Despite being thrashed 3-0 in their opening Group-F fixture in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier on Thursday, Golden Jaguars Head Coach Marcio Maximo, says that the result did not reflect the competitive nature of the contest.
This was stated in a post-match virtual press conference yesterday. According to Maximo, “Of course we are disappointed with the result but not with the performance. I would like to say that the score didn’t reflect what we saw in the game. If you saw the game for 90 minutes, the team showed its composure, it’s tactical discipline but sometimes when you make mistakes in the crucial times of the game you should pay the price especially against teams like Trinidad that have experienced players and players playing at high level. But generally the team competed at high level and I repeat the score didn’t reflect what shown in the game.”
The Soca Warriors romped to a comfortable victory on the back of a double from Ryan Telford and a Levi Garcia conversion at the Estadio Panamericano in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
All three conversions occurred in a first half following a dismal performance by the Guyanese. The Golden Jaguars currently sit in the cellar with zero points and a -3 goal differential.
He added, “We are part of the transition process. You can’t keep the group two, three, four years. I have experience enough to talk that we are in the correct way. It’s my responsibility and I have GFF support, players and staff support but it’s my responsibility to do it and nobody can do it. As the coach I should analyze all views, not just the result but also the performance. I should analyze the commitment, the organization and should show our mistakes for the next game. We are learning from this mistake, we have three games to play and nine points to play for. Everything is possible.”
Quizzed about possible adjustments to the midfield area for the impending Bahamas game, he stated that the lack of midfield space necessitated the defenders utilizing long passes which is a tactic that both teams employed.
“We take our lessons from this game and fix our mistakes for the next game… not only Guyana played this form but Trinidad as well. Both the teams played very tight, very compact”, he added.
Meanwhile, Captain Sam Cox said, “I want to issue apologies to all the supporters, we knew how important this game was to all Guyanese. The first half performance was not good enough, we understand that as players and I don’t think there is anyone hurt as much as us. The players are feeling it, they are disappointed.”
He added, “We have to get results out of the three remaining matches. We got Tuesday night to bounce back and we look forward to trying to amend the last performance because at the end of the day no words will atone for last night and we just have to let our talking happen on the pitch.”
Questioned if he agreed that the result didn’t reflect the actual match, Cox opined, “The first half performance was nowhere near good enough especially in our own defensive third. There wasn’t much in midfield, the game last night was played longer from both sides and they exploited us with that longer pass behind us.
We did have chances but at the end of the day if you concede the goals that we did the truth of the matter is that you don’t deserve to win football matches. If you can’t defend your own box and not ruthless enough in the final third, you’re not going to win football matches. That is the short end of the story.”
He went on, “Could we have scored goals yes but they also missed a penalty so we have recognized our shortcomings and mistakes. We need to be better all 11 players; the boys coming off the bench know we need to be better. Going forward we need to adjust that in the next game and learn from these mistakes.”
Guyana will continue their Group ‘F’ campaign against the Bahamas on March 30. In their third match, Guyana will travel to St Kitts and Nevis for their June 4 encounter before ending their group round at home on June 8 against Puerto Rico. Only the group winner will progress to the second stage of the qualifiers.
