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Shaka
to bounce back...says Ince
Clayton
Ince is backing compatriot Shaka Hislop to stand tall between
the sticks for the ‘Warriors’ against Costa Rica
today.
The Portsmouth custodian conceded a soft goal in Saturday’s
5-1 defeat as Guatemala recorded their biggest home win in
World Cup qualifiers.
Ince, who sat on the bench, remained optimistic about Hislop’s
and T&T’s future.
“I
feel the hurt even though I was on the bench. We have to put
that aside and improve. As a goalkeeper you always tend to
pick up on your errors and make sure it doesn’t occur
again. Shaka is a strong guy and he’s going to bounce
back,” Ince said.
“Once
required I’ll be there. It’s not a situation where
there are number one and number two goalkeepers, we are both
first call and it’s just up to the coach to use whichever
one on the day.”
Sam hungry for goals
He’s been in good form of late for Wrexham in the English
League Two and now he’s eager to get his name among the
scorers for this country in World Cup action.
Hector Sam was a second half replacement for Leslie Fitzpatrick
against Guatemala but was unable to have any impact on the
scoreline. Now he’s desperate to hit the old onion bag.
“I’m
just pumped up to get something in the net for my country.
My last goal was against St Vincent last year and I haven’t
done much more than that for some time and now is when it
really matters. Hopefully we can all get it right on the day,”
Sam said.
With Wrexham struggling to avoid relegation, Sam, Carlos Edwards
and Dennis Lawrence may just well be playing their football
elsewhere if the opportunity arises. Edwards looks more likely
to move up to a higher ranked club but Sam is also hoping
for a good call.
“It’s
been well documented that Wrexham have been struggling especially
with the administration situation but we’ll see how it
goes from here. You always aim to play at a high ranked club
and hopefully something will fall in our favour,” Sam
said.
Glen gunning again
Guns blazing today. That’s what speedy striker Cornell
Glen has on his mind ahead of today’s crucial 2006 World
Cup qualifier against Costa Rica.
Glen missed the loss to Guatemala after failing to recover
in time for Saturday’s match. He was however declared
fit and appeared for Dallas FC in a 2-1 win over Colorado
Rapids and is back in the T&T team for today’s game.
“I
got the chance to come on against the USA and I was then looking
forward to playing against Guatemala before the injury. That
left me really disappointed but I’ll get my chance again
hopefully on Wednesday. I know we are in need of some goals
and points and it feels good to come back at a time when the
team is in need of something inspiring which hopefully I can
help bring. The Costa Ricans are always known for playing
with pace but I believe that once we can put our heads together
and get our feet down, there’s no reason why we can’t
pull it off,” Glen said.
Rojas ready
Real Salt Lake defender Marlon Rojas is carded to line up
for his club against New York/New Jersey Metrostars on the
weekend. But he’s more interested in playing today against
Costa Rica.
Rojas was a starter in the 2-1 loss to United States last
month but was on the bench on Saturday and is keen to get
back among the starters having recovered from a hamstring
injury.
“I
am one hundred percent ready again. The coach is the one who
decides whether I play or not and when I’m called I’ll
be ready,” Rojas said.
“We
are accustomed to these situations and it’s a matter
of us being able to rebound against Costa Rica. Deep down
I believe the guys all want to get it right in this one.”
Pierre wants better this time
He was in the starting team which lost 2-0 to Costa Rica in
the return match of the 2002 World Cup qualifiers at the Hasely
Crawford Stadium. Today, a fitter and more experienced Anton
Pierre wants to help T&T to three points which will be
more than the team had at the time of meeting the Costa Ricans
back in 2002 when six games in the final round were already
completed.
“This
game is probably the most important of my career because it
has much more significance than 2001,” Pierre said. “I
think now being able to be in the squad is an achievement
but it’s more than that now because we have to get into
the habit of beating teams. I’m confident that we can
bounce back but it’s going to be hard and we must be
prepared for a rough battle.”
The likes of Nigel Pierre, Arnold Dwarika, Nigel Henry, Keyeno
Thomas, Angus Eve, Leslie Fitzpatrick, Silvio Spann, Atiba
Charles, Brent Sancho, Stern John, Kenwyne Jones and others
are all carrying the same thoughts ahead of what is undoubtedly
the most crucial game up to this point of the campaign.
Shaun Fuentes is the press officer for the CFU/TTFF—email
shaunfuentes@yahoo.com
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