Warriors in Kingston tangle with the Reggae Boyz.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF Media).[/size]
Dutch-based forward Darryl Roberts will be leading the Trinidad and Tobago attack and hoping to make an impression on Francisco Maturana in Wednesday’s friendly international against Jamaica at the National Stadium, Kingston from 7pm (8pm T&T time).
Roberts along with US-based striker Randi Patterson are just two of the overseas-based forwards in the team and Roberts, coming off goals for his club Sparta Rotterdam against Ajax Amsterdam and PSV Eindhoven, knows that he will be carrying a big responsibility against the “Reggae Boyz”. He had his first session with the team under Maturana at the National Stadium here on Tuesday evening.
“We’re trying to fight of relegation but every time I come home to play for the national team and to wear national colours it’s always been a pleasure. My country is always in my heart and I always feel proud when I get the call. I always try to do my best for my country when I get the chance,” Roberts told TTFF Media.
“I’m looking forward to playing against Jamaica, aside from the rivalry. It’s also a stepping stone to building a team for the Word Cup qualifiers this summer so I want to try and do my best and represent well.
“Definitely every time I step on the field, I look forward to playing against anyone and also with the guys here. Although some of the other guys didn’t come for this game I have a responsibility along with the other players on the team to represent the country to the fullest and hopefully we can get victory here,” Roberts added.
“Coming to play for the country can be a bit difficult for both me and the club but there is nothing more exciting than representing my country and the manager and coach have to understand this. They support me one hundred percent and hopefully when I go back I can fight for my place in the club.” Maturana conducted a 90 minute session on Monday and then had use of the match venue for one hour on Tuesday.
“It is a chance to get the players prepared for the game so we settled on the first day and then today (Tuesday) we do more work in relation to the game against Jamaica. We have a couple of the players coming from overseas and we will do the best we can to let them in with the rest of the team. Jamaica is a team that will not be easy to play at home. They will want to win this game but we will not give them an easy time because we have our plans as well and we are preparing for qualification. We will hope to play the best possible game on the day,” Maturana told TTFF Media on Tuesday.
Skipper Aurtis Whitley will be hoping his team can carry on from last week’s 1-0 win over El Salvador but he knows that this one will be a different type of contest. “Jamaica will not be easy to play at home but I think it’s a good test for some of the players we have in the squad now,” Whitley said. T&T will not have the services of Sunderland duo Kenwyne Jones nor Carlos Edwards for this affair. FIFA Vice President Jack Warner and TTFF President Oliver Camps will fly in on Wednesday to witness the encounter.
The T&T players selected in the squad for Wednesday’s game include: - Darryl Roberts (Sparta Rotterdam), Collin Samuel (Toronto FC), Osei Telesford (Un-attached), Marvin Phillip (W Connection), Jan-Michael Williams (Royal White Star), Kern Cupid (W Connection), Akile Edwards (Defence Force), Keon Daniel (United Petrotrin), Aurtis Whitley (W Connection), Akeem Adams (U-20), Jamaal Gay (U-20), Khaleem Hyland (Un-attached), Makan Hislop (United Petrotrin), Randi Patterson (Charleston Battery), Kerry Baptiste (Joe Public) and Keyeno Thomas (Joe Public) complete the squad.
Jamaica’s squad, with former T&T coach Rene Simoes in charge, includes the likes: - Allien Whittaker (JDF), Duwayne Kerr (Portmore United), Christopher Harvey (Harbour View), Christopher Jackson (Tivoli Gardens), Obrian Woodbine (Reno), Adrian Reid (Portmore United), Wolry Wolfe (Portmore United), Rudolph Austin (Portmore United), Ricardo Cousins (Portmore United), James Thomas (Portmore United), Keniel Moodie (Seba), Hugh Howell (Waterhouse), Kaemmar Daley (Meadhaven), Donovan Ricketts (Bradford City), Demar Phillips (Stoke City), Omar Daley (Bradford City), Tyrone Marshall (Toronto FC), Demar Stewart (Royal White Star), Oneil Thompson (Nottoden, Norway), Jamal Campbell-Ryce (Barnsley), Khari Stephenson (AIK of Allsvenskan), Marlon King (Wigan Athletic), Luton Shelton (Sheffield United) and Deon Burton (Sheffield Wednesday).
