In what will be another historic meeting, the Golden Jaguars will battle Panama today in their second match of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup at the FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio from 19:30hrs.
Guyana, in their maiden appearance at the event, went down to defending champions and host nation USA 4-0 on Tuesday at the Allianz Field, St. Paul, Minnesota.
The loss was the third consecutive defeat for the Guyanese following international friendly losses to 175th ranked Bermuda (1-0) and 100th ranked Haiti (3-1) prior to the commencement of the event.
During the period, 177th ranked Guyana has conceded eight goals while their offensive line has only scored once. Defeat to the Panamanians would seal Guyana’s exit from the competition.
According to a release from the GFF, the team conducted their first training session in Ohio ahead of the pivotal clash.
Head-Coach, Michael Johnson, said that the team spirit was high at the moment, adding, “It was great, it was really good, team spirit was in abundance and we go again on Friday with the final session before we go into the next game against Panama. The weather was very much like England but it was good and allowed a lot of fun with the water, it allowed us to play the ball at a lot quicker tempo in training; the session as a whole was a success.”
Speaking on the previous match, Johnson said, “International managers and managers operating in the top leagues in Europe have commented on how well the boys played, particularly for that first hour. So you take great comfort in that knowing that we have made great strides, we looked very organized, we out-passed a very good USA team and if we can get to those levels in our next two games, then we should be ok.”
Guyana’s squad reads Goalkeepers Alex Murray, Akel Clarke, Quillan Roberts, Defenders Sam Cox, Jordan Dover, Terence Vancooten, Kadell Daniel, Ronayne Marsh-Brown, Matthew Briggs, Kevin Layne, Liam Gordon, Midfielders Neil Danns (Captain), Warren Creavalle, Elliot Bonds, Daniel Wilson, Stephen Duke-McKenna, Anthony Jeffrey and Forwards Emery Welshman, Keanu Marsh-Brown, Pernell Schultz, Terell Ondaan, Callum Harriott and Sheldon Holder.
The Golden Jaguars will conclude their group campaign on the 26th against Trinidad and Tobago.
On the other hand, Panama enter the match on the back of a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago.
It was the first win for the 74th ranked side who are fondly known as the ‘Canal Men’ in three matches, following identical 3-0 losses to 12th ranked Colombia and 6th ranked Uruguay.
Panama’s squad reads Goalkeepers Jose Calderon, Luis Mejia, Orlando Moaquera, Defenders Harold Cummings, Eric Davis, Fidel Escobar, Kevin Galvan, Adolfo Machado, Michael Murillo, Francisco Palacios, Roman Torres, Midfielders Abdiel Arroyo, Edgar Barcenas, Armando Cooper Anibal Goday, Valentin Pimentel, Alberto Quintero, Jose Luis Rodrigues, Marcos Sanchez and Forwards Rolando Blackburn, Omar Browne, Jose Fajardo and Gabriel Torres.
Panama will conclude their campaign against USA.
