… Warren Creavalle, Emery Welshman and Samuel Cox make return

DEVONTE Small, Daniel Jodah and Jelani Smith will make their International debut after being named in Guyana National Senior Men’s squad by head coach Wayne Dover for the Golden Jaguars’ November 14 International Friendly against Trinidad and Tobago at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.

Jodah and Smith play for Canadian professional club Sigma FC while Small, a former stand-out at the University of Oregon, only this year signed his first pro-contract with Reynir FC in Iceland’s professional ranks.

In total, the squad consists of 15 overseas-based players, while forwards Dwain Jacobs and Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson, along with Anthony Benfield are the locally based players called by Dover.

“One of the four additions is a young, talented Central Defender – Smith,” Dover said, adding, “We have been short of Central defenders as of recent and although we have identified talent, the likes of Jeremy Garrett and Cecil Jackman, who will emerge as leading defenders in the future, we’ll focus on using the new-found talent for the Trinidad game.”
Kadell Daniel, who burst onto the scene as a hot-shot forward for Guyana at the U-23 level, will be making his return to the Golden Jaguars for the first time since 2015.
Looking ahead to the clash with Soca Warriors next Tuesday, Dover stated that a tough game is expected, “where Trinidad will bring it to us, especially since they’re coming off a 2-1 victory against the United States. They should be confident but we’re preparing for that. We will try to give a good account of ourselves, give a good match and get a positive result.”

Meanwhile, a 24-man local-based squad has begun training in preparation for Guyana’s International Friendly against Indonesia, with Dover pointing out that “fitness is currently our number priority. Analysis of our previous match against Grenada revealed a number of areas in the team’s performance that can be improved. Such areas included our crossing ability and our execution of combination play. Nevertheless, we have used this knowledge to develop a new training regimen”.

The overseas-based players, who are all in peak shape from playing in ongoing seasonal matches with their respective clubs, will join the locally based team members in Trinidad.
The Golden Jaguars are set to depart for Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow for their November 14 date with the Trinidad and Tobago Senior Men’s National Team at the Ato Bolton Stadium.

TEAM: Samuel Cox (captain), Christopher Bourne, Warren Creavalle, Emery Welshman, Anthony Benfield, Kadell Daniel, Jake Newton, Akel Clarke, Andrew Durant, Jelani Smith, Terence Vancooten, Brandon Beresford, Dwain Jacobs, Daniel Jodah, Shaquille Agard, Gregory Richardson, Sheldon Holder and Devonte Small.
TECHNICAL STAFF: Wayne Dover (Head Coach), Charles Pollard (Asst Coach), Lyndon France (Physical Trainer), Eon DeVeira (Goalkeeper Coach), Denzil Hernandez (Physio), Trevor Burnett (Kit Manager) and Rawle Adams (Manager).