CONCACAF U-15 practice match…Guy lose 6-2 to Naparima College despite good effort from the Guyanese colts

Aug 10, 2017 Sports, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....-the-guyanese-colts/

By Sean Devers in South Trinidad
In association with Rose Hall Town Youth and sports Club,
Carib Beer, Vnet Communications & Ming’s Product & Services

The Guyana U-15 Football team will complete its three-match preparation for the CONCACAF U-15 Football Championships in Florida from Sunday August 13-19 with their final practice match against Fatima College tomorrow in Port-of-Spain after losing 6-2 to Naparima College at the Manni Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, South Trinidad yesterday.
The Guyanese youths, who drew 1-1 with North Zone in their opening game on Monday, are in Group F of the CONCACAF Tournament along with St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia and Suriname and are being hosted here by the Northern Football Association.
Yesterday, at venue 27 miles from the Capital, the encounter commenced an hour late due to late arrival of the Guyana team bus and in brilliant sunshine Marcel Deckdon beat Guyana’s custodian Oswin Fredericks in the third minute to give Naparima, the runners-up in last year’s T&T’s Secondary Schools Premier League tournament, an early lead.
Isaiah Lee, who ended with a hat-trick, fired one past Fredericks from inside the 18-yard box in the eighth minute to give the 2014 and 2015 National School’s Champs a 2-nill lead on the well maintained ground just behind the International venue.
The bigger and stronger Naparima U-19 side, coach by former Guyana National Charles Pollard who now lives here, enjoyed more of the early possession and had things their way against a talented but much younger opponents.
But the Guyanese U-15s, although being dominated, should be using this experience and exposure against older and better teams as ideal preparation for their trip to America as the clinical passing and ball control continued from the most consistent Football School side in Trinidad.
Mickel Rawlins latched on to an excellently executed assist from the left field in the 23rd minute and beat Fredericks on the near post to make it 3-nil as conditions became overcast and the Guyanese were beginning to look despondent.
Fredericks was injured and replaced between the uprights by Shawn Adonis who conceded two more goals by half-time even as the Guyanese tried to press forward but could not finish as a sturdy ‘Trini’ defence cleared the balls to safety.
The skillful Lee was in attack mode and scored again in the 29th minute to give the school from Carnival Country a 4-nill lead before Orville Daniels beat T&T National U-20 Keeper Levi Fernandez with a strike from the penalty spot after being brought down just in front of the goal mouth.
Lee netted his third goal of the game in 48th minute and when the half time whistle was blown the score read Naparima 5, Guyana 1.
The Guyana Coach read the riot act to his charges who seemed frustrated and did not work hard enough in the first stanza. The tongue lashing seemed to have the desired effect, since the entire team seemed to get a new birth of energy as they attacked and spent more time in the opposition’s half.
Strikers Jermaine Garnett, who scored Guyana’s goal on Monday, had played against Daniels in the Digicel National School’s final between champions Chase Academy and Annai Secondary at Leonora last month, but now the skillful forwards were fighting together for their Country.
Early in the second half Guyana’s Troni Semple maneuvered between the defenders, but shot just wide of the mark before Isaiah James found the back of the net in the 76th as Guyana enjoyed the better of the exchanges in pouring rain in the second half.
Ariel Tyson would score Naparima’s sixth goal in the 88th minute but the 6-2 score-line was not true reflection of how well the Guyanese youngsters played and the skill of Chase’s Garret and Daniels from Region 9, had tongues wagging.
“This is a good group of talented but inexperienced players who could only get better with hard work and I hope they would have valuable lessons playing here against the older and better guys,” remarked Pollard.