VideosView first day training session,
click here.
Training session at the Office,
click here.View Darryl Roberts interview,
click here.
(Photo shows T&T coach Maturana with Jamaica's Rene Simoes prior to the start of T&T's training session at the National Stadium on Tuesday.)
JA, T&T square-off in big int'l friendly.
By: Ian Burnett (JA Observer).[/size]
Reggae vs SocaJamaica will look to continue their recent dominance of Caribbean neighbours, Trinidad & Tobago, when the two meet in a friendly international encounter here at the National Stadium at 7:00 pm today.
Though there are no points or trophies at stake this time around, the bragging rights that come with each and every victory will be something worth savouring.
Today marks the 58th match between the two teams since their first contest on December 28, 1935, and the statistics show Jamaica with a slender advantage of 25 wins and eight draws against 24 losses.
However, the Reggae Boyz have been dominant in recent years, recording five straight wins (2-1 three times, 1-0 and 4-2, respectively), dating back to July 2000.
For technical director, Rene Simoes, his objective is to see improvement in three important areas - transition, recovering the ball and keeping possession of the ball.
"We have three aims for this game, the first is transition. It's like... basketball. When you try a basket if and when you get the ball you attack, so we have to transfer quickly from defence to attack," Simoes said.
"So when you throw the ball and land on the ground you become a defender, so this is what we practise... so we can transfer ourselves quickly from one thing to another thing. We cannot be long time to take this decisions, it must be bang! bang! bang!"
He added: "Another point is if I lose the ball I am responsible to recover that ball, against Costa Rica sometimes we lost some balls and we watched, we are not there to watch, we did not pay for tickets, on field we don't pay for tickets, so we don't watch, we have to work.
"The third one is to keep the ball, as we did in Brazil. Don't give the ball away which is a very important point. So we practised all these three points... and they responded well, let's see during the game."
Eleven overseas-based players - including Deon Burton, who played an integral role in Jamaica's historic qualification to the France 1998 World Cup Finals - have been invited to complement 13 local-based players.
Burton, who scored the decisive goal in Jamaica's 2-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago at Queen's Park Oval in a World Cup Qualifier on June 30, 2001, last represented Jamaica against England in a friendly match at Old Trafford two years ago.
Also making a return to the squad is AIK's midfielder, Khari Stephenson, who was not considered for Simoes's first game.
The Brazilian, who returned to the island last week after guiding the local-based players on a three-week training camp in his homeland, has promised to showcase a number of these players at some stage today "because they did so well" on the training camp.
". Let's see how they play in front of the Jamaican fans, that will encourage all Jamaican players that play local leagues - and don't think local league has no importance - it is very important to the national programme, so they know that we have our eyes on them and if they play good they will be invited," the coach said.
With Bolton's Ricardo Gardner out with a rib injury, the captain's armband will go to either Wigan's striker Marlon King or defender Marshall of Toronto FC, who salvaged a share of the spoils with an equalising header against Costa Rica on Simoes's first game back in charge.
On Monday, Simoes employed a tactical session aimed at the vital areas identified earlier. He did not finalise a starting XI, but started with Donovan Ricketts in goals, guarded by the local pair of Adrian Reid and Christopher Harvey, with Marshall and Obrian Woodbine on the flanks. The midfield was marshalled by Demar Phillips, Rudolph Austin, Oneil Thompson and Omar Daley, with Luton Shelton and Burton in attack.
King was given a rest, having flown long hours from London, with overlays in New York and Fort Lauderdale ranging from three-five hours. He is expected to start today.
The T&T Soca Warriors arrived without the Sunderland pair of Kenwyne Jones and Carlos Edwards, who have been termed "unfit" to travel by Sunderland manager, Roy Keane.
Still, the Francisco Maturana-coached young side is confident, having edged El Salvador 1-0 last week, and manager David Mohammad knows what to expect in this great Caribbean rivalry.
Said he: "First of all, we've always in the past been highly respectful of what the JFF has to offer. We recognise and appreciate that Jamaican football has a flavour of its own that is largely fuelled by the motivation that the Jamaican public provides. And just the spirit and determination of Jamaica as an entity, we know that it's going to be a fierce, tough game, that we would have to be firing on all cylinders just to keep up."
