It is another cou cou and callaloo clash, and soccer fans could be in for a delicious dinner-time dish!
This time it is on the biggest football stage with a key World Cup CONCACAF Zone Group B qualifying match between arch-rivals Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago at the National Stadium this afternoon.
Kick-off time is 4 p.m., and the Bajan Tridents, smarting from a 2-0 away defeat to Guyana in their first-leg tie last Friday night, will need plenty of spectator support to gain their first victory over the Soca Warriors in 14 years.
With the early start, fans, who have been urged to don their national colours, will be rushing from work to get to the Stadium.
Tickets will be available at Sports & Games at the corner of James and Roebuck Street in Bridgetown and the Netball Stadium, as under FIFA rules no tickets can be sold at the match venue on match day.
Back in 1997, Barbados defeated the Trinidadians 1-0 at the Shell/Umbro Cup with Jerry Alexander scoring.
It was the first win for Barbados over Trinidad since 1995, but later that year, Trinidad earned a 1-1 draw at Dover in a friendly.
The Bajan Tridents also earned a 1-1 draw with the Soca Warriors in 2007 Digicel final round in theWarriors’ backyard at the Haseley Crawford Stadium after Neil Harvey’s second-half equaliser cancelled out Gary Glasgow’s first-half goal.
In the 2008 Digicel Football Final, Trinidad were 2-1 victors.
Trinidad and Tobago will be looking to make it two wins on a trot after their narrow 1-0 victory over a plucky Bermuda side.
That result should give Barbados some confidence as it appears the aura of invincibility Trinidadians once had on Caribbean teams in the late 1980s and 1990s with their Strike Squad has gradually been eroded.
Kenwyne Jones and LA Galaxy midfielder Chris Birchall will lead the Trinidadian attack against a Barbados defence marshalled by lanky six-footer Barry Skeete, who may no longer be wearing the captain’s armband.
Skeete, along with Jonathan Straker, Omar Archer and new boy Jason Lovell are likely to have a busy evening trying to protect first-choice goalkeeper Jason Boxhill, who had an outstanding game against Guyana with numerous saves.
Reports indicate that former captain and play-making midfielder Norman Forde will again lead the national side.
He will again be joined in midfield by the diminutive defensive-minded Gall Hill player Renaldo Marques and England-based teenager Louis Moss.
Barbados will also need an improved performance from their England-based Dagenham and Redbridge striker John Nurse as well as home-based strikers Mario Harte and Riviere Williams.
