King: We’re going to give it our best shot

Backed by his staff and country, national coach Derek King and his captain Aubrey David are targeting six points against Cuba in two matches in Group B of the CONCACAF Nations League over the next six days.

The first will be played Thursday at the Estadio Antonio Maceo, Santiago, Cuba, from 4 pm, and the other will be at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago, October 14.

The Soca Warriors have just a point in two matches but need to be among the top two teams to progress out of the group. Coach King took a more proactive approach towards his preparation by calling early training for his local players to slip in a few foreign-based players to add experience and strength to his unit.

This approach led to the return of midfielders Joevin Jones and Kevin Molino, both of whom King believes would add quality to the team. The team had its first training session in Cuba yesterday, and King has been optimistic.

“The guys are fully aware of the task at hand; we had discussions this morning, both the staff and the players, and we agreed that we need six points, but let us also focus on the fact that as a very important game, we have to go out there and give it our best shot,” King explained.

“We had a locally-based team training for two and a half weeks, so we decided that we would go with some of the locally-based players and add some foreign-based players who were not with the team before. I think the guys we added would bring some kind of experience to the unit we have at this point.”

“I think it’s important that we positively start our training session. We will be evaluating the team with some video sessions, so we must go out there and give it our best.

“The country is behind the team as well; the public is there, and it’s important that we get the three points to go back home on the 14th,” King concluded.

The Cubans, like T&T, have not won the Nations League either. They were held 1-1 by Nicaragua and then played to a goalless tie with Jamaica in the Swiss format of play.

David, whose responsibility it would be to ensure a steady T&T defence, described the Cubans as a young team, laced with players to ply their trade outside of Cuba.

“Cuba has a lot of foreign players; they have players who play in Costa Rica, in Guatemala, and the USA as well. Basically, they have a young team, but they’re willing to fight.

“They’re hungry and want to prove themselves because they’re at home, so it’s just for us to be together and execute our game plan so that we can leave here with three points,” David explained.

He noted, “We have a lot of young players as well, and some with quality. I think they stepped up in the last Nations League; we saw a lot of them jumping onto the international scene and making a big impact, so it’s just for them to continue on that momentum.”

King was hoping to recruit the services of talented midfielder Tyrese Spicer; however, he picked up an injury during training and has been asked to miss this game.

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