THE first competitive fixture of the Golden Jaguars on their ‘Train and Play’ tour of Brazil ended in a 2-2 draw against the Mangaratiba Club on Tuesday afternoon at the Estadio Municipal Jose Maria De Brito Barros ground.

The host team drew first blood after a 0-0 first-half score line but the Golden Jaguars returned the favour through a well-directed corner from Vurlon Mills that was headed in by Jake Newton.

An alert and nippy Job Caesar pounced on the ball after some sloppy work by the Mangaratiba goalkeeper to tap the ball into an open goal but, soon after, the host team responded in like manner to ensure that the match ended in a draw.

Head coach of the team, Michael Johnson, commented on the team’s performance where all the players were used in the match, adding. “We learnt a lot about the players in the match, the team formation and the way we want to play moving forward. It was really good for us to get a look at the players in a competitive fixture of what our 23 is like.”

The match also gave the technical team lots of platforms on which to base their future training. Following the match, the coaching staff reviewed the game that was recorded by Asser Carel Donavon Lutu, the Performance Analyst & Head Scout, to determine the areas of excellence and those, which require more work.

Technical director Ian Greenwood was on hand to witness the match and offered his comments as the lead technical exponent of charting the way forward for Guyana’s football. He noted the game presented a good base for the coaching staff to assess the current ability of the players and the areas for improvement.

According to Greenwood, “We saw a few bits of good inter-play in the middle third; some of the younger boys did well. Job Caesar offered a lot of energy when he came on so it’s good to see this crop of players but ultimately, it was down to the coaches to see where we are; we’ve got a lot of work to do ahead of September especially in the final third. We need a lot more quality there.”

Overall, TD Greenwood noted that he is happy with how the camp is progressing and there would be a lot of work in the coming days, focusing on how they want to play in and out of possession.

The Guyanese players are on a historic camp, ahead of the kick-off of the CONCACAF Nations League on September 6 against Barbados, at the Leonora Track and Field Facility at 19:00hrs