IN SPITE OF a demoralising double defeat to Dominica, Barbados’ football captain Norman Forde is optimistic of a good showing in their first-round Digicel Caribbean Cup group qualifier which kicks off in St Vincent next week.
Barbados lost for the first time to Dominica, going down 0-2 on Saturday and 1-3 on Sunday in back-to-back friendly internationals at the National Stadium.
The Bajan Tridents will open their Digicel Cup campaign against St Kitts-Nevis on Wednesday at Victoria Park, and Forde believes they can top the group, which also includes Montserrat and hosts St Vincent and the Grenadines.
“I think we are creating chances to score but I think what we have to really work on is our defence, because I think we are defending really poorly and breaking down there,” Forde said in an interview with NATION SPORT last Sunday night after the second game.
“But while I think the finishing is also going to be a problem, at the end of the day, I think the guys are going to come good,” the captain added.
Forde, 33, who is among an elite group of players to make more than 100 appearances for his country, said the two losses were depressing.
“It is disappointing because for as long as I was playing for the national team, we never got beaten by Dominica,” he said.
However, Forde pointed out that Barbados had not played an international match in almost two years and the team had only been in serious training for a month.
“This is the first time that the team has been together in two years. So far, we only had about a full month’s training and the team [is] still gelling, so I’m hoping for the best going to St Vincent.
“I think the team [has] got what it takes to do better but the time that we had to prepare really wasn’t good enough,” he contended.
Forde said he was still pleased with the performances of some of the new players, who have been drafted into the squad, especially the Deacons pair of Jason Carter and Kadeem Atkins.
“The youngsters are new and [have] still got time to try to get into the national team but we are going to St Vincent to play in a Group qualifier, so we [have] got to go out to win.
“We can’t really be trying players at that point, so I guess that’s why the coach [Thomas Jordan] said he wanted to see them in these friendly games [against Dominica],” Forde added.