DeAbreu emphasises positive takeaways for U20 Women’s team

Guyana’s Under-20 Women’s Football Team, the U20 Lady Jags, came in for major disappointment Last Saturday, after losing a must-win game in the CONCACAF U20 Championships in the final two minutes of the game.

Sharing his assessment of the team’s run in the competition is Head Coach Paul DeAbreu, who says there is much to learn from the experience.
Despite only making it to the Round of 16 knockouts (having reached the quarterfinals in their last outing), DeAbreu is very appreciative of the team’s performance in the CONCACAF Championships.
In a recent communication, he has highlighted a number of positive takeaways for the team and himself. Reflecting on the team’s group matches and the knockouts, Coach De Abreu shared some of the high points of the tournament from which the team was able to gain knowledge.

“Our team walked away with a win over Honduras, and made it out of the round of 16; then played Haiti, only to lose 2-1 with 2 minutes left in the game,” De Abreu reflected.
Continuing his assessment, he said, “How well the team came together in such a short period of time throughout the adversity they were faced with, and were able to finish on a high note.”
Shifting his perspective to the technical aspects of the Guyanese ladies’ performance, DeAbreu highlighted their ability to match strides with their more experienced Central American opponents.
“The take-away as a Coach playing against the Central American teams (is) the calibre, the style of play, how technical they were and their aggressiveness. It was an eye-opener for all players. Speed of play and how aggressive they were was mostly the feedback I received,” DeAbreu revealed.
The Women’s Under-20 Head Coach has posited that Guyana can benefit from better preparation in all aspects of the game, going forward.
“Winning a sport starts from preparation. It starts from years, months, and up to the last few hours before competition. Anxiety and nervousness usually take over,” he said on the matter of what is needed for the team from this point onwards.
He further stated, “We need to be better prepared, mentally physically and emotionally going forward.”
After making it out of the Group stage, Guyana fell prey to Haiti in a heartbreaking 2-1 game in the 16-team straight knockout round, to be ousted from the 2022 edition of the CONCACAF Women’s Championships.