All is not lost Spice Boyz

by Michael Bascombe

WASHINGTON, DC, July 5, 2009 - The next two (2) games in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup are important for the Spice Boyz, after a 4-0 defeat to the United States in their opening game of Group B in Seattle on Saturday.

Despite the set back the players remain a motivated group and look forward to their remaining assignments this week – Haiti in Washington DC on Wednesday and against Honduras in Boston on Saturday.

While the result wasn’t what many expected the Grenada team fell short of their expectations. Grenada and Nicaragua, making their debuts, are the underdogs in the 12-team tournament and the defeat against the number ranked team in the CONCACAF could only heighten their determination.

Speaking during the post game media briefing, coach Tommy Taylor said that the team needed to work up and move as a unit, as well as come back as a unit. “I didn’t think we passed the ball that well,” he said.

It’s the third time Grenada has faced the United States, losing the previous two in 2004 during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. However, most of the players are getting a taste of international football and this could do more to their confidence.

Grenada and Nicaragua, making their debuts, are the underdogs in the 12-team tournament and the defeat against the number ranked team in the CONCACAF could only heighten their determination.

I expect the critics to begin their onslaught on the team and its performance. However, I would summarise their comments as hypocritical since it took a defeat against the United States for them to begin talking football and the team. And then there are those who believe that they would have done better, and players who should not be on the team.

How many of them wished the team best of luck as they departed on this journey – something no other national football team has achieved in the history of football in Grenada?

I expected to hear the many congratulations including “we are the best” and “go Spice Boyz” if the result was different. But all is not lost since there was a lively ongoing discussion on social networking site Facebook during the game.

Both Shalrie Joseph (injured) and Jason Roberts (retired) conveyed best wishes to the team prior to the game against the United States. The two players professionals are quite familiar with the performance require at this level of the game since they were members of the Spice Boyz squad which terrorized the United States in 2004.

Joseph is expected to join the national team for Wednesday’s game.

There were pockets of Grenadian support around the stadium including a family of five journeyed from Vancouver, B.C. and a couple living in the Seattle area. Harold Pysadee and Titus Neckles are always passionate about sports and flew to the northwest to support the national team.

I expect to see more Grenadians turning out for the remaining games at RFK Stadium in the nation’s capital, and another big expression of patriotism at Gillette Stadium in Boston on Saturday.

There is no time for excuses but for the team to build on the experience of playing in the Gold Cup Tournament.

They have reached that far and it provides a level of respectability for the game on the island. The players don’t have the pleasure of training in the best of conditions and recent attempts to attract top level teams to the island were thwarted due to the unavailability of an acceptable playing surface.

Click on video to watch interview with captain Anthony Modeste.