Alpha United coach Wayne Dover says a lack of competitive structured football was one of the influencing factor’s in his team’s early elimination from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship on Sunday April 19th.
The ‘Hammers’ who competed in Group-1 alongside Inter Moengotapoe of Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago’s Central FC, only needed a draw going into the final fixture against the latter to clinch a berth to the next round.
However, the local giants capitulated against the Trinidad and Tobago unit, going down by a 3-1 score line.
In the 2014 edition of the tourney, Alpha United created history by qualifying out of the championship to the prestigious CONCACAF Champions League.
In an invited comment following the conclusion of the match, Dover said “Unfortunately, we’ve been suffering where football is concerned in Guyana. You play in a couple of tournaments then wait for a long time for another.”
He noted irrespective of the club’s success in the 2014 edition, the lack of competitive preparation will always make it difficult to compete at this level.
“These teams coming off a full season while some are winding down as well and it will always be difficult coming up against them,” he added.
According to Dover, introspection needs to occur within the sport in order to properly move it forward. He said there were certain qualities expected from the players and if they can’t produce at this level, there is no need to be participating in these tourneys.
Group-1 Final Standings
Team P W D L GF GA GD P
Central FC (T&T) 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4 6
Alpha United (Guyana) 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3
Inter Moengotapoe (Suriname) 2 0 0 2 0 5 -5 0
