Warriors sharpen up against Panama
T&T Guardian
T&T football head coach Francisco Maturana says he will be hoping that Panama presents the national senior team outfit with the strongest possible test when both teams clash today in a warm up international at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, from 7 pm. Without his overseas-based players (with the exception of Hungary-based goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams), Maturana will be paying close attention to the showing of the local-based players as the match is somewhat of a dress rehearsal for the March 28 World Cup Qualifier against Honduras at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
“This is a friendly but I think we all know how important matches like these are in relation to our preparation for World Cup qualifiers. Nothing is taken for granted and what we do in practice and in a match like this (against Panama) is a way for us to rehearse for the important one which is March 28,” Maturana said. Striker Cornell Glen, who was in prolific form during the tour of Argentina, expects the current T&T team to pull out all the stops for the upcoming matches.
“The two important games are against USA and Honduras but tomorrow against Panama we will be looking to pull off a strong performance and hopefully set up a good result. It is always good to get a confidence booster but more importantly we need to get it together as a team and pull out all the stops for the matches. We cannot take anything for granted at this stage,” Glen said. The suspension of Dwight Yorke has been a topic of discussion both among the staff and playing personnel. Midfielder Densill Theobald is optimistic that the available players can rise to the call in the captain’s absence.
“Dwight is a critical member of the team and even when he’s not available to play I think he will still have an important role to play. His absence is a blow but at the same time I think we have players here who can step up their game and make the kind of contribution that can see us come out victorious,” Theobald added. T&T Under 20 trio Leston Paul, Robert Primus and Sean De Silva have been part of the training and are in the squad which checked into camp at the Holiday Inn Express yesterday. The squad also includes Marvin Phillip, Anthony Wolfe, Makan Hislop, Keyeno Thomas, Andrei Pacheco, Robert Primus, Akeil Guevara, Lester Peltier, Clyde Leon, Trent Noel, Kevaughn Connell, Russell Latapy, Errol McFarlane, Atulla Guerra and Aklie Edwards.
