Barbados will be bolstered by the inclusion of three English-based footballers for their opening away World Cup qualifying football match against Guyana next Friday at the National Stadium in Providence.
Dagenham and Redbridge’s striker Jonathan Nurse, who played in the 2008 campaign against Dominica and the United States, has been recalled as well as another striker Craig Worrell, who plays for Cheltenham City in the English League Two.
Also called up is teenaged midfielder Louis Moss of Wrexham, an English Conference side. Moss’ sibling Edward also played junior football for Barbados.
The Barbados team, fresh from a 4-0 home blanking of lowly-rated St Lucia last Sunday, will leave for Georgetown on Monday for a short camp before taking on the Golden Jaguars at 7 p.m. in the first leg of the home and away tie.
“As the campaign goes on, we will be looking for other Barbadians, playing not only in England but other places,” general secretary of the Barbados Football Association (BFA) David Hinds told WEEKEND SPORT.
“Any players who can enhance the team, the BFA?will look at. So far, we had 15 contacts from overseas players but we are verifying their parentage to make sure that they are first- or second-generation Barbadians,” Hinds said.
Two of Barbados’ most prominent overseas-based footballers, Emmerson Boyce, who recently signed another two-year contract with English Premier League side Wigan, and Paul Ifill, are unavailable for the first match because they are awaiting new Barbados passports.
But Hinds said the BFA?was trying to sort out that problem so that they would be able to play the second match at home when Barbados host Trinidad and Tobago at the National Stadium on September 6, at 4 p.m.
“FIFA rules stipulates that you must have a passport of the country which you are playing for,” Hinds pointed out.
After scoring ten goals in 28 matches last season, Nurse, 30, has found the nets just once in four matches so far.
Former captain Norman Forde will also be travelling to Guyana with the 18-man team which includes 2010 Player of the Year, 18-year-old striker Kyle Gibson.
Coach Colin “Potato” Forde said he was happy with the overall performance of the side in last Sunday’s tune-up against the St Lucians.
“The forwards looked sharp. They were busy and we got goals from them. The midfield with Norman Forde coming back in, stepped up, I would say by probably 40 to 50 per cent, so it was a good performance from the midfield players and the defence did what I wanted them to do: not to concede a goal,” said the coach.
He reckons the playing in Guyana won’t be “an easy task”.
“We played there twice and we lost both games but the team is shaping the way I want it to shape gradually, and by the time we meet Guyana we will be ready,” he said.
Forde said he was heartened by the display from the youthful Kadeem Atkins, who scored two goals in his first start for Barbados after coming on as a substitute on his debut in last year’s Digicel Cup campaign in St Vincent.
“Atkins has been looking very sharp at practice. He’s very speedy, very tricky with the ball, so I told him to go out there and play his normal game, look to get forward, look to create and take shots and he did that and the bonus that he scored two lovely goals,” Forde said.
The coach reckoned that Gibson, who is now in the Barbados Defence Force’s Sports Programme, will be a lot more settled now after scoring his first goal for the senior team.
“Like I said, I’m going to give the youngsters an opportunity. Kyle is a very hard-working centre forward, very disciplined, and I have no problem with him. He will always go in and try his best. I’m glad that he got a goal which would help lift his confidence,” added Forde.
Gibson is joined by his BDF teammate defender Jason Lovell and former United States-based college striker Dwayne Mars.
Midfielder Dwayne “Boot” Griffith misses out despite an impressive debut against St Lucia.