NATIONAL captain Howard Lowe,  national custodian Ronson Williams and defender Abassi McPherson are all making the best of their stints in the United States of America as the trio are now on try-out with USL-Pro club FC New York. Reports out of New York indicate they had already worked out with the club and were set to show their skills with them again this week.
FC New York is a leading contender in the United States Soccer League (USL) Pro, which essentially is one level below Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of competition in the country and its coach Paul Shaw and president Dough Petersen have been immediately impressed with the Guyanese players, especially Lowe.
According to Guyana’s international coordinator Garth Nelson, Petersen has dubbed Lowe the ‘Ice Man’ and has made him a leading candidate to be drafted into the team for next year’s roster.
Nelson said the Guyanese players can only be drafted for 2012 since the 2011 season is well under way and will conclude within three months.
USL clubs are allowed seven foreign players and one or more of the Guyanese trio could be the first to represent the club which produced an impressive showing in a narrow 2-1 loss to MLS powerhouse New York Red Bulls, in the U.S. Cup before a huge crowd and national television audience last weekend, at Red Bulls Stadium.
The Cup is the United States version of England’s FA Cup which involves clubs from all levels of competition in a knockout series.
Lowe, Williams and McPherson along with Dwight Peters, Dwain Jacobs and Devon Millington all departed Guyana last month and joined forces with the overseas Guyanese to compete in the present Digicel Caribbean Cup tournament in New York.
Guyana have since played four games, drawing two and winning the others in convincing manner as they join Grenada atop their zone in an attempt to win Guyana’s first New York Digicel Caribbean Cup.
Meanwhile, Nelson said he is quite impressed with 19-year-old Kevin Beaton, a former Topp XX striker who scored a hat-trick against St Lucia and netted another three-goal tally against a Greek New York lineup in a practice game last week.
“He has a bright future and should make a big impact for the Guyana national team in the near future,” the New York-based Nelson stated.
Nelson confirmed that Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson, Guyana’s leading forward, was traded from the USL’s Carolina Rail Hawks to Puerto Rico Islanders and not to the MLS’s Seattle Sounders, contrary to local reports.