…Guyana to play Curaçao on Wednesday

GUYANA got off to a shaky start in their Caribbean Football Union (CFU) U-14 Challenge Series campaign in Curaçao, after falling hard 8 – 0, to Trinidad and Tobago in their first game on Saturday at the Ergilio Hata Stadium.

The Twin Island Republic was led by a double from Abdul-Qudoos Hypolite and a goal each from Ja-Shawn Thomas, Nathaniel James, Dantaye Gilbert, Jaheim Marshall, Molik Khan and Joshua Mason.

Prior to the team’s departure, coach Bryan Joseph said the nature of this tournament is “not about winning and deciding who the champion is, but it is focussed on the development of young players across the Region, including Guyana. The structure of the tournament is set to facilitate that.”

According to Joseph, the idea is “to go out there and be competitive but, in the same vein, we want to ensure that development takes place. This group needs the experience. I don’t think any member from this group ever played outside of Guyana, at the front of a huge crowd or packed stadium, so this tournament will seek to have them become acquainted with that. This group will be the core of our U-15 who will participate in the Concacaf U-15 Championship in 2019; so this is the beginning of this process.”

Next up for Guyana is a clash against the host nation, Curaçao on Wednesday, while the Bryan Joseph-coached team will close their Group C matches against Bonaire on August 10 and Aruba on August 12.