Soca Warriors upbeat ahead of first Concacaf Gold Cup qualifier

MIDFIELDERS Khaleem Hyland and Duane Muckette said the vibes in the national senior men’s football camp is positive heading into the Concacaf Gold Cup first round qualifying match against Montserrat at the DRV PNK Stadium in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, from 9.30 pm, on Friday.

If Trinidad and Tobago win on Friday they will advance to play the second round qualifier on Tuesday. If TT emerge victorious again they will play in the Gold Cup from July 10.

Speaking to the TT Football Association media on Thursday Hyland said he likes the energy leading up to the match.

“So far since I have been here the vibes, everything is great, “Hyland said.

“It’s great to wear the red white and black again and be here amongst the guys. It is new staff, new energy (and) everything is going positive and great so far. We know the importance of the game tomorrow. It is a must win game for us to go on to the next playoff game. We just taking it step by step and hopefully tomorrow (Friday) we could do the job.”

Former national player Angus Eve was recently hired as the interim head coach after Terry Fenwick was fired.

Discussing Friday’s game further, Hyland said, “The key for us pulling it together is what we have been doing everyday in training – working hard…encouraging each other. At the end of the day goals win matches and we need to keep our end strong and defensively we need to work together and hopefully we can score enough goals so we can come out victorious at the end of the day.”

Muckette said, “I feel like we are very ready. We know that we have to win the game, we know the importance of the game and the vibes in the camp is just very good. I am very pleased with the boys and the readiness I think we have, so I feel like we will get the job done and move on to the next stage.”