WALTER ALIBEY
T&T coach Stephen Hart has summoned Shahdon Winchester as the replacement for attacking midfielder Keron Cummings who has been ruled out of the Copa America Centenario qualifier versus Haiti after being shot in the right leg in the wee hours of Sunday morning outside his Petit Valley home.
Winchester of Princes Town and who plays his trade with DirecTV W Connection, joined the team’s live-in training camp yesterday and was expected to work out with the team at 8.30 am at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium and later at 6 pm at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. Hart conducted his first session on Sunday evening at the Port-of-Spain venue, mere hours after Cummings was ambushed and shot for reasons that still continue to confuse coach Hart and his teammates.
Cummings was expected to report for training yesterday as the team looks forward to the all important encounter against Haiti on January 8 in Panama City, Panama with the winner advancing to the Copa America tournament which is being held for the first time in the United States. Sunday’s turn-out was minus just a few players, with the likes of Khaleem Hyland, Kevan George, Andre Boucaud, Justin Hoyte and Jonathan Glenn scheduled to enter camp this week. He is expected to have his full complement of 23 players by January 2.
Meanwhile, Central FC striker Willis Plaza has also been ruled out due to a shoulder injury and Tobagonian Rundell Winchester has been called up as his replacement. The Winchesters are not related.
Hart said he was keen to commence training but was saddened by the news that hit the team camp earlier in the day concerning Cummings. “This is the part that I enjoy and I think we all enjoy, having the players here and on the field and back in training. The opening session is just to get everybody in the right frame of mind and in the right spirit,” Hart said following the session on Sunday.
On the matter of Cummings, he said: “I think if there is a silver lining in a shooting is that he (Cummings) is alive. Hopefully he is in good hands. We wish him all the best to get back healthy, and then we can think about his football again. All the players and the staff are in full support. We’ll see him and give him our support. I think we have to rally around that and the game now has an extra meaning now because he was a big part of us.”
Concerning the squad, Hart said “It’s one game and it’s one mission to win. The main thing now is to get players sharp. Some of them have been off for a little while and others have been playing. The main thing is to get them in the right frame of mind and the mental attitude has to be right. We have to know that we are going into a game that is going to be a dog fight, but it is one thing to get into a prestigious tournament but something where you can’t put a price on the experience the players will get in playing in a tournament like that.”
Hart also welcomed the inclusion of Ataulla Guerra and Jomal Williams in the squad. “I think the season they are having, gives them an opportunity to come into the squad. I have shown confidence in picking them and now it’s for them to fight their way into the starting lineup, to train properly and show me that they cannot be left out unless it is for tactical reasons,” Hart explained.
Hart said the team would focus on the business of playing football following the recent episode regarding outstanding wages. “It is unfortunate what happened. To be fair, the new regime came in and they were not aware of the entire situation and it is unfortunate. It is very understandable in terms of the players and you have to support that but that’s behind us now and hopefully mentally behind us also because it was extremely taxing mentally.” said Hart.
After the session, TTFA President David John-Williams, who was also at practice, paid a visit to Cummings at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital and Team Doctor Terence Babwah has also been monitoring the player’s progress. The FA will continue to keep abreast of his progress and will make the efforts to ensure the player receives the necessary support during his recovery period. The members of the team also kept their wounded teammate in prayer at the start of Sunday’s training session.