Golden Jaguars aiming to end Nations League campaign with ‘W’

Mar 28, 2023 Sports

– Shabazz sees today’s game as Gold Cup prep

By Rawle Toney

Kaieteur News – After securing a berth to the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the Golden Jaguars aim to end their Nations League campaign on a winning note when they face Montserrat from 7:00 pm today in Barbados.

Cheltenham Town FC defender Elliot Bonds enjoyed good return to the Golden Jaguars and was pivotal in Guyana’s 2-0 win over Bermuda.

With the National Track and Field Centre at Edinburgh deemed unfit for International Football, Guyana’s Senior Men’s National team was forced to play their final ‘home game’ at Wildey Turf inside the Sir Garfield Sobers Sports Complex in Bridgetown.

The Golden Jaguars, regardless of today’s result, will finish second behind Haiti in Group B of League B and will head into the clash against Montserrat coming off a 2 – 0 win over Bermuda last Saturday in Hamilton.

Speaking to Kaieteur News yesterday, Golden Jaguars head coach Jamaal Shabazz highlighted that changes were made to the starting team that earned three points over the weekend.

“We would rotate the team and make three changes to the starting line-up while still trying to maintain good quality. Off course, we want to win and end on a high note but it’s equally important to give opportunity for more players to compete,” Shabazz said.

According to Shabazz, “We want a competitive unit going forward and the players starting today has that opportunity to maintain the standards with their performance.”

Shabazz retained Goalkeeper Kai-McKenzie in the starting line-up, along with Johnathan Grant, Liam Gordon, Leo Lovell, Elliot Bonds, Jalen Jones, Omari Glasgow and Bayli Spencer-Adams.

Emery Welshman captained Guyana in their 2-0 win over Bermuda.

Getting a start today are Colin Nelson, Kadel Daniel and Kelsey Benjamin.

His substitutes are Akel Clarke (GK), Joshua Narine, Sam Cox, Jeremy Garrett, Curtez Kellman, Pernell Schultz, Emery Welshman, Tre Medford, Daniel Wilson, Marcus Wilson and Trayon Bobb.

Newport County midfield stalwart Nathan Moriah-Welsh will miss today’s game.

Though admitting of always being eager to experiment to learn about his team, Shabazz warned, “It’s clear that Montserrat will hunt results to avoid relegation. So although we are already in the playoffs we need to approach this as our first preparatory step towards the Gold Cup.”

Guyana defeated Montserrat, 2-1, in their last Nations League meeting in June, where Adrian Clifton scored that day for Montserrat, while Omari Glasgow had a brace at the Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Glasgow can add to his tally of three goals as he is one of the names in contention to finish as League B’s top scorer. Lyle Taylor also has three goals to his name as he leads the way for Montserrat.

• CONCACAF Gold Cup, Edinburgh, Guyana’s Senior Men’s, Haiti, Sir Garfield Sobers Sports Complex