Belize arrive for historic clash against Guyana

A CONFIDENT Belize national football team arrived at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport yesterday ahead of their March 23 clash against Guyana at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora in a game with ramifications for both countries.

With a spot at the Gold Cup on the line, the Guyana vs Belize game in the CONCACAF Nations League Qualifier is said to be one of the most important clashes in the two countries’ history, since a win for Golden Jaguars will see them reach the pinnacle of the confederation tournament for the first time, while the visitors are hoping to make a return to the competition for the first time since 2013 when they made their inaugural appearance.

“We come here to do our job and try to win,” said 33-year-old Woodrow West.
West, a goalkeeper, who competes in Honduras with Club Deportivo Honduras Progreso, opined that “it’s going to be a tough game, but we’re here to win”.

“It’s a complicated game; we’re away from home, we’re on their (Guyana) turf, and we don’t have any much information on them, which makes it a complicated match. So we’ll have to just stick to our game plan,” the Belizean added.

Like Guyana, Belize arrived with several overseas-based players, as West named the likes of former Montreal Impact forward Michael Salazar and Oxford City defender Mike Atkinson.

Guyana’s first and only outing against Belize was in 2002 in an international friendly in Belize City, where the Golden Jaguars went down 1-3.

However, this time around, West said, the players are ignorant of the composition of the Guyana team. Nonetheless, they’re here to take their country back to the Gold Cup, with the hope of bettering their 2013 showing when they made an exit in the group stage.

The Guyanese men are positioned at 8th behind Curacao (1), Haiti (2), Cuba (3), Canada (4), Jamaica (5) and Martinique (6) who rounded off the top six teams in the tournament, having picked up full points from their three matches. Bermuda (7th) St Kitts and Nevis (9th) and the Dominican Republic are the other teams in the top ten.

Belize, Guyana’s next opponents, are in 13th position with six points (two wins and a loss).
Only the top ten teams from the 34-team CONCACAF Nations League will advance to the Gold Cup in the USA from June 15 to July 7.

Belize squad:
Goalkeepers: Shane Orio (Bandits Sporting Club) and Woodrow West (Juticalpa FC) (Honduras).

Defenders: Elroy Smith (Verdes F.C.), Evral Trapp (Verdes F.C.), Ian Gaynair (Bandits Sporting Club), Dalton Eiley Jr. (Bandits Sporting Club), Trevor Lennen (Bandits Sporting Club) and Michael Atkinson (Oxford City FC).

Midfield: Daniel Jimenez (Bandits Sporting Club), San Mendez (Verdes F.C.), Elroy Kuylen Jr. (Verdes F.C.), Nahjib Guerra (Verdes F.C.), Krisean Lopez (Verdes F.C.), Andres Makin (Police United F.C.) and Nana Mensah (Balya Belediyespor FC).

Forwards: Harrison Roches (Police United F.C.) Michael Salazar Jr. (Rio Grande Valley FC), Deon McCaulay (Atlanta Revolutionary FC) and Randy Padilla (Chimal FC).

Head Coach: Palmiro Salas