in the Caribbean and further afield.
”So we are committed to that task, we are going to do everything within our power to play on every single FIFA date that is available to us and in between. As we stand right now we have three games already lined up for the Golden Jaguars, the strategy is very simple it is not complicated; we have some opponents that are lesser than the Martinique’s and some of the other powerful guys.”
He noted that for those matches an exclusive local team would be used and for tougher encounters, stronger teams would be put together which would see overseas based and more seasoned players being added to the roster.
”I want to take this opportunity to encourage the fans to come out in the Linden community and be a genuine 12th man for these guys. I know it’s going to be an exciting game, the Linden Community has responded in the most heart-warming way in terms of the work that continues to go on in terms of the preparation of the venue and promotion of the game.”
Forde promised to do everything in the GFF’s power to bring back prominent football to the Linden Community, informing that once they respond in a huge way tonight, at least two more major international friendly matches would be played at the MSC.

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