Trinidad and Tobago Under-20 footballers must put aside the distraction of the last week to ensure a place in CONCACAF qualifying, starting today, when they meet Guyana in a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) group match in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Skipper Duane Muckette and his men face Guyana's "Young Jaguars" in their first match of the qualifiers at Victoria Park in Kingstown from 5.30 p.m.

The hosts tackle the other team in Group Four, Suriname, two hours later at the same venue.

The T&T team have had to contend with a lack of international warm-ups due to the ongoing financial woes of the T&T Football Federation (TTFF). And coach Michael McComie was last week replaced with Ross Russell—who was previously the goalkeeping and assistant coach—after being suspended following an alleged incident between McComie and player Alvin Jones.

McComie is under investigation over the matter, when the W Connection player reportedly collapsed during a team session.

Team T&T left for St Vincent on Monday. They have since changed their base after the initial hotel was deemed unsatisfactory.

But despite their hiccups in recent time, coach Ross Russell is happy with his team's mindset ahead of today's opener.

"We are confident going into this first match," Russell told TTFF media officer Shaun Fuentes before yesterday's one-hour training session at the match venue, "but we are aware that the game will be no walk in the park."

"We expect nothing such as an easy time when you come to islands like these to play in competitions. Thankfully we are in a great hotel now and the boys are comfortable and focused on the task ahead."

Russell is wary of the Guyanese team, but his confidence lies in T&T's pre-tournament preparations.

"...We are aware that they have a few players who have been with their senior World Cup team," Russell said. "This means they will have some experience and will pose a decent challenge. But we have been preparing well for three months or so. The guys know they need to bring the energy and the fight into this tournament and we are simply waiting for the kick off with a lot of expectations."

Included in Guyana's squad is Caledonia AIA midfielder Treyon Bobb, as well as Daniel Wilson, Pernell Schultz and Les Charles Crichlow, all of whom have played for the senior "Golden Jaguars".

Trinidad and Tobago will depend on FC Santa Rosa's Muckette and T&T Under-23 player Jomal Williams in midfield, along with national Under-17 winger Akeem Garcia and defender Shannon Gomez.

The more seasoned Shakiel Henry, who skippered Presentation College San Fernando to Secondary Schools Football League South Zone victory last year, is in the T&T forward line.

According to Muckette, the T&T players are "anxious" to come up against Guyana.

Said Muckette: "This is just the first leg of the competition and we know it's a long road ahead, but the key to us doing well is settling in early and getting good results, and producing winning performances from match one.

"Most of the guys here are well experienced and they have been working hard and maintaining a desire to succeed. For me, that is a key ingredient and I'm hoping we can go out and get strong results in all these three matches."

T&T will also face Suriname on Friday and close the group against home team St Vincent and the Grenadines on Sunday.

The group winners and the three best second-placed teams from the four groups will head to the CFU final round competition in Jamaica in November.

The qualifiers from there will compete in the CONCACAF round of qualifiers in February for a spot in the 2013 Under-20 World Cup in Turkey.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com