From left: Ronson Williams, Howard Low, Dough Petersen and Abassey McPherson
The Guyanese footballers currently campaigning in the United States are making the best of their opportunities so far.
Three of the seven are on trial with a top New York club for professional contracts, while the others are keeping Team Guyana in contention for top honors in the Digicel Caribbean Cup.
National captain and top defender Howard Lowe, goalkeeper Ronson Williams and midfielder Abassey McPherson displayed their skills before officials of FC New York in an initial session, and will have another trial later this week.
FC New York is a leading contender in the United States Soccer League (USL) Pro, which essentially is one level below Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of competition in the country.
Its coach Paul Shaw and president Dough Petersen have been immediately impressed with the Guyanese trio, especially Lowe.
According to Guyana’s international coordinator Garth Nelson, the team president Dough Petersen has dubbed Lowe “Ice Man” and has made him a leading candidate to be drafted into the team for next year’s roster.
Nelson said the Guyanese players can only be drafted for 2012, as the 2011 season is well underway and will conclude within three months.
USL clubs are allowed seven foreign players and one or more of the Guyanese trio could be the first to rep resent the club, which produced an impressive showing in a narrow 2- 1 loss to MLS powerhouse New York Red Bulls in the U.S. Cup before a huge crowd and national television audience last weekend at Red Bulls Stadium.
The cup is the United States’ version of England’s FA Cup, which involves clubs from all levels of competition in a knockout series.
The trio and the other four players are aiming to win Team Guyana’s first ever Digicel Caribbean Cup title.
Team Guyana defeated St Lucia and held the Grenada national team, which competed in the Gold Cup, to a 0-0 draw in their highlight performances so far. They also drew with Dominica before the locals joined the squad.
Nelson said he is quite impressed with 19-year-old Kevin Beaton, a former Topp XX striker who scored a hat-trick against St Lucia and netted another three-goal tally against a Greek New York line- up in a practice game last week.
“He has a bright future and should make a big impact for the Guyana national team in the near future,” the New York-based Nelson stated.
Devon Millington, Dwight Peters, and Dwain Jacobs are among the other locals campaigning in the Big Apple.
Meanwhile, Nelson confirmed that Gregory “Jackie Chan” Richardson, Guyana’s leading forward, was traded to the Puerto RICO islanders from the USL’s Carolina Rail Hawks, and not to the MLS’ Seattle Sounders, contrary to local reports.
