Newly-appointed coach of Guyana’s senior national football team Paul James told Stabroek Sport yesterday that although his side failed to come up with a win at the recently-concluded Parbo Bier Cup in Suriname, he was generally satisfied with their performance.
The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) after a disappointing run last year was looking for an unsullied start and so some new players were used for the outing in Suriname. Most of them had never played at the senior level before.
Out of the three matches played, the Golden Jaguars had ten goals scored against them while they managed to score just four in the tournament. According to James, their best chances of clinching a win in the four-nation tournament was in the first game against Antigua.
Guyana were hoping for revenge against the Islanders who had defeated them in the second round of last year’s Digicel Caribbean Championship 2-1.
“Even though we came back empty handed, I still felt that the young players really give a good account for themselves….but I think in our first game, we really had this one because after we scored things really got hard for them but then Eddy (Gomes) picked up a second yellow and that opened the field.”
“They (Antigua) utilized where we fell short and even though we held them off, they managed to score real late in the game, so I think we did a reasonable job,” James added.
He further stated that the toughest game for the Guyanese was against the Surinamese who boasted several Dutch international players, including former Ajax and Barcelona midfield player Edgar Davids. Jaguars lost 5-1.
“In the game against Suriname the players played extremely well because they knew that the team had professional players especially Davids. They were excited because they wanted to match-up with the players to see how they stand you know, but it was hard,” James noted.
“Even though we scored, that game was more of a defensive game, most of the times the ball was in our half and never mind the age of Davids, I think he still has plenty left in him and you can see how great of a player he is.”
And continuing his evaluation of the Jaguars performance at the Parbo Bier Cup, James said the inexperience of the team really came out in the game against French Guiana which they lost 3-2.
“After losing to Suriname we still went out and showed great determination because before we left Guyana one of our major problems was scoring goals, but the players really adjusted and played well…the French team was strong as well they had some very good players but I think we did well in matching them.”
The attitude of the players, James said, was outstanding and he noted that the players only realized how big a tournament they were playing in when they reached Suriname.
“The funny thing is before the team left they were good, yes, but not like how they were in Suriname and seeing the star players like Davids and so one, I see a big change in the way they trained and everything.”
“It’s always going to be hard for any coach to take a young and inexperienced side to a tournament like this and the good thing is that everyone knew that the Guyanese team was young because they only recognized Howard Lowe from the World Cup qualifiers,” James said. He observed too that maybe if he had four more quality players, the outcome may have been different.
Lowe has been a firm player in the Golden Jaguars unit for over a decade and his leadership ability and presence on the field really saved Guyana further blows, the coach said.
James said that he will be recommending that the GFF should try to keep the squad together and have more games for them over the August period since the country is now entering the rainy season.