CONCACAF U-17 WC qualifiers… Barbados battle Lady Jags today @ Leonora

Aug 09, 2017 Sports, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....-jags-today-leonora/

‘Expecting a great fight come game day’ – Lady Jags Coach Castello

CONCACAF’s Under-17 female World Cup qualifiers begin in Guyana today at the Leonora Track and Field Facility football pitch with the first match of Group D. The hosts, Lady Jags will battle Barbados from 5:00pm at the West Side venue to which admission is free.

Speaking to the media yesterday, Coach of the lady Jags Akilah Castello, noted that preparing the Guyana team had its challenges but she expects her side to be competitive. Those challenges included, “A lot of tactical work which the girls would have had to take in a limited time…(and) they have been training so well that we are expecting a great fight come game day,” Castello noted.

Despite Guyana not having a very good foundation in women’s football, being “behind 20-25 years the world standard”, as stated by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Technical Director, Ian Greenwood; the head coach Costello noted pleasure with initial training. “Most of the girls came through the ATCs (Scotia Bank Academy Training centers) and would’ve been exposed to some level of training before the national camps,” Coach Costello further stated.

On the other hand, the Barbados team have been together since they competed at the Under-15 level last year and they definitely will boast more experience and team chemistry than Guyana. Despite this the “Bajans” head coach Thomas Jordan stated that, “There are programmes in Barbados that prepare girls from as young as the Under-13 level for tournaments such as these.”

The Cuba team, which arrives tomorrow, August 10th, have been identified as the strongest team in the competition. When quizzed on expectations from the tournament in which Barbados are not the favourites, their coach Thomas Jordan politely stated, “We are here to win, we will not be intimidated by Cuba. Yes they’re a powerhouse, yes they’re a good team, we have seen them play before and we have prepared ourselves to compete against them.” However, Coach Thomas will need to get past the Lady Jags first who will have the home advantage come this evening.
See below for Guyana’s complete team list and coaching staff.