Members of the national team would love a shot at a country which recently gave them much grief.
Sanchez wants another shot at Guadeloupe |
Guadeloupe beat Cayman in the second round of the Digicel Caribbean Championships by a whopping score of 7-1.
Many of the players felt many attributes that were out of their control contributed to that defeat from deplorable accommodations to horrid field conditions.
Now Guadeloupe has advanced to the final stages of the competition, which take place next month, and are looking to get some last-minute training.
Cayman Islands Football Association President Jeff Webb has stated publicly that he is in talks with the head of football in Guadeloupe about getting the national team to Cayman for training sessions.
At this point the talks are ongoing. Webb had previously said he has already put in the request for the team to come.
It is only left now for the Guadeloupe chief to give a favourable reply in order to facilitate a match before the end of the year, although Grenada look more likely.
Many players, like Jairo Sanchez, feel the country should make a stop here to settle a score.
‘We really want to play Guadeloupe. I don’t think they could beat us now the way they did in the Digicel games. That just couldn’t happen on our turf.’
In fact, as Ian Lindo states, getting another shot at one of the Caribbean’s premier sides in Guadeloupe is on the top of most of the players’ minds.
‘It’s a unanimous thing. We all want to play them again. No matter who it is, its better we play teams above us in the rankings. It only gets us better playing those quality sides.’
For Cayman head coach Carl Brown the rematch has been a topic for debate before the squad even left Guadeloupe.
‘We spoke to the Guadeloupe team about a rematch before leaving Guadeloupe. Now the president is trying to confirm that for the end of the year.
‘I think we need to play tough games. In facing Guadeloupe it’s not so much about winning against them but about how much we can learn from them.’
If the rematch does occur Cayman will still be in great playing shape.
Cayman was in action two weeks ago against the Jamaican national football team, who were led for the first time by John Barnes and his assistant Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore.
The Reggae Boyz came away with a result many onlookers thought was shocking as they only beat Cayman 2-0.
The goal scorers for the Reggae Boyz were Major league Soccer player Omar Cummings and national talent Roland Dean. European-based standout Rodolph Austin also had a good game.
Though the majority of overseas Jamaican players were unavailable, Cummings and Austin were able to play as their respective seasons were finished.
The match was technically an international friendly but the recent passing of Hurricane Paloma and the fact that the Reggae Boyz rarely come to Cayman led to much hype and a turnout of some 3,000 spectators.
Players like Sanchez feel the result was a favourable one for Cayman and bodes well for any additional matches in the near future.
‘The game was fast-paced and being that the Jamaicans are pros they were used to it. I think we did good for amateurs. However we could have played better.
‘I’d say the only thing lacking in our defense was we did not mark up properly and we did not push up enough. But all in all the team did well and with a little more games I know we will do good.’
Alongside Elite FC team-mate Calvin Jefford, Sanchez is one of Cayman’s biggest offensive threats.
Sanchez was used primarily as a winger in the match though he spent the majority of his time around midfield, in particular helping out the backline.
In his opinion he did okay and fought for position well but he feels he can improve on his attacking skills.
‘Defensively I think I did well. The Jamaicans’ physical play didn’t bother me. In fact I actually pushed them off.
‘On the other hand I could have crossed [the ball] more which has me thinking I need to work more on my offense.’
For coach Brown however unsung hero and second half sub Garth Anderson stood out most in his mind on the night.
‘Anderson brought leadership. One of the problems we see here is a lack of leadership. But Garth has that ability to lift up the players and the team.’
Anderson normally starts in midfield for Cayman but volunteered to come off the bench.
In spite of the many upsides garnered from the Cayman-Jamaica contest there were some issues that arose from the game.
One of the biggest concerns was with team health. During the match both Lindo and captain Tom Elliot went down with injuries.
Lindo had a strained hamstring while Elliot re-injured his groin.
Coach Brown had little to say about Lindo’s injury but stated that in Elliot’s case it’s a repeating problem area.
‘It’s not easy to say when Tom will be back or the extent of it. The groin is one of the areas we do little to strengthen and it’s a recurring issue for Tom.’
As Lindo explains, his strained hamstring is one that he’s been dealing with for awhile as well.
‘It’s an injury I’ve had from before. Sometimes it tenses up when I play. It’s not a serious injury and I will be 100 per cent for the next game.’
Lindo went on to say that in his mind team fitness is not a concern.
‘Fitness-wise, we’re a fit team. I don’t think fitness is out problem. If anything we need to put in more time to train.
‘People have to remember we have full-time jobs and we get only a couple hours a day to train.
‘Pro teams meanwhile can train for hours at different times of the day. The pros get to focus on their issues because training is all they do.’
The other major issue from the game was the absence of Cayman’s lone professional player in goalkeeper Tuda Murphy.
Murphy plays in Ireland for club side Glenavon FC and was not present for the Cayman-Jamaica match.
Murphy’s last time in Cayman for a major competition was the Digicel games in August.
On that occasion he suffered a leg injury and was unavailable for two of Cayman’s matches against Antigua and Bermuda.
According to coach Brown, Murphy’s absence this time around was due to club commitments.
‘The last time Murphy was here he got injured, went back to his club and we didn’t see much of him after that.
‘He wasn’t here because his club didn’t release him for the match. It is common knowledge that clubs are not going to release their players for friendly games if they are not major FIFA matches like World Cup qualifiers or regional tournaments.’
Leading up to the game, CIFA had been stating that Murphy would be on-island and be playing.
Jermaine Brown served as keeper for Cayman against the Reggae Boyz and on all other occasions when Murphy was absent.
Brown has done well on those occasions, even recording a shutout against arch-rivals Bermuda.
Ultimately players like Lindo and Sanchez are ready to put the Jamaica match behind them and focus on new challenges.
As Sanchez says the focus is on more games.
‘Cayman is only lacking exposure. We played against Guadeloupe and to me they’re on Jamaica’s level. For those kind of games you have to be in full concentration and we need that.’
In Lindo’s mind the next set of games can’t come soon enough.
‘Jamaica versus Cayman was a good game but we all feel we could do better and we’re ready to play again.’
Related Videos
