Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United is heading into tonight’s match still confident that they can beat their challengers Costa Rica’s Herediano, despite their 0-8 drubbing by that team last week.
The two teams will clash for the second time in the CONCACAF Champions League at the Guyana National Stadium at 8pm. They first met at the National Stadium of Costa Rica, San Jose (Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José) on July 26 and Guyana’s number one team was comprehensively outplayed according to its president Odinga Lumumba.
Brazilian striker Jorge Barbosa had scored a hat-trick (70’, 77’, 89’), while the other goals came from Jose Miguel Cubero (10’), Jose Carlos Cancela (30’), Josimar Arias (38’), Pablo Salazar (59’) and Jose Luis Cordero (90+4’).
Yesterday at a press briefing at the Princess Hotel, Alpha United Captain Anthony ‘Awo’ Abrams said that his team can still achieve its goal of competing at the highest level with Herediano, a club that has players with international exposure. He said his team is as confident now as they were when they departed Guyana on July 23 and 24.
In addition, Coach of Alpha Wayne ‘Wiggy’ Dover said that the team’s strategy tonight will be to attack while still “being mindful of our opponents’ capabilities”. He also pointed out that another main concern would be not to concede any other goals since it would make their task doubly harder to overcome the current 8-nil deficit. In order for Alpha to advance to the group stage they will have to beat Herediano 9-0. Dover is hoping that all things go as planned.
Meanwhile, Coach of Herediano Alejandro Giuntini said through his translator that the Guyanese fans can expect the same quality football or even better tonight. He added that his team will “deliver a good spectacle”. Giuntini also said that the strength of his team lies in its consistency and unity and “respect for the ball”. Lumumba had described the Costa Ricans style of play as “beautiful”.
The match will be shown live on ESPN and Lumumba said that this is a historical event since it is the first time that this will ever happen.
Alpha United: Anthony Abrams, (Captain), Ronson Williams, Chavane Forte, Kris Comacho, Travis Grant, Dwain Jacobs, Dwight Peters, Kelvin Mc Kenzie, Clive Andries, Adrian Mitchell, Philbert Moffatt, Duckworth Kirk, Andrew Murray, Warren Gilkes, Jevon Francis, Tiran, Hanley, Cornelius Henry, Selwyn Isaacs, Richard Reynolds, Richie Richards, Wayne Dover (Coach), Gavin Browne (Assistant Coach), Feona Harris (Secretary) and Linley Langhorne (Physiotherapist).
Herediano: L. Moreira (Goalkeeper), D. Cambronero (Goalkeeper), R. Fernández (Goalkeeper), M. Rodriguez (Defender), C. Montero (Defender), E. Sánchez (Defender), M. Obando (Defender), Alexander Castro (Defender), P. Salazar (Defender), C. Castro (Defender), J. Cordero (Midfielder), J. Garro (Midfielder), Y. Arias (Midfielder), M. Ángulo (Midfielder), M. Centeno (Midfielder), J. Cubero (Midfielder), Andrés Castro (Midfielder), C. Hernandez (Midfielder), J. Alvarado (Midfielder), J. Cancela (Midfielder), O. Vargas (Attacker), Jorge Barbosa (Attacker), V. Núñez (Attacker), E. Ramírez (Attacker) and Anderson Andrade (Attacker). Alejandro Giutini (Coach); Cristian Gonzalez (Manager)
