The Golden Jaguars U16 had a nightmare debut in the UEFA Assist Friendly Tournament, losing 9-1 to hosts Bosnia & Herzegovina yesterday.
It was Guyana’s first ever appearance at any age group European competition and their starting XI consisted of Shemaiah Samuels, Shakeem Welcome, Matrim Martin, Brandon Khedoo, Jayden Culley, Bryan Wharton, Elon Anderson, Gerry-Mayer Burnette, Swade Edwards, Seon Cato and Kvist Paul.
Guyana’s lone conversion came off the head of second half substitute Christopher Whitter. It was the first goal ever recorded by a Golden Jaguar in a European tournament. The Guyanese will turn their attention to Lithuania tomorrow. They will conclude their campaign against Montenegro on Sunday.
According to a release from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Head-coach Vurlon Mills during a post-match comment said they lost to a superior team.
“We played against the home team today and we already knew they were a superior team. But I must commend my players for their strength, desire and the passion they showed in the way they played. I’m very proud of how we played today. As I said before, the result was not important, but how we played as a team – and we performed well with a good general understanding.”
He added, “Our aim is August, with the Concacaf U17 Championship qualifiers. We are working on how we press the ball collectively, and we can only build on that. In a few weeks, going into our preparations for the qualifiers, they can only get better at it and it will be impossible to penetrate.”
GFF Assistant Technical Director Bryan Joseph said the tour was about development. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for the development of our young players – UEFA Assist agreeing to bring us out here and to have the opportunity to play against European teams. The boys have really taken to it. I am excited about what this level of competition can do for the growth and development of the players. We want to be able to do this on an annual basis with other youth teams – to get this experience and to see what football in Europe is like.”
Goal scorer Whitter said it was a great feeling to score an international goal.
“When I was on the bench, I watched how they played and when they made a wall they left always the middle always on, so when the ball playing now, I pushed and got the header and scored. It felt great!”
Defender Kvist Paul said he was looking forward to the next match.
“Playing in Europe for the first time, I think we’ve done great. From my perspective, I feel I put my best and I’m keen to see what we can do in the next match.”
