With just 11 days before Guyana face one of their biggest matches ever and possibly enable themselves to qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the Guyana National Senior Men’s Team are set to play the Suriname Senior Men’s National Team on Saturday, March 16 at the Pierkhan Stadium, Nickerie, Suriname from 16:30h (15:30h local time).
The team, commonly known as the Golden Jaguars, will comprise 18 shortlisted Guyana- based players and are scheduled to depart for Suriname on Friday morning.
In an invited comment, Golden Jaguars Head Coach Michael Johnson, who returned to Guyana on Tuesday, said the match would seek to test the progress made with team preparation and some technical areas, as well as the team’s overall game understanding.
“The game against Suriname will give the players a real stiff test and we will be able to see which players have improved in all areas of their development. The [Guyana Football Federation] GFF Training Centre is a solid base that allows us to get some good work into the players, but you can’t be competitive without games. With both teams involved in the CONCACAF Nations League fixtures, this gives us the opportunity to try out player systems and develop their understanding without the scrutiny of the result being the main objective,” Johnson said.
A detailed list of the squad will be made available soon.
Meanwhile, the Guyana-based squad engaged the East Bank Demerara Football Association select team last Saturday in a training match at the GFF’s National Training Centre, Providence, East Bank Demerara. Guyana-based Assistant Coach Charles Pollard, in an invited comment, said there were a lot of positives taken away.
“We were working on possession from the last game (against Fruta Conquerors FC) – from keeping possession to converting our chances. In the weekend game, the guys did well despite the opposition was not as strong as expected. We looked at our moments, the decision making and converting the chances; those were a plus, we were spot on in that regard,” he said.
The training matches are part of the preparation for Guyana’s final CONCACAF Nations League qualifier against Belize on March 23 at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora, West Coast Demerara. Tickets for the match are being sold at $1500 at the following locations: Andrews Supermarket, Aubrey Barker Road, South Ruimveldt; the Guinness Bar, Durban Street, Georgetown; West Indian Sports Complex, Robb Street; Nice Restaurante, Status Hotel, Croal Street, Georgetown; Pegasus Hotel Guyana; KFC Outlets – Regent Street and Mandela Avenue; Dad’s Fish Shop, Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara and Patsy Food Court and Bar, Linden-Soesdyke Junction.
Fan jerseys are also available at the GFF Secretariat at a cost of $5000. Match time is set for 18:30h.
