– Coach Shabazz praises the team’s performance in their 5 – 0 win against Barbados

By Rawle Toney
AFTER roaring to an impressive 5 – 0 win over Barbados on Sunday evening, the Golden Jaguars are going hunting once again tonight, and the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain will be their territory, and the prey is the Soca Warriors. Kickoff time is 7:00 pm.

The two countries share a bitter rivalry in the sport of football, but Guyana’s only victory, since their triumph in 1978, came on November 11, 2011, when the Golden Jaguars celebrated a 2 – 1 win, which also knocked Trinidad out of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers.

Shabazz is in charge of the Golden Jaguars for just the second time since his return to the helm of the country’s national team last September.

Trinidad and Tobago, who played in their first game on Friday, was impressive in their 9 – 0 drubbing of Barbados. However, against Guyana, Shabazz is warning that things will be different for Coach Angus Eve’s side.

Shabazz described Trinidad’s finishing against Barbados as “immaculate,” adding, “maybe, 20, 25 or 30 years, we’ve not seen that clinical finishing from the Trinidad and Tobago team, but of course, for them to do that against Guyana, they’ll have to get close to the goal. Trust me, they’re going to find some difficulty in this game (against Guyana).”

“It is going to be a good game for people in Trinidad and Tobago to come out and watch, and It will be a good game to measure both teams as well,” Shabazz said.

Against Barbados, Shabazz’s starting team featured Akel Clarke, Leo Lovell, Marcus Wilson, Quincy Adams, Shemar Fraser, Omari Glasgow, Javier George, Daniel Wilson, Trayon Bobb, Pernell Schultz and Tyrell Ondaan.

Except for Gorge, Ondaan and Clarke, all the other players in the starting line-up are locally-based.

“We’re building a team based on what we have in front of us. In this first game, we wanted the local players to start to measure the work we’ve done. Against Trinidad, we’re going to play more of the overseas-based players, and try to make it a match,” Shabazz said.

Shabazz, when asked about balancing the talent pool in the team, pointed out, “we have the locally-based players training four days a week in Guyana, and the only way we can test their level of readiness, is to give them the match-exposure. We have 14 overseas-based players that we could’ve called on, but we’ve called on six on this occasion, and two of them are playing in Jamaica.”

It is always a gruelling battle between Guyana and Trinidad at any level and gender of the game.

The last time the two sides met, was during the FIFA World Cup campaign in March of 2021 at the Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic, when Levi Garcia, Sheldon Bateau and Ryan Telfer helped the Soca Warriors to a 3 – 0 win.

However, Shabazz, grilled about how tonight’s game will be played, said “it comes down to who gives more respect to the team that they deserve. Trinidad has some monsters in the team; Garcia, Telfer – a lot of guys that I like and like to see play. But we also have some villains and some monsters of our own. But I think it’s going to be a nice game and this is what both teams need at this time.”

GUYANA 5 – 0 BARBADOS
Meanwhile, looking back at the game against Barbados, Quincy Adams, in the 11th minute, headed home Guyana’s first goal, while Pernell Scholtz doubled the lead in the 37th minute.

Eighteen-year-old, Omari Glasgow, scored his first of two goals in the 40th minute to give Guyana a 3 – 0 cushion at halftime.

Neil Danns converted from the penalty spot in the 49th minute to make it 4 – 0, and Glasgow scored in the 60th minute to put a cap on the Golden Jaguars’ exceptional performance as they won 5 – 0.

Guyana, just like Trinidad and Barbados, is preparing for this season of the CONCACAF Nations League, which gets on the way in June.