Golden Jaguars assistant coach and former captain, Charles ‘Lily’ Pollard, has urged for patience and positivity towards the senior men’s program ahead of their first round Gold Cup Qualifier against Guatemala tomorrow at 9:30pm.
This was disclosed by an official press release from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF). According to the former central defender, “We all know Guatemala is a very good team in the Central American region and the Caribbean. It will be a tough challenge for us that I think every footballer should relish – young and old – because this is what we do. This is our game.”
He further stated, “We know it will be a tough game, but we are positive. The ball is round and anything can happen. We are preparing right but we have to believe as players and as staff. We are a Gold Cup team – we have proved ourselves in the Gold Cup, we went to the Gold Cup. We are not an ordinary team.”
The Golden Jaguars are slated to face off against Central American outfit Guatemala on Saturday at 9.30pm at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The winner of this first-round qualification fixture will battle the winner of the Guadeloupe/Bahamas encounter on July 6 for a place in the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Guyana will enter the match on a positive note following two consecutive victories in warm-up matches. The Golden Jaguars defeated amateur side Miami Dade 3-0 in the first match before edging Bermuda 1-0 in the second encounter.
The Linden native conceded that he was also disappointed with the team’s performance in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, but noted that patience is required as the team undergoes a necessary transitional phase to integrate emerging players.
He explained, “I was disappointed, but we know that it’s a process and the process will take time. The coaches believe that it will take time but it will become successful in the end. We have to be patient. We are in a transition. We need to give the process a chance to allow it to grow. It won’t happen overnight. So we need to give the youngsters a chance and they will deliver.”
