As the CONCACAF U-15 Girls Championship continues at the IMG Academy, Florida, USA, Guyana will seek to end their participation on a winning note as the team prepare for their final group match against The Bahamas today at 11:00h.
This was the sentiment expressed by Guyana Football Federation (GFF) International Women’s Coordinator Paul Beresford following the team’s 2-0 defeat to the Cayman Islands on August 7.
Guyana’s starting line-up against Cayman Islands in the CONCACAF U-15 Girls Championship
“The girls are putting in all the effort and doing everything we’ve asked of them and more, and they deserve to have better results in the last two matches of the tournament,” said Beresford.
“We again outshot our opponents in the match against the Cayman Islands, hitting the post four times, but were unable to get a good bounce. Additionally, the Guyana-based and the international-based players are bonding very well and working together as a unit; we know that as they play more games, they will get better. We play The Bahamas on Thursday (today) and feel that may be our breakout game of the tournament.”
In recapping the match against the Cayman Islands, Beresford said he was pleased with the team’s performance: “The team showed great improvement from yesterday’s performance against a Cayman Island team who was very disciplined. Guyana made some tactical adjustments to our style of play that worked to perfection in the first half. The Cayman Islands team was frustrated and did not threaten the Guyana net much in the half. Guyana created many opportunities, but again could not capitalise on our chances, the half ended 0-0. A defensive lapse early in the second half resulted in a goal for Cayman.”
The starting line-up for today’s match, captained by Shacaylah Williams, is as follows: Ludesha Reynolds (GK); Aliea Moses; Hasha Holder; Jenea Knoght; Samara Rodrigues; Samantha Banfield; Anaya Willabus; Kersti Thomas; Ashaya Doobay and Allianna Holder.
The play-off will begin on August 10, following the group qualifiers, with the finals set for August 13 at 11:00h.
