Namilco One Love Football Classic

Alpha not underestimating GDF in Sunday’s final

ALPHA `The Hammer’ United will not be taking the Guyana Defence Force football team lightly, come Sunday night, when the final of the Namilco-sponsored 6th Annual One Love Football Classic is played at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC), ground.In an exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport yesterday morning during a training session at the GFC ground, the team’s head coach Wayne `Wiggy’ Dover opined that the Army side is a formidable one and like any other team, they will play as good as the opposition want them to play, but once his charges play according to a game plan, things can be very difficult for them (GDF).
The national head coach stated that his team had been training very hard for Sunday night’s final which is set to kick off at 21:00hrs.
He said for the past week the team had been training from 09:00hrs at the facility and he is thankful that they have been given one week’s rest from competitive football, and he has used that time to work on the team’s much-needed tactical areas.
Alpha, who will wind up their training tomorrow morning, have been using the GFC facility for a number of months, both in the mornings and evenings and will definitely have an advantage with regard to the wind and turf situations. They are already highly favoured to cop the $1M first prize purse.
Dover said training sessions have been going according to plan and his players are all in very good physical condition.
Dover stated that his team who won the tournament last year with a win against Santos in the final have a very good chance of making a successful defence on Sunday night once his players execute what they have been taught.
Asked about his players’ mental fitness, Dover said they are all mentally tough for any eventuality and they will prove it on Sunday night.
Among the national players in the champions lineup for Sunday night’s final are Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF)/Banks Beer 2013/2014 National Premier League’s leading goalscorer Gregory `Jackie Chan’ Richardson, Dwight Peters, Andrew Murray, Travis Grant and national custodian Richie Richards.
Asked how the players have been responding to the training and especially the tactical sessions, Dover said it is always a challenge to get everything you want from a team. There are many things you are faced with “but at the end of the day you hope you get what you want from them”.
The national coach said when they played Fruta Conquerors in the semifinal, the team made a few lapses on the set plays, but if they play as well as they did in the other departments, they should come out victorious.
Alpha United reached the final by securing a 3-2 win against tournament hosts Fruta Conquerors with a brace off the boot of Mark Miller and one off Sheldon Holder’s boot.
Meanwhile, the third place playoff will see Fruta Conquerors face Riddim Squad from 18:00hrs.

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