Guyana’s Golden Jaguars are based in Trinidad and Tobago for a week in preparation for the Concacaf Nations League, which commences next month, and they got a confidence booster by defeating Trinidad’s national Under-20 team 1-0 in a training match at the Ato Boldon Stadium on Thursday.
England-based Anthony Jeffrey made the difference in the closed-door match with a conversion in the 81st minute.
Heading into the clash, Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz told News Room Sport that the squad is in high spirits and the players are eager to impress as they look to pencil their final 26-man squad for the tournament.
There is another closed-door training match scheduled for Saturday against St. Lucia at the Hasely Crawford Stadium from 13:00h.
The Golden Jaguars are in Group B of League B, and of their three opponents, Haiti and Bermuda are ranked higher.
Haiti is ranked 90th by FIFA and eighth in Concacaf, while Bermuda is 167th and 19th respectively.
For Guyana, they are currently placed 174th by FIFA and 21st in Concacaf.
Montserrat at 178th and 28th is behind the South American nation, but the little island has a squad built with players based in the United Kingdom.
The ultimate aim of the Golden Jaguars is to qualify for another Gold Cup finals, and a direct spot will come if they top the group.
There is another chance for qualification if they finish second place in the group, as they would then contest the Gold Cup preliminaries.
But based on rankings it means Golden Jaguars will have to slay higher-ranked opponents if they are to replicate the journey to a maiden Gold Cup spot in 2019.
Their first match is June 4 in the Dominican Republic against Montserrat after which they return home to face Bermuda (June 7) and Haiti (June 11) at the National Track and Field Facility, Leonora.
Meanwhile, the Trinidad U-20s are preparing for the Concacaf Men’s U-20 Championship in Honduras next month.
Golden Jaguars preliminary squad:
Goalkeepers: Alex Murray, Quillan Roberts, Sese Norville, Akel Clarke
Defenders: Marcus Wilson, Quincy Adams, Jaylen Jones, Jeremy Garrett, Kevin Layne, Matthew Briggs, Leo Lovell, Shemar Fraser, Sam Cox
Midfielders: Daniel Wilson, Nathan-Moriah Welsh, Clive Nobrega, Job Caesar, Curtez Kellman, Javier George, Neil Danns
Forwards: Trayon Bobb, Marcel Barrington, Kelsey Benjamin, Jamal Perriera, Terell Ondaan, Ryan Hackett, Pernell Schultz, Anthony Jeffrey, Omari Glasgow, Emery Welshman, Stephen Duke McKenna