Milerock coach expects tough game from  T&T’s Defence Force
HEAD COACH of Milerock football club, Bryan Joseph, yesterday said that his team expect a tough game when they face the might of Trinidad and Tobago in that country’s Pro League Champions Defence Force at 19:30 h today but was quick to add that he believes that his side will be victorious at the end of the game. Joseph, a former national footballer, said, “I am  very confident on how the team looks going forward in attack. I am expecting a big game from Collie Hercules and I like the way the offence is coming through with young, outside-midfield player Allister Johnson.” He felt much will be about how his team executes on attack.
Other key players likely to feature in the Milerock formation include former national midfield schemer Kayode McKinnon, young midfield player Randy Jerome, junior national defence man Randy Crandon, big youth national who got an important goal with Hercules in the 2-1 in Suriname, Keiron Cameron, and left-footer Oswald Benjamin.
Asked how his club will take to the view that this fit Army side has a reputation of launching forays from the flanks, Joseph responded, “We got the same comments about our first round opponents Inter Moengatapoe of Suriname, about very strong attacking flanks being their forte and we dealt with it pretty well.
“In fact we have been working with our flank defenders and I am pretty well convinced that we will be able to deal with whatever they have to offer.”
Meanwhile, coach of the Defence Force, Ross Russel, in an invited comment first said: “This tournament we really come to qualify and we are away from home and we anticipate it will be very difficult playing in Guyana, because we know the team went on to beat Suriname, with good fighting spirit.
“We cannot take anything for granted. But we come here to get a result and we come to finish the job. We come with high expectation to go home with a result.”
Looking at his team Russel, a former Trinidad and Tobago captain informed: “Right now the Defence Force team is an exciting team, we have young talent coming up and a lot of senior guys who would have played with the national team. We won the league in TT, we won 13 games straight in order to do that. We are a team with good mental and good attitude. And we bring what it takes for the game in the Caribbean. We play quickly. We play team football, we haven’t any special individual but we are a team that grind down results and just play for the game of football.”
When Coach Joseph was quizzed about his main striker Collie Hercules’ fitness being a concern, as he was seen to be getting some last-minute attention from the team’s physiotherapist before both games against Suriname, Joseph expressed full confidence in the former national stand-out, Hercules, saying, “Not one bit of worry about Hercules’ fitness. He is in top shape and raring to go and he has shown great enthusiasm and I really expect him to have a big match tomorrow.”
Joseph informed the media about what he foresees: “It’s the bigger picture for us at this stage. It is to get into the final four. So it really doesn’t matter if it is the Defence Force or who.
“We, based on our performance in the first round, we have grown in confidence as a team and what we can achieve in this tournament.
“And this we will show today. That is, we could compete with any of the teams. So we will go out there today with the belief and I think we will get a really good game.”
Joseph, who is also president of Milerock  FC, said that the match officials were expected in last night and a technical meeting is planned for this morning.
He called on Guyanese from all walks of life to “come out in your blue and white, the club’s colours, as this is not about Linden anymore. This is about Guyana versus Trinidad and Tobago. Come from all parts of the country to see this big clash. (Joe Chapman)