Guyana finish group stage undefeated

CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship

…Coach Joseph calls for local improvement

For the first time in four games, Guyana’s female Under 20 goalkeeper Anessa O’Brien conceded a goal – in the match against Suriname — but it was a small price to pay for the team’s success, as they finished at the top of the table in the Group stage of the Under-20 Women’s Championships.

Guyana’s unblemished run in the Group Stage has been quite impressive, with four wins in as many games. The Guyanese girls opened their campaign against Bermuda with a 2-0 score, and later defeated St. Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda by the same margin. The team’s most recent conquest was probably the most scintillating in their Group ‘A’ campaign, as they pummelled Guyana’s Dutch neighbours, Suriname, 3-1.
Guyana was almost always in control of the encounter, netting two of three goals within 15 minutes of the game’s start. Local girl Tiandi Smith set the momentum for the match with a clean strike into the goal in the 7th minute, which was welcomed by the boisterous crowd. Five minutes later, Tori DeNobrega had the crowd on their feet again with Guyana’s second goal, following an excellent play.

The third in Guyana’s tally came of the boots of Captain Brianne Desa in the 35th minute, after she placed a long ball out of the reach of Suriname’s goalkeeper Deinthy Schooland.
Although the first half of play was impeccable, the same can’t be said for the second half, as the team conceded their first goal of the group stage in the 48th. Suriname’s confidence boost, coupled with Guyana’s constant fumbles in front of the goal, made for a less-than-impressive 45 minutes’ play, but the damage was already done.
As such, fitness and endurance was one point made by Coach Dr. Ivan Joseph as he critiqued the team’s final group game.
“Clearly, you can see that we’re not very fit, as that second half showed. But we’re right where we want to be. We’ve qualified for the next round, and we gave some players some significant minutes; so we can assess them. We played some very good teams and we’ve got a good handle of our abilities, so I’m pleased,” Joseph said.
“We pulled out our centre mid early, so we were looking for two or three centre mids, and the quality of touch and decision-making wasn’t there. When you don’t have a number 10, your game has to change, and we started to panic a little bit, so that changed that game a lot,” the coach went on to state, as he explained the reasons for the team’s falters.
In a squad predominantly made up of overseas-based players, a few local stars were given the opportunity to test their abilities. However, when they did not perform as expected, the crowd at the National Track and Field Facility at Leonora could be heard calling for their substitution. To this end, Coach Joseph stressed the need for exposure on this platform.
“We put in two local-based players who had great hustle, excellent effort, and were really physical, but they initiated more of the attack for the other team than we would like, and that’s all a matter of repetition. I heard the crowd saying you got to get number 6 out, but if she doesn’t get the minutes in this game, where is she going to get the minutes? So this is part of the training environment for her,” he explained.
While highlighting the need for strong players in specific positions such as the centre back, Dr. Ivan Joseph went on to explain the plight of the local players, noting that the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) should look at other alternatives to give female players some exposure.
“And I think the last thing we’ve got to think about is making sure that our players that are based here have some rhythm, so that they don’t get left behind. Cause all the others will go home and play 30 games by that time, and we’ve got to find an opportunity for local players to do the same,”
In presenting a solution, Dr. Joseph identified playing with, or against, male youth teams. “The lack of local games will be a challenge, so you can’t make excuses. Our job is to try and figure out where can these girls play an U-14 Boys team. Because at the women’s level, we’re not going to get the games they need,” he said.