Midfielder Jomal Williams is still basking in the joy of scoring his first goal in Mexican professional football which came for his team Murcielagos FC in their 1-1 draw with Monarcas Morelia in the third round of the Copa MX last Monday.
Williams moved to Murcielagos alongside former W Connection teammate Shahdon Winchester roughly two months ago, joining countryman Yohance Marshall at the club.
Williams has settled in at the club and been widely accepted by his teammates and fans alike.
"This has been my biggest achievement since arriving at the club. Of course getting your first goal for a club is always something you set out to do," Williams said on Wednesday.
"So far, the club and people of the city have welcomed me with open arms. It was a great feeling. I keep praying for something great that I believe God has in store for me and this is just a step towards that," he added.
His constant interaction with Marshall and Winchester has made his Mexico stay even more enjoyable. "I get along very well with Yohance. He made the process of settling in easier for me. He is always willing to share advice. I have known Shahdon for a long time and we have been playing together for five years. The level of the league is high. The games are very intense and I think it is definitely helping all three of us with our personal games," Williams said.
Williams, a former T&T Under 20 and Under 17 midfielder, made his senior team debut earlier this year and got his first international goal in a 3-1 loss to Uruguay in May.
Jones: MLS interest have been there for a while
He made his Central FC debut on Tuesday, helping the club to its first point in the Concacaf Champions League against MLS outfit Sporting Kansas City but national team captain Kenwyne Jones has had MLS football on his mind for some time now.
The former Stoke City forward spoke about this and more in a recent interview with the US media. He mentioned that having teammates such as Kevin Molino and Aubrey David in the MLS also gave him some assurance that his move would be a suitable one.
"Yeah the interest has been always there. A lot of my teammates on the T&T national team play in the MLS, like Kevin (Molino), Cordell (Cato), Joevin (Jones), Aubrey (David) and Mekeil (Williams). So between talking to them and my camp, I was able to explore my options and make progress," Jone said.
And being closer to home is another big factor for Jones.
"For sure it's a positive impact. On top of being based in Atlanta, I'll be heading out on loan to Central FC so I'll be back home in Trinidad playing again, which I haven't done in a long time. It feels good to be going back and be active there, knowing that I'm a product of quality of football in the TT Pro League. We have World Cup Qualifiers coming up in September and I'm captain of the National Team, then Caribbean Cup rounds in October, so I'll be pretty active in the meantime. I think it's a good time to be home, and a good transitioning phase for me as I get ready for my big move to ATL."
Jones will join his national teammates for a training camp later this month ahead of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against Guatemala on September 2nd at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Louisville coach credits impressive Ranjitsingh
Greg Ranjitsingh is a 23-year-old Canadian-born goalkeeper who has been stopping the shots at an impressive rate for Louisville City FC in the United Soccer League in the United States.
Ranjitsingh qualifies to play for T&T through local parentage and has tried out in the past with national youth teams. The former Mercer University custodian didn't make his debut for Louisville until April this year, coming on in the 75th minute after first choice Scott Goodwin was red carded. And now, in 15 games he's played this season, the club has lost only once. He was third in the league for least number of goals against and had five clean sheets in May.
Louisville coach James O'Connor had good things to say about Ranjitsingh.
"I think he's come in, he's done great, he was disappointed with a couple things, but we've got guys that hold themselves accountable," O'Connor said. "I think for us it's that their standards have been so high and they continue to be that way. ... Somebody scores goals, you don't come in and just credit him, or when a goal goes in you don't just blame Greg."
The Ontario-born player himself is excited about his current form.
"As a goalkeeper I deal with so much pressure, because one mistake and it's in the back of your net," he said. "So I just have to stay clean and consistent so that you can keep a clean sheet. You just have to have the same mentality whether on the field or off, as a backup or a starter."
"After games, if it doesn't go well for me, I'm always usually quiet," Ranjitsingh said. "Even in training, if I don't have a good training session, I'm always quiet and thinking about it."
Ranjitsingh produced another solid performance in a 1-1 draw with Harrisburg City on Wednesday which pushed them to 46 points in the top spot of the USL Eastern Conference.
n Shaun Fuentes is director of Communications for the TTFA. shaunfuentes@yahoo.com