It was a surprising result, albeit a pleasant onset for the Golden Jaguars last Friday night at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico.
Based on past experiences with national teams over the years, Mexico was expected to pummel the Jaguars, at one of the most frightening arenas, against one of the world’s better teams.
But on close examination of the game’s development from a Guyana perspective, it is difficult to contain one’s curiosity at some of the decisions made by coach Jamal Shabazz,
Shabazz did an excellent job getting the team to this level and preparing the players for Guyana’s debut at the CONCACAF semi-finals World Cup series , and in motivating them to holding Mexico to nothing more than a 3-1 victory.
But you have to wonder if certain things were done differently; the result could’ve been more favorable for the Jaguars.
From a distance the starting lineup seemed a curious one without a few players, you would expect to be on from the beginning for the biggest match ever for any Guyana National team.
Maybe it was case of a niggling injury that saw the absence of striker Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson, until the start of the second half. Richardson, Guyana’s most accomplished forward in the current era of footballers, made an immediate impact upon his insertion. His skill troubled the Mexican defenders and it was no surprise he was responsible for that valuable goal, which in the circumstances, is worth two, given the importance of ‘away’ goals in home and away competitions.
Despite Mexico’s near total domination of ball possession in the first half, the Jaguars had one golden opportunity to strike in that period, in a counter attack orchestrated by Ricky Shakes, which went to waste, shortly after Mexico went 2-0 in the 14th minute.
Had the country’s best striker been in action at the time, the outcome of that play could’ve been different. We could only ponder, after the fact.
Also, the absence of Guyana’s best home grown defender in the said era, from the entire game, is another curious decision. Charles ‘Lily’ Pollard has been a giant for national teams for more than a decade.
He returned to the national team after a dubious absence, for the current CONCACAF series and continued where he left off from previous years, playing a vital role in the Jaguars reaching this far.
Again, maybe, he is injured, because there can be no other reason for his absence, based on the display from the four-man defense line on Friday.
Pollard excels anyplace in the defense, be it center, left or right, and he is wasted on the bench as a reserve, for any of the four that played, if that is the case.
Another interesting decision made was the substitution of Ricky Shakes, as early as the 71st minute. Without a doubt, Shakes has established himself as the team’s best player, throughout the previous rounds of the competition, with his goal scoring ability and creative plays, and there must have been mitigating circumstances for his removal.
Unless, a team is playing to lose, you don’t substitute your best player when the opposing team is in control of the game.
Nevertheless, it was a pleasing performance by the Jaguars at the Azteca, and credit must go to Shabazz for inspiring his team to matching Mexico evenly in the second half, before 90,000 screaming fans, battling a team which had defeated perennial world greats – Brazil, only a few days prior. The Jaguars never seemed over-awed by the occasion especially goalkeeper Ronson Williams, who was ‘super cool’ in staving off the marauding Mexican strikers.
However, the Jaguars’ long ball tactic used mainly in the first half was useless, and hopefully it will be abandoned for this evening’s key clash with Costa Rica at the National Stadium.
Guyana has to implement better systems for possession play, and work on their movement off the ball, to combat the quick, short-pass Costa Ricans who are just as adept as Mexico in that regard.
Shabazz has the players with the skill-set to adjust to short passing as it is the only way goals will flow for the rest of the their campaign.
Costa Rica is considered the second best CONCACAF team alongside the United States, after Mexico, but they do not seem that powerful this time around.
A 2-2 draw with Honduras must have dented their confidence on Friday and it is a golden opportunity today for the Jaguars to sink the knife in deeper with a major upset victory.
November 11, 2011, the greatest day in Guyana’s foot ball is only seven months old.
A victory over Costa Rica will surpass that accomplishment, but it will only happen with sound tactics and the overwhelming support of the 12th man —— the thousands who thronged the Stadium in November.
The “Wear Yellow’ campaign produced a huge psychological boost for the Jaguars then, and will be factor again, this evening.
