Friends pray for Jan’s fiancée

Members of the football fraternity are praying for the recovery of Candice Worrell, fiancée of national goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams who remains warded in a serious condition at the St Clair Medical Centre after being attacked by an assailant outside her work place in Chaguanas last month. Williams, a former national youth player and current W Connection goalkeeper has defied the odds and kept goal for his club in recent outings but is hoping that Worrell, who recently gave birth to his daughter, recovers without any permanent damage. National teammates have expressed sympathy and disgust over the incident.

 

Densill Theobald, now based in India, was the captain of the 2007 T&T team that participated at the CONCACAF Gold Cup during which Williams was the number one choice’ keeper, and was shocked on hearing of Worrell’s mishap. “I was totally shocked but saddened and angry at the same time to hear what happened. I know her as a really nice person and to see people like her can suffer such damage at the hands of a criminal who is still out there in public is disgusting,” Theobald said. “It makes you upset. I am in India right now and my kid and her mother are back in Trinidad and it really makes an uncomfortable situation for me, not knowing whether they are safe or not. No one deserves to live in fear that way.”

 

 Stern John was also saddened by what occurred. “I know Jan as a youngster coming up and I saw him with his fiancée earlier this year. It’s really sad to see what went down and I can only hope and pray that she recovers. None of us would like to go through something like this,” said John. TTFF technical director Anton Corneal made a statement on the issue late last month, pledging the Federation’s assistance where possible and senior team manager Peter Rampersad has been in contact with Williams as well as W Connection chairman David John Williams on the matter. Former national coach Russell Latapy also expressed his concern and is wishing Worrell a safe recovery.

 

Daniel rejoins Union, Cato third fastest

National midfielder Keon Daniel who was forced to return home midway through last year’s MLS season due to visa issues, has returned to the Philadelphia Union and will be part of the club’s preseason camp through to February 19. The club confirmed this earlier in the week as Daniel and forward Danny Mwanga reported to camp. Daniel joined the club on August 26,  and scored a goal and added two assists in 18 appearances for the Union, including nine starts. Meantime, Seattle Sounders players were tested for speed Friday at Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton. The fastest time in the 30-metre dash came from trialist forward Darwin Jones, followed by T&T’s 19-year-old Cordell Cato, UW draftee Abdul Aman, former sprint winner Mike Fucito and 6-foot-3 midfielder Christian Sivebaek. “It’s just a measure,” coach Sigi Schmid said. “Running with the ball and running without the ball are two different things. Cato will get to line up against Trinidadian Kevin Molino when Seattle faces Orlando City in a training game later this month. Molino’s City last week signed 21-year-old forward John Rooney, the younger brother of England striker Wayne Rooney.

In other news, Trinidadian Kareem Yearwood, of Sou Sou Lands was signed by US Major Indoor Soccer League club Wichita Wings a week ago after first spending time on the teams practice squad. A rookie in the MISL, Yearwood who plays midfield/forward, played his college soccer at the College of Charleston before spending time with FC Jacksonville Destroyers. 

 

Ryce joins De Paul University

Under-20 women’s team player Brianna Ryce has been signed by De Paul University of the United States for their 2012 program. Ryce was also all-area first team at Holy Spirit Preparatory School and currently plays on the United Football Academy club team. “Brianna has exceptional attacking qualities and is an outstanding one on one,” said DePaul women’s soccer coach Erin Chastain. “She has tremendous pace and aggressiveness. “She has proven her abilities at the highest level with her experience in international competition and will be successful at attacking midfield or up top.”

Ryce, born in the US, played for T&T at the 2010 FIFA Under 17 Women’s World Cup. Her grandmother is Trinidadian, thus her eligibility to be granted a T&T passport which allowed her participation.

 

De Silva: Senior team experience invaluable

Midfielder Sean De Silva says the experience of playing with the national team in its recent 3-2 loss to Finland was an invaluable experience which will put him in better stead for future assignments on the international stage.

De Silva is expected to be part of the T&T Olympic team at the CONCACAF final round of Olympic qualifiers next month in Carson, California. “There’s nothing like playing for your senior national team. I had one opportunity before against Panama in 2010 but to come on against Finland was right up there with my better experiences as a footballer. I thought I did okay but of course I’d like to get more minutes. Unfortunately we couldn’t hold on for a result but I thought we did pretty okay,” said De Silva. “I think the experience was a good one for myself and the other Under 23 players. The other senior players made us feel comfortable and you felt the vibe in terms of it being a senior team that was preparing to play European opposition. I mean, we’re out of the World Cup but the sessions were still intense and the mood is what you would expect for a senior team. Hopefully we can take the best out of this and carry it over to the Olympic team for the qualifiers next month which is definitely a massive tournament for us and a great opportunity to play in another prestigious tournament like the Olympics.”

 

Peltier resumes training 

After coming off a recent minor surgery for a knee injury, forward Lester Peltier is back in training with Slovak club AS Trencin. Peltier, scorer of a hat-trick for T&T in its 4-0 win over Barbados last year, got some much needed rest away from the game recently, spending time in the US, but is now back to business with Trencin. “I had the surgery to correct a problem with my knee but now I’m back in training and feeling as good as ever. I’m really looking forward to a good run with Trencin and helping the club improve its status,” said Peltier. He has been eyed by a couple clubs outside of Slovakia but nothing solid materialised. “Right now I’m focused on improving my record as a player for Trencin and doing my best for the club. I want to better my performances of the past and hopefully whatever the outcome, it will be in my favour but also something where Trencin benefits,” Peltier said.