Friday, November 20, 2009
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Bahamas women set to play today By KELSIE JOHNSON ~ NG Sports Reporter ~ kelsie@nasguard.com: The Bahamas' Under-17 (U-17) Women National Soccer Team will take to the field today against the Cayman Islands, at the National Stadium in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The 18-member team is competing in the first stage of the Caribbean Football Union's (CFU) U-17 Women tournament. The Bahamas will play in Group A with host country Haiti, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands. A win will qualify the team for the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) U-17 Women's World Cup in 2010. Team Bahamas along with executive members of the Bahamas Football Association (BFA) arrived in Haiti on Saturday, October 31. The team is being headed by coach Vandyke Bethel, who revealed that the team was adjusting very well and were in high spirits. "For the most part, Haiti is a place you need to adjust to and I think the girls are doing pretty good," said Bethel just before heading off to their first practice session. "My only concern is what the team does and can we do the things we are trained to do. I (will) have to deal with what happens at the game once the game starts. "I feel good about this team, even though they are a little nervous. (At practice session) We are trying to work on some minor details of our game. There were some things that I've recognized that we need to work on, particularly with young players. We need to know how to communicate with them in the right manor so that we can be effective and have production on the field." Although Bethel has never seen the Cayman Islands under-17 female squad play before, he believes that their game plan is similar to that of their under-20 team. Having watched their under-20 team play in Turks and Caicos last year, Bethel has devised a game plan which he hopes will be effective against them. He said: "We are going to come out with a plan, but all of that will be subject to change, based on what they are doing. We will try our best to find weak areas and see what they do and try to exploit those areas. Hopefully the things that we are weak in we can cover them (at practice) so that we can play the best we can - at a high level." Team Bahamas' second match is set for November 6, against host country Haiti. The final game will be played against the British Virgin Islands. This too is scheduled for November 6. Host country Haiti is scheduled to play today at 6:00 p.m. against the British Virgin Islands. Even though Bethel knows that the match against Haiti is a big one for Team Bahamas, he said that the focus is on the Cayman Islands. "Right now I just want us, myself and the team, to focus on Cayman Islands," said Bethel. "We are going to take it one game at a time. The play from the first game can change, but we need to just work on that game first. Since Haiti is going to play at the same venue, at 6:00 p.m., we will have a chance to sit and watch them and kind of move on from there. That will give us a better chance to prepare for the that game (Haiti). It will give me a clear idea on what I would like to do. That will be one of the games where I can prepare a lot better, compared to the first game where I wasn't able to see the Cayman Islands, so everything will be based on how they play, what I would like us to do defensively and what I know we can do offensively. It is two different types of games," he added. The Bahamas is hoping to win the first stage of the CFU U-17 women's tournament which will bring the team one step closer to the eight-team final in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). The tournament will host the three countries from the Caribbean along with Costa Rica, the United States, Mexico and Canada. One additional country from the Central American and Caribbean region will be named on November 15.
Monday November 2, 2009 |
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