Seniors win could see rise in FIFA ranking
- Dos Santos
By Steve Ninvalle
Stabroek News
February 18, 2004
Guyana's 2-0 defeat of Barbados last Sunday was above the expectations of Guyana Football Federation's (GFF) Technical Director Neider Dos Santos and should push Guyana up in the FIFA ranking.
The technical director, who returned here on Monday evening along with the team, praised the players for a mature performance. "We played much better than Barbados. We had five or six scoring opportunities. I would say that the performance was above my expectations," Dos Santos said.
The friendly international, played in Bridgetown, resulted in Guyana's seniors breaking a more-than-a-decade run without a victory over the Barbadians.
Striker Gregory `Jackie Chan' Richardson and midfielder Neil `Energizer' Hernandez scored the goals that carried Guyana to the historic win.
"We were only training for about 20 days while Barbados was together for three months. They were tough but we played better than them."
Dos Santos also praised the maturity shown by players. "One [Barbadian] player cuffed Richardson and was sent off. Richardson didn't retaliate. That showed maturity. Also when the penalty was denied our players didn't behave unruly. They were composed.
"In my assessment we had a well-blended team. We had five Under-23s, five overseas-based and one senior local player in the starting line-up. We did well and the victory should give us a good jump in the next FIFA ratings."
Sunday's game was part of Guyana's preparation for the World Cup Qualifier which begins on February 28. Guyana play host Grenada, with the return match fixed for March 14 at the Blairmont ground.
Dos Santos confirmed that there would be no other international practice games before the first encounter with Grenada.
"There will be no other international warm-up matches. Maybe we will have one game against a local team next weekend," Dos Santos said.