Belize National Football team wins game against Melchor team

The Belize National Football Selection headed to Melchor De Mencos on Tuesday for its first friendly game…And tonight, the road to success in Gold Cup 2013 looks promising for Team Belize. The team defeated Guatemala’s Club Heredia by a score of two to nil this afternoon.  The National ‘A’ Selection, which played against the first division team in Melchor de Mencos, has shown significant improvement in offensive play, as midfielder Trevor Lennon was first to register a point on the scoreboard.  While the friendly competition is bringing out the best of the Jaguars, another knock-up match is scheduled for June eleventh in Antigua, Guatemala.  According to acting coach Charlie Slusher, today’s display of skill, speed and playmaking ability on the pitch is encouraging, as the team prepares to compete in Houston in July.

Via Phone: Charlie Slusher, Acting Coach, Belize National ‘A’ Team

“We are very impressed the way the team performed in the second half. We even made seven changes and all the changes were very effective. It is the first real test that we’ve had since we started to prepare for the Gold Cup so I think we are very satisfied with the way the game played today.”

Isani Cayetano

“What is the feeling among the players who participated in today’s game like over there in Melchor right now?”

Via Phone: Charlie Slusher

Charlie Slusher

“I think all the guys are happy. Like I said, it was the first test. You kinda started in the game…the Heredia Team is a very good team and you don’t know really where you’re at, but I think the results of this game is a good confidence booster going into the Gold Cup and for the future preparation of the team. I think it is very good and it will really motivate the guys a lot to continue working hard.”

Isani Cayetano

“What were the final scores in this match today?”

Via Phone: Charlie Slusher

“We won two-nil. I think we are supposed to have a next friendly match in Guatemala City. I think it is a FIFA date for the eleventh of June. So that’s a next game scheduled in regards to the team preparation—a game against the National Selection of Guatemala around June eleventh in Antigua, Guatemala.”

Isani Cayetano

“Going back a bit, what has preparations been like not only for this particular matchup, but also in looking forward to the Gold Cup 2013?”

Via Phone: Charlie Slusher

“Well the preparations have been…we are preparing for the Gold Cup. We are not necessarily preparing for a game and so that’s why it is good that you can still perform in a game while doing heavy training for the bigger games. But we are preparing right now for the Gold Cup and not necessarily for practice games.”

Isani Cayetano

“It might be a bit too early for an immediate postmortem of the game today, but what were some of the strengths and weaknesses that you observed today with the national team?

Via Phone: Charlie Slusher

“I think one of the biggest strengths was today, offensive wise. We are known for our defensive ability, but today for the second half, the team dominated the game when ti comes to possession—keeping the ball and touching the ball around. It was a wonderful thing to see the team playing like that. But the strength of this team Isani presently is that we have one, two, three options. In the UNCAF tournament, we didn’t have options; we only had maybe one person that can play certain spots. But the good thing with this is that we used seven or eight subs in the second half and the team only got better. So it’s good feeling from the coaching staff standpoint to see that you have a lot of options to put on the field to make the team better. And that’s what we didn’t have in the past.”

On March twenty-third, Belize’s national football team also played an international friendly against Trinidad’s Soca Warriors which ended in a scoreless stalemate.  In other football news, the national female under-seventeen selection will play their World Cup qualifier return match against Guatemala on June second at the F.F.B. Stadium in Belmopan.