Highlights of Belize/Guatemala football game
A telethon will be held this Saturday to assist the Belize National Team to raise funds and we will be showing that event live from the Princess Pool side. The team returned this morning to Belize after playing a friendly game against Guatemala in Antigua as it trains for the July Gold Cup. We have been following the Jaguars so tonight we look at their locker-room story prior to the game which ended in a draw. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The road to Gold Cup 2013 is an arduous journey for the Jaguars. The team has come a long way in a seemingly short space of time. That is because, since the Football Federation of Belize underwent administrative changes a few years ago, a renewed focus has been placed on the sport, as well as the individual development of each its members.
Ian Andrew Mork
Ian Andrew Mork, Head Coach, Belize National Selection
“You’re not always being treated professionally by the administration and all the other stuff that has been happening outside, but I think it is going to benefit all of us the most if we can still try to stay by those standards and that’s for your own good as a team; it is for your own good as an individual and obviously for us competing at the highest level in less than a month. That’s the way we have to start look at everything especially here no women can come into the rooms at all while we are here and that’s gonna go for the administrators as well.”
This pep talk given to the Belize National ‘A’ Selection is routine encouragement that success at the international level can be achieved once strict standards and discipline are upheld. While the team was away in Guatemala, the coaching staff took the opportunity to hold practice sessions on an Astroturf pitch to familiarize athletes with the playing field in Portland come July.
Ian Andrew Mork
“We were asking the federation to give us a few days on synthetic grass which is what we are going to play the U.S. on in Portland and so the players could get use to it; it is a different kind of surface. The ball skips a lot differently, it moves a lot different. So we trained two days in Guatemala city on synthetic grass which was very good for us, it was really beneficial. And this result too. If we are able to do this against the U.S., then we can possibly qualify for the next round of the Gold Cup…and ultimately that’s our gold. So I think this is a good performance again.”
Their performance during the international friendly was admirable, despite the fact that the match ended in a stalemate with no scores on the board.
Ian Andrew Mork
“It’s a good result. You know, we’ve taken some good steps in the last few weeks and results like this against the good team of Guatemala give sus a lot of confidence and we still have a lot of work to do, but it’s good results for us. We’re just hoping to get some goals obviously, but overall I think it was a good performance.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
The game shows tonight following the newscast.
