CONCACAF Nations League: “Losing one match is not going to down our spirits” – Shabazz

It was not the result that Guyana’s senior men’s national football team the Golden Jaguars had hoped for when they went down 3-1 to neighbouring Suriname on Thursday in their CONCACAF Nations League (CNL) League ‘A’ debut.
After the final whistle had been sounded, Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz, reflecting on what looked like a lacklustre performance from the Golden Jaguars, noted that they paid the price for missing key chances.
“I felt we were always in the game. When we made the two subs at the half, we did get the chance with the go- ahead goal. At this level of the game, when you don’t take your chances to go ahead, and you give up chances, you will be punished; and I think we learned that lesson today,” Shabazz indicated.
However, when it was inquired of him whether or not he had been worried about the team’s finishing in the final third, the head coach admitted some concern, but said those are the bases that he expects to be covered at the club level.
“When you have two (or) three days to prepare, you’ve got to depend on the players’ ability and the work that they do in the clubs to become clinically accurate finishers. That’s not something that the national team can work on with an international player in two days; it’s just something we’ve got to continue to improve on. They got their chances, our keeper was brilliant at times, but we could’ve finished a lot better today,” Shabazz responded.

Quizzed about the starting XI that raised eyebrows on Thursday last, the head coach shared the rationale behind his final selection. He disclosed, “I think we looked at the chemistry in the two sessions that we had, and the fact that we had Isaiah Jones as a natural winger, Omari Glasgow (as) a natural winger, and we felt the opportunity to play two wingers. Usually, he plays as a player coming off the wing and come in the midfield; we didn’t need that at the start of that game.
“I thought we created our chances playing like that, and then we switched things around playing in the second half.”
In spite of the loss, Shabazz still believes the reality of competing in League ‘A’ can be a motivator for the national team, which he also thinks can pull off a result against Martinique on Monday.
“I think the guys are motivated. When you’re in league A, you have a motivation to play every game because you want to stay up. It took Guyana ten years to reach to League A, and losing one match is not going to down our spirits. What we say to them is, ‘Rise up, oh fallen fighters; rise and take your stance again!’, we’re not going to put our heads down,” a confident Shabazz has said.
The Golden Jaguars Coach added, “We go to Martinique knowing it’s a tough assignment again. But these are the times that we’ve played hard to arrive at, and now we’re going to bang it out and slug it out and see what the end brings.”
The Golden Jaguars’ clash with Martinique will go down at the Pierre-Aliker Municipal Stadium, Fort-de- France, Martinique from 16:00hrs on Monday, September 9. (G6)