T&T try to get right combination for cuba.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
National Olympic team head coach Jan Van Deinsen has weighed up this country’s chances of advancing to the CONCACAF final round of qualifying towards the Beijing Olympics and sees a positive result in Tuesday’s match against Cuba as vital for the hosts. The game kicks off at 5pm at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Centre of Excellence. Van Deinsen who saw Cuba in action in the preliminary phase says T&T will need to be organized in its approach to the game but he preferred to also show similar respect to Grenada which T&T faces on Saturday.
T&T trained at the Marvin Lee Stadium with the full 20-man squad for the first time on Saturday and Van Deinsen was pleased to have use of the artificial surface after heavy showed throughout the day would have made unsuitable conditions at the other stadiums.
“We were lucky to have the artificial ground here in Trinidad to train and of course we will play the games there next week. The first impression was good but we have a different group now from the one we had in Suriname so we have to look closely at the player and prepare them for the games,” Van Deinsen told TTFF Media.
“They worked very hard and we will see how things go over the next couple days.We have to look carefully at the impressions we get from all the players and find a solution to try and beat Cuba. For me though, we have to look at both teams the same way. I looked at Cuba and I must honestly say they are a very strong team and it will be a tough game. If we played like we did in Suriname we should be in with a good chance. They are a very organized team so we need to be organized as well,” the Dutchman added.
With Senior team head coach Wim Rijsbergen also present and observing the proceedings, Van Deinsen and coach Michael McComie expressed sheer excitement over having national team business going on with international football on the agenda.
“That question is easy… It’s very nice to get things going,” Van Deinsen said.
McComie added: “It’s always an honour to be connected with the national team whether as a player or at managerial level. It’s always exciting to have things happening We have had some hiccups but that’s international football too. One thing that can never be questioned is the players’ appetite for victory. They know they must work harder than they did in Suriname. One thing we want to do is pick the most in form players at the moment.
Commenting on the look of players like Kevon Neaves and Belgium-based duo Aaron Downing and Matthew Bartholomew. McComie said he think they would compliment the rest of the players who have been committed to the task thus far.
“We had an idea of who we were calling back. Neaves is looking very sharp. He’s been playing a lot for his school. His finishing today was an eye opener. The goalkeeper Andre Charles also trained with Joe Public a day earlier and he’s also looking sharp. The two Belgium boys… Bartholomew is looking just as we thought so that’s a plus and Downing hasn’t been playing as much as Bartholomew so he needs to sharpen up a bit. They fit in well and there’s a good competitive spirit in the team. The main factor is the discipline of the players… once they carry out their respective roles, collectively as a team we should do well.
“The rest of the guys have all been fantastic. As this team progresses as we hope they will, we will always look to get the best players whether local or foreign. We thought that there were positions in the team that needed to be strengthened and we did that and we feel comfortable with it,” McComie added.
Neaves who made a second half appearance for T&T’s Senior team in a 2-0 win over Iceland in February 2006 said he thought the team was in good shape and spirits ahead of the clash with Cuba. And he’s hoping to transfer some of his experience with the “Soca Warriors” over to the current bunch of aspiring Olympians.
“The boys seem to be working very hard. I’m confident we can come out with a result here. Our guys seem pretty fit as well. We tend to play a bit casual and at the next level it’s high intensity but you need to know when to speed up and slow down the game so I hope to get that through to the boys on the field… knowing when to be intense and when we need to relax,” Neaves said.
