Arnett Gardens begin hunt for CONCACAF Champions League berth
Port-Au-Prince, Haiti — Jamaica’s Arnett Gardens take on W Connection of Trinidad and Tobago in the semi-final of the Caribbean Football Union Club Championship today knowing that a victory will qualify them for the CONCACAF Champions League.
The match will be played at 4:30 pm at the Stade Sylvio Cator, after which host Don Bosco FC of Haiti tackle Central FC of Trinidad and Tobago at 7:00 pm.
Three of the four teams will qualify for the ScotiaBank CONCACAF Champions League with the two semi-final winners earning their berths, while the losers play off for the third spot, and Arnett Gardens’ head coach Jerome Waite wants to book his spot after the first game.
“We can make use of the very first game at hand because once you win that game you qualify for the quarter-final round. We are definitely going all out for the first game,” said Waite.
“In terms of their performance last season, they are the number two team out of Trinidad and we are going out there to take up that advantage. We know it’s not going to be easy. It’s a physical team based on information and they play good, attractive football,” he added.
“W Connection is a team that has done well over the years. They have some exciting players, strong players, pretty much a physical team. They have two speedy players as well as a good defender and also an excellent goalkeeper, who is a national goalkeeper,” Waite pointed out.
“Despite all of that, we just want the team to focus on the game at hand and execute the game plan,” he said.
The ‘Junglists’ arrived in Haiti on Wednesday following a one-hour chartered flight and spent nearly two hours in traffic en route to the Royal Oasis Hotel.
The Arnett Gardens players will have to adapt quickly to the astro turf field at the Stade Sylvio Cator, said Waite, who will be looking at how well they adjust during training later.
The approach to the game against W Connection will be one of caution, especially in the first half, as they hunt that crucial win in a game that could go into extra time and penalties.
“We will have to feel them out in the first half to see what they are made of. So it’s a situation where you try to play compact, especially in defence, not to give up anything, then see what they have to offer and execute in the second half,” said Waite.
