Either T.S. Strikers or Broad Street Men and Women Red Tridents will be booted out of the LIME Pelican Football Challenge at the National Stadium tonight.
Neither has won a match so far and both now face a Herculean task in their final preliminary match against opponents, seeking to top the group and have a crack in the quarter-finals at either Scotty’s Combined Stars or Direct TV Red Snappers, who finished third and fourth, respectively, in Group B.
Red Tridents, on just two points from two draws and a loss, will play unbeaten José and José Bajan Pride Ballers, who lead Group A with seven points, in the first match of the double header at 6 p.m.
A victory for the Tridents will eliminate T.S. Strikers even before they kick a ball in their night-cap encounter with fellow Christ Church-based Phoenix UFO Toyota Fire House at 8:15 p.m.
But should Tridents lose or draw, it would open a window of hope for T.S. Strikers, who have a solitary point after losing their last two matches following an opening draw with Nu Look 360 Connection.
Red Tridents, like their sponsors, shopped around for some brand-name players during the draft, assembling a line-up of past and present national footballers.
Riviere Williams, Jonathan Straker, Romelle Burgess, Dwayne “Boot” Griffith, Rondelle Vaughan, Omar Archer and John Hawkesworth, Elvin Griffith, Walton Burrowes Terry Odle, veteran goalkeeper Vasco Husbands, Quincy Atherley, Duwayne Peters and young defender Ricardio Morris have all worn national colours at some stage.
In addition, there are also promising players like Corey “Santa” Barrow, Shane Hinds, Mark Armstrong and lanky striker Wyatt Maynard but the Tridents have only flattered to deceive.
It is now or never for them to gel and get their act together while doing the job for themselves instead of hoping Fire House smoke out T.S. Strikers.
A 2-1 victory would make it very interesting in determining the third and fourth positions in this group as both the Tridents and 360 Connection, who played to a goalless draw when they met, would be tied on five points with the same goals for and against.
But whatever the result of the first game, T.S. Strikers may have joined forces with the Barbados Water Authority to put out the flames of a Fire House outfit, boasting the likes of Norman Forde, Paul “Soup” Lovell, Oscar Nero, Barry Skeete and Ricky Barnes with Jason Boxill between the uprights.
Apart from injuries to some key players, there have also been reports of a decline in the attendance at training sessions called by T.S. Strikers.
With victory a must, T.S. Strikers will have to go on an all-out attack and utilise most of their attacking options.
Brothers Jamal and Jabarry Chandler, veteran Dwayne Gayle, Sherwin Success, Damien Seales, Jason Goodridge are all capable of scoring goals as well as Shane “Plucky” Welch, who may get his first taste of action.
They will welcome back hard-working diminutive midfielder Renaldo Marques but it may just be too late to stop them from going through the exit door with Higher Learning.
