Out-of-favour T&T defender Alvin Jones is targeting reaching the group stages of this year’s Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League with reigning Digicel T&T Pro League champions, DirecTV W Connection.
It was the Savonetta Boys’ first Champions League win in six years, and made even more special by the fact that it came on home soil against a top Central American side.
Speaking to Concacaf.com ahead of the start of the Caribbean Football Union group qualifiers Jones said, “It was my first time in the Champions League and to score a goal to win at home after six years without a win in the Champions League…that goal was very important.”
The 21-year-old and his W Connection team-mates launch their quest for a fifth SCCL qualification when they host CS Moulien (Guadeloupe), Inter Moengotapoe (Suriname), and Atletico San Cristobal (Dominican Republic) in the opening round of the 2016 Caribbean Club Championship.
They start on February 24, 2016, against Atletico San Cristobal. A three-time CFU champion, W Connection has made success in that competition – and the resulting SCCL berth—a priority and playing at home will help kick start the campaign.
“Our main goal is to be playing in the Concacaf Champions League every chance we get,” stressed Jones.
“We’re at home, so I think we have an advantage on the other teams, but it will not be easy.”
In last year’s Caribbean final, W Connection fell 2-1 in the final, also at home, to local rival Central FC. With both sides returning, Jones wants to change the headline this time around.
“The team focus is on the Concacaf Champions League,” he reiterated. “It’s our main goal to be playing every chance we get, so that is one tournament we take very seriously.”
Currently sitting in third place in the Digicel T&T Pro League with 29 points, W Connection is outside the qualification positions for the 2017 Caribbean Football Union Club Championship.