Vincy Heat to step up preparations

The upcoming weeks should see some greater intensity in the preparations of the St Vincent and the Grenadines senior men’s football team, Vincy Heat, ahead of World Cup qualifiers next month.{{more}}

The Vincentians are set to take on Trinidad and Tobago here on March 25 (Good Friday) and four days later at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Trinidad in the CONCACAF Zone of the qualifiers.

Team manager Othneil Douglas outlined to SEARCHLIGHT that there has been ongoing training with the home-based players and some drafted in from the ongoing National Club Championships, but one will see a ramping up of the sessions soon.

With the bulk of the squad plying their trade overseas, Douglas informed that overseas based players will begin to arrive from about the middle of this month.

“The Antigua season finishes on the 14th February, so those players there would be in by the 16th, while Myron Samuel and Oalex Anderson, who are with the Seattle Sounders in the USA, will be in at least two weeks before the game here against Trinidad,” Douglas said.

Among those who were part of the recent set-up and are in Antigua and Barbuda are Tevin Slater, Nazir Mc Burnette, Azhino Solomon and Kyle Edwards.

Apart from the Antigua and USA based players, those stationed in Barbados are expected to rejoin their other teammates, as well as the another regular – UK based Gavin James.

Kenyon Lynch, Shandell Samuel, Roy Richards, Romano Snagg and Emerald George are on the roster of Rendezvous in the Barbados Premier Division.

“We should be also having the services of Shawn Benjamin, who is based in England and who represented St Vincent and the Grenadines back in 2005- 2006,” Douglas declared.

Douglas revealed that a friendly international against Martinique on March 11, here, will serve as gauge for the technical staff.

Reports say that Seinard Bowens, who played against the USA in November, will be available to the Cornelius Huggins coached outfit.

St Vincent and the Grenadines lie at the bottom of Group C with no point and winless, having suffered a 6-1 defeat to the USA on November 13 last year in Missouri and also were beaten by Guatemala 4-0 here at the Arnos Vale Playing Field, on November 17.

Before reaching this the fourth round, St Vincent and the Grenadines, after getting a first round bye, saw off Guyana on the away goal rule, after both teams had finished 6-6 in aggregate after the two legs.

The Vincentians also got past Aruba 3-2 on aggregate in the third round.(RT)