Tridents ready for 2022 Qualifiers

When the whistle is blown at 8:00 PM tonight to signal the start of their first outing in over a year the Barbados Tridents are expected to let it all hang out. This from Head Coach Russell Latapy as he spoke to The Barbados Advocate yesterday about his team’s chances in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Set for the Felix Sanchez Stadium in the Dominican Republic, the Tridents have an uphill battle to fight as they come up against the 78th-ranked Panama in their first game since the start of the pandemic. Noting that with the restrictions that were in play in Barbados and the fact that they were only afforded two warm-up games against the Turks and Caicos Islands during their two-week camp, Latapy said that everyone was excited to see where they stand.

“Due to the COVID situation, obviously we hadn’t touched a ball before we got to the DR – in two months. So it’s not really an ideal preparation for an important game such as this one. But I must say fair play to the players. We’ve been here two weeks trying to prepare for this game and we’ve asked a lot out of the players and they have given 100%. So it is what it is. It was the best preparation we could try to have for these games in the time that was allotted to us,” he said.

With eligible overseas players Ryan Trotman and Emile Saimovici joining forces with the Tridents for the first time ever and the boys guaranteed one final session before tonight’s game, Latapy expressed immense gratitude for the effort put in by all.

“We know that they are definitely quality players that is why, obviously, we invited them to be part of this group and part of this effort. We also know that they have had really long flights and difficult conditions to get here and we really appreciate the commitment. They’ve joined and they are gelling really well with the group so far.”

Going on to say that it was impossibly difficult to predict what will transpire in the game, what he could say was that he was sure that it could only augur well for the development of the team.

“What we try to do is develop our philosophy, our identity, the way we want to play and part of that process is that we know we want to work hard, we know we want to play with the ball at our feet. Within these things, it is important that we try to impose ourselves on the way that we want to play. Again, we are playing one of the top teams in the region. We know it’s going to be an extremely difficult game but it will give us a good measuring stick to know exactly where we are in terms of the process and our development,” Latapy said. (MP)