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Cavalier hunt Caribbean Cup victory
August 31, 2023
Coach Rudolph Speid is anticipating another difficult game for Cavalier, who he says are short on preparation and have lost crucial players for their Group A Concacaf Caribbean Cup match today against AC Port of Spain at Sabina Park at 5 p.m.
A win puts Cavalier in pole position, and despite their shortcoming, Speid stated that Cavalier would represent well in their quest for victory.
"Our expectation is not too great. I want to come out with a win, which is the best thing for us at this time.
"After playing the first match, we should be better. AC Port of Spain were the runners-up in the Trinidad league last year.
"The first game (against Defence Force of Trinidad) was difficult because we had not been in competition. It was difficult to get practice games because no team was really training, except for the other teams in the competition," he commented.
The main challenge for Cavalier is losing players like Ronaldo Webster to FK Bregalnica Stip of Macedonia, Dwayne Anderson to IBV in Iceland and Kenroy Campbell, who moved to FK Rigas Futbola Skola (RFS) in Latvia.
"There are about six players; we used to bank on that we do not have. It is something we have accepted and trying to rebuild. So we have a lot of things riding against us, but we will do the best we can," Speid said.
He expects Cavalier to have a slight advantage, playing at home, with the allure of moving on to the next stage being a motivational factor. He believes the Trinidadians will possess some quality and would also fancy their chances of three points.
"Playing (first game) away would have been difficult. A lot of them were travelling for the first time. So playing at home should be better for us. We are in more familiar territory.
"We don't get much chance to look at them (opponents). I have seen one match with the Port of Spain team, but we don't know anything about them.
"They have few former national players, so they are strong, and you know the rivalry between Trinidad and Jamaica is always big.
"If we win this cup, we have a chance of playing one of the big teams in North America, and everybody is contemplating the thought that if we win this cup, we could be playing against the great one (Lionel Messi) at some time in the future," Speid stated.
Moca of the Dominican Republic lead the group with three points. Cavalier and Defence Force have one point, and Golden Lion and Port of Spain are yet to get a point.