Maturana guided his native Colombia to the World Cup Finals on two occasions, capped by a famous 5-0 thrashing of Argentina in World Cup qualification for the 1994 USA Finals. He also coached Costa Rica and Panama.
Tale of the tape: Boyz vs Warriors.
By: Paul Burrowes (JA Observer).[/size]
When their friendly international gets under way at the National Stadium this evening, Jamaica will be tackling Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) for the 58th time.
Jamaica have won 25 matches, drawn eight and lost 24. Of the 40 friendlies played so far, Jamaica have won 17, drawn four and lost 19.
At home, Jamaica have played 29 matches (23 friendlies), won 16 (12 friendlies), drawn three (one friendly) and lost 10 (all friendlies), scoring 46 goals (37 in friendlies) and conceding 33 (31 in friendlies).
T&T have hosted their rivals 22 times, winning five (two in friendlies) while six matches were played on neutral grounds.
However, Jamaica have won the last five head-to-head contests - 2-1 in the 2005 Caribbean Cup; 2-1 in the World Cup Qualifier in 2001; 2-1 in the Caribbean Cup in 2001; 1-0 in World Cup Qualification in 2001 and 4-2 in a friendly in 2000.
Sixteen matches have ended 1-0 and 14 by 2-1 margins. The biggest score was Jamaica 6, T&T 1, in a friendly in 1997.
The two have long been regional rivals and played their first match on December 28, 1935, which T&T won 2-1.
In the beginning T&T were the better team and twice beat Jamaica 6-0 four days apart - on November 8 and November 12, 1947.
Jamaica have since grown leaps and bounds, but T&T curently have the edge in world ranking and titles won. As of this month, Jamaica are ranked 103rd in the world, having fallen 13 places.
Since 1991, Jamaica have clinched a number of titles, including the Caribbean Cup in 1991, 1998 and 2005. They were runners-up in 1992 and 1993. They Reggae Boyz booked their place in the World Cup Finals in France, 1998. T&T, meanwhile, nailed the Caribbean Cup in 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2001, and won the CFU Championships in 1981.
The Soca Warriors were also runners-up in the Caribbean Cup in 1991, 1998 and 2007, and also placed second in the CAC Games of 1974 and the CFU Championships in 1983. They then qualified for the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany and are ranked 93rd according to FIFA.
All told, Jamaica have had a 49.12 per cent success rate against T&T, and a convincing win today would turn the tables in their favour.
Boyz on revenge mission, says Burrell.
By: Howard Walker (JA Observer).[/size]
The Reggae Boyz have promised to avenge Jamaica's defeat against Trinidad & Tobago in the final of the Stanford 20/20 cricket competition when they meet in a football friendly at the National Stadium today.
Just over a month ago T&T thrashed their rivals by nine wickets in a one-sided final in Antigua. Replying to Jamaica's meagre 91 all out in 16.4 overs, T&T raced to 94-1 in 9.2 overs to secure the US$1million jackpot.
Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President, Captain Horace Burrell, said it's an encounter no one dares to miss.
Said Burrell: "We all remember what happened just a few weeks ago in Antigua in the 20/20. Our cricketers were humbled by the Trinidad & Tobago team. But let me tell you, the Reggae Boyz have not forgotten that and they've decided to hand it back to T&T."
He added: "Since they gave it to our cricketers in that way, we will be giving it back to them on the football field."
According to Burrell, T&T are taking the game just as serious and have brought in a number of overseas players.
"They've pulled out all the stops to fly in their experienced players because... coming from the land of Soca, they say they're not going to allow the Reggae Boyz to topple them again," Burrell noted.
The last time both teams met Jamaica prevailed 2-1 in Barbados in the Caribbean Cup on February 20, 2005. In fact, the Reggae Boyz have won the last five meetings dating back to a 4-2 win at the Hasley Crawford Stadium in a friendly on July 8, 2000.
"I think the Reggae Boyz are ready. We're enthused, fired up and are going for it. Indeed, whenever both teams meet... there's always a lot of fireworks...
"There's always a keen rivalry and the game is one which every single person should not miss. I'm inviting all to witness something you will never forget," Burrell reiterated.
