Eve wants AEK star Garcia firing ahead of Copa play-in

AEK ATHENS leading goal-scorer Levi Garcia scored his third brace of the season on March 10, coming on as a late substitute to helping the team return to the summit of the table, with a 4-0 away win over Lamia in round one of the Greece Super League playoffs.

Garcia had missed two of his club's last three games with a slight injury, and was subbed off at halftime on February 28 against Giannina. His return for the playoffs was a welcome addition and he was introduced in the 78th minute with his team leading 2-0. The Trinidad and Tobago forward took just ten minutes to score with a stunning individual effort.

Athens goalkeeper Cican Stankovic initiated a counter-attack, sending the ball long towards the right flank, just beyond the middle of the pitch, for Garcia. The TT forward shrugged off his defender before bringing the ball under control with an immaculate first touch. He then blew past another player as he drifted inside and towards goal, before executing a fierce left-footed drive from just outside the box into the top of the net.

He scored again deep in stoppage time to add the icing on the cake for AEK Athens, who sit two points ahead of PAOK FC.

Garcia now sits third in the Greek Super League goal-scorers chart, with 13 goals in 13 matches. Ayoub El Kaabi of Olympiacos leads with 15 goals but featured in eight more matches than Garcia this season.

Garcia’s return to partial fitness and immediate goal-scoring form kept his name fresh on the tongues of TT fans and head coach Angus Eve, who is seeking to narrow his shortlist of players for the crucial March 23 Copa America play-in game against Canada in Texas.

“We’re cautiously optimistic about Levi maintaining his form, and hopefully staying injury-free,” Eve told Newsday in a telephone interview on March 10.

Garcia has had injury problems this season and missed the majority of TT's Concacaf Nations League campaign. He has not played for TT since coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3-0 first-leg defeat to the United Stated in the Nations League, last November.

However, once fit, he has impressed in front of goal in almost all of his Super League appearances.

“As you know, we haven’t really played with Levi (recently),” Eve said, “And we do have a number of players who are playing (consistently).”

Eve did acknowledge Garcia’s contribution, saying, “When not injured, Levi has been in tremendous form for his club and we would only hope that he can maintain that level of intensity and match fitness that we can have with our ranks.”

He said he will not consider Garcia an automatic starter, even at full fitness, out of respect for other players vying for selection.

“Everyone has to fight for their place and once they maintain their fitness and their match fitness, which are two different things, they have the opportunity to play for the country.”

Newsday asked Eve whether there might be reluctance from some, including AEK Athens, to release a recently injured player for national duty.

He said the TT Football Association and team management have a respectable relationship with national team players’ clubs, and does not experience such problems.

“We’re fortunate that, as a staff – the administrative manager, myself, Mr Richard Piper and Dr (Akash) Dhanai – we have relationships with the medical staff of every team, especially those players who have injury issues. We liaise with them, we get reports from them, we submit reports to them.”

He said he understands Jong PSV’s Dante Gilbert has increased his playing time after returning from injury, along with Judah Garcia, Levi’s younger brother of AEK Athens B.

“We keep abreast of all the players,” Eve said, “by communicating with them individually, the coaches and, for the injured ones, our medical department deals with them.

“We work in synchronisation with the clubs.”