St Lucian Stuart Charles-Fevrier is hoping that the local supporters come out and give his W Connection team that extra lift when it hosts Group Five of the Caribbean Football Union Club Championship Second Round.
W Connection, winner of the tournament in 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2009, and also a two-time runner-up (2000 & 2003) will come up against Barracudas FC of Antigua, Victory (Haiti) and Suriname’s Inter Moengotapoe from Sunday to May 10.
The matches will take place at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella on Sunday and Thursday while Tuesday’s double-header is carded for Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva from 5.30 pm on each day.
As part of its preparation for the tournament which will see two teams from the group advancing to the Final round series, W Connection enjoyed a 10-day training camp in Tobago during which, the senior squad registered a 6-0 win over Stokely Vale and 2-0 over a Tobago All Star line-up.
Commenting on his team’s readiness for the matches, Charles-Fevrier, who led W Connection to the league title its in club history in March shared that the camp was a very productive one and the guys are all in good spirit and looking forward to the matches.
Questioned as to which team he sees as his club’s main threat, Charles-Fevrier, a former T&T national team coach stated that all the clubs must be taken seriously.
“All the clubs I consider to be a danger because on the day, you never know what can happen as we are seeing in world football today,” said Charles-Fevrier.
With regards to the return of Colombian Christian Viveros and Andrei Pacheco to the team, the W Connection coach indicated that both players have fitted in well.
“They were part of our set-up previously so even though they played for other clubs before coming back to W Connection they both understand the way we play so it was easy for them to fit back in with the other guys,” stated Charles-Fevrier.
Looking ahead to the matches, Charles-Fevrier conveyed that he was confident that his very youthful team will step up to the challenge and do well while he also urged the local fans to come out and support the team.
“Playing at home has always given us a boost in this competition and this time around its no different as we aim to play our brand of attractive, entertaining football. So we are calling out all the football lovers to come out and give us their support,” ended Charles-Fevrier.
W Connection and Antigua Barracudas advanced to the second round after they were given first round byes. Inter Moengotapoe won its three matches in its First Round Group Two series against Curacao’s Hubentut Fortuna (3-2), Guyana’s Alpha United (1-0) and Guyana’s Milerock (7-1).
Victory, meanwhile won Group Three after it snatched a 1-1 draw with fellow Haitian club Baltimore to top the group on goal-difference after both teams ended with four points. This after Victory crushed Puerto Rico’s Bayamon FC 5-1 in its other match and Baltimore had a 2-0 win over the same Puerto Ricans.
Neal & Massy Caledonia AIA, the other T&T club in the competition will compete in Group Four at TE Mc Field Sports Centre, George Town, Cayman Islands alongside two-time defending champion Puerto Rico Islanders, Group One winner and host club George Town and Haiti’s Baltimore which advanced as the best runner-up from the three groups. Baltimore got the best runner-up ahead of Alpha United from Group Two.
This was because Groups One and Three both had a team withdraw, leaving them with three teams each compared to four teams in Group Two which meant the results of the last-place team in Group Two - Milerock - were voided and the standings recalculated.
That reduced Alpha United from six points to three in Group Two, same as Elite from Group One but one point behind Baltimore.
The top two from each second-round group will advance to a four-team final round, but only the professional clubs: the Puerto Rico Islanders, Caledonia AIA, W Connection and Barracudas will be eligible for the three berths in next season’s Concacaf Champions League per tournament regulations.
CFU Club Championship Second Round:
Group Five:
May 6
Venue: Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella
W Connection vs Victory (Haiti), 5.30pm
Inter Moengotapoe (Suriname) vs Antigua Barracuda, 7.30pm
May 8
Venue: Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva
Victory vs Antigua Barracuda, 5.30pm
W Connection vs Inter Moengotapoe, 7.30pm
May 10
Venue: Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella
Victory vs Inter Moengotapoe, 5.30pm
W Connection vs Antigua Barracuda, 7.30pm
Group Four:
May 20:
Venue: T.E Mc Field Sports Centre, George Town, Cayman Islands
Caledonia vs Baltimore (Haiti)
Georg Town (Cayman Islands) vs Puerto Rico Islanders
May 22:
Puerto Rico Islanders vs Caledonia AIA
George Town vs Baltimore
May 24:
Baltimore vs Puerto Rico Islanders
Caledonia AIA vs George Town