By Joe Chapman
BEFORE Guyana’s second warm-up game against Grenada last Sunday, Technical Director for the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Jamal Shabazz, indicated that the Golden Jaguars would need at least three more matches this month, ahead of this year’s 2008 World Cup second round qualifying encounters.

The GFF has obliged him this request as Guyana will play two more matches, one against Barbados on Friday and the other versus St Vincent on Sunday, in away matches before the Golden Jaguars again play at home against Cuba and Honduras next month.

Shabazz did say prior to their 2-1 loss to Grenada that results are not as important as it is to get the guys into playing mode, with matches arranged for the purpose of getting his squad to a certain level of fitness and competitive spirit.

Looking back at the game against Grenada, Shabazz said, “We played a little bit too individual football in and around the goal, and we didn’t score from the chances that we created.

“Our play otherwise wasn’t bad. I thought Grenada were a fitter team where they are in their preparations. They have a game in March. I think they showed a superior fitness. But all in all, if we look at the chances we created and had scored the chances, the result could have been so different.”

Shabazz said the loss of captain Charles Pollard was not too much of a blow seeing he was injured but it was planned to take him off and expose Kelvin McKenzie anyhow.

Of interest he said the GCC venue was like a stranger to his team as the size of the playing sward had to be negotiated by his players, and Grenada, being the fitter team, he felt they did very well.

He said the injection of a number of new players was not disappointing as these players would need time to create an impact as they came on with the Guyana team under some amount of pressure. Due to this Shabazz felt it was difficult for the young players but he observed they handled the pressure well.

The technical director said Guyana continued to create chances to the end of the game but the finishing was poor.

Shabazz said more players will be exposed in the upcoming warm-up matches with the aim to expose the full complement of 26 players eventually.

He said he was not worried about the rotation of the players and losing to a lower FIFA-ranked team does not bother him at all, as his focus was for the World Cup qualifiers, as this is what matters most.

Shabazz indicated that in these warm-up games he will be playing lower- and higher-ranked teams, but at this stage it is academic.

He said after the players in his current crop of 26 have been exposed then they will look at the foreign-based players who have signalled their intention to represent Guyana.

This is because at present there is no definite venue to have them train and players at this point in time are the least of his problems as training facilities are his main concern at the moment.

Questioned if Guyana would peak for the clash with Cuba, Shabazz dismissed thinking of the match-up by saying playing Cuba was not the game he wants Guyana to peak for, but by the time the World Cup qualifying game comes around when Guyana play Suriname in June.

Asked about the possibility of Guyana playing Trinidad and Tobago, Shabazz remarked it seems that the Trinidadians are more interested in playing Puerto Rico at this moment, but there is a request out there to have a game against Trinidad and Tobago.