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T&T
warms up versus Guyana at Marvin Lee.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
National Team Head Coach Francisco Maturana will have another chance
to assess what some of his new call ups have to offer in Tuesday’s
friendly international against Guyana at the Marvin Lee Stadium from
7:30pm.
There will be an opening match of the double header with the T&T
Women’s National Under 17 team taking on the National Under 20
Women’s Team from 5:30pm. The Under 17s are preparing for the
CONCACAF Final round of qualification which begins in T&T from
July 17.
The Colombian-born coach will have at his disposal new face since his
appointment, including Puerto Rico Islanders forward Kendall
Jagdeosingh as well as Kerry Noray and W Connection’s Clyde Leon.
Those players all have previous international experience but North
East Stars defender Akeil Guevara could make his debut on Tuesday
while striker Cornell Glen and Anthony Wolfe will be hoping to make an
impression upon their recalls.
The rest of the squad includes recent regulars - Khaleem Hyland,
Keon Daniel, Anton Pierre, Keyeno Thomas, Aklie Edwards, Makan Hislop,
Kevon Carter, Jerol Forbes, Stephan David, Kern Cupid, Kareem Smith
and Akeem Adams. Ataullah Guerra should also get a chance in the
middle. Under 20 goalie Glenroy Samuel is the back up to Marvin
Phillip.
Wolfe, one of the members of the 2006 World Cup Squad, said he is
expecting a win for the hosts but more importantly is seeing the
encounter as an opportunity for players like himself to try and
maintain their selection for the more important World Cup qualifying
matches. Both Wolfe and Cornell Glen are two of the recalls who were
involved at the 2006 World Cup.
“First of all it’s a good opportunity for players like myself to
be back in the team and have a chance to play again,” Wolfe told
TTFF Media. “The coach is continuing his method of giving players a
chance to show what they can do and it’s up to us now to make good
of this. We have to grab it and show that we can make a valuable
contribution by helping the team gain impressive results.”
England-bound 19-year-old midfielder Khaleem Hyland, who played in
both of the recent qualifying matches at home and away to Bermuda,
wants to see more urgency coming from the T&T team.
“I think we need to take our approach with more urgency because this
is our preparation for some of the more high intensity matches that we
will have to go into in the next round. A lot of things have been said
about our performances against Bermuda and personally I felt it would
have been good to come away with a bigger victory but that wasn’t
the case,” Hyland said.
“But I think we are working hard towards boosting our game and (for)
games like this one against Guyana… hopefully we can look better and
come away with a result we are satisfied with. We expect to also get a
good contest from Guyana,” Hyland added.
Carter
adjusting to Maturana’s approach.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Defence Force’s Kevon Carter says he’s still adjusting to the new
role being asked of him by national head coach Francisco Maturana and
he will be seeking to show some kind of progress when Trinidad and
Tobago faces Guyana.
The 24-year-old has one goal, scored against Grenada, in five
internationals to date and first made an impression on the
international stage when he notched a hattrick in his debut for
the National Under 23 team in a 4-3 loss to Costa Rica in a friendly
at the Marvin Lee Stadium in October 2003.
“I’ve been thankful for this opportunity and the experience has
been a learning one since I came onto this current national team,”
Carter told TTFF Media on Saturday.
“For me personally it’s been a really good chance to train and
play with players like Carlos Edwards and Stern John and the others
who have made it a good way playing for the country on the
international stage. I hope to take a lot from this experience and use
it to push myself forward for the future.”
But Carter admitted that he hasn’t fulfilled expectations since his
hattrick performance against the Costa Ricans.
“I thought I would be further than where I am right now but things
haven’t gone that way. I just hope to use the opportunity to try and
maybe get a chance with a club in an overseas league so I can develop
my game some more.” He hopes to follow in the success of former
Defence Force striker Jason Scotland who has topped goalscoring charts
with St Johnstone in Scotland and last season with Swansea City in the
English League Two.
“Players like Jason, Carlos and Dennis Lawrence are an inspiration
to me, especially as they also came out of Defence Force.”
As a home-based player in the current set up, Carter emphasized his
liking for Maturana’s South American influence in the team’s play.
“It’s been good especially as he’s from a South American country
so he’s bringing that different style to our game and personally I
am enjoying this but it will take a lot of work and better
understanding for us to get it right. I am accustomed playing a
striker’s role but now I’m working on adjusting to the outside
midfield position. I think I can up it a notch and keep on improving
and be able to add something to the team for the matches that we have
coming up… especially for the World Cup qualifiers,” Carter added.
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