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• Jamaica to host T&T U-17s for two friendly games in week-long camp

  Jamaica's Under-17 team will host their Trinidad and Tobago counterparts for two international friendly encounters this weekend.

  The games, which forms part of a week-long camp for both teams, will also see the young Soca Warriors, who are scheduled to arrive in the island on Wednesday, lock horns with a local club team during their visit. The first game is scheduled for the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence, CHBC on Friday at 4:00pm, while the second encounter will take place on Sunday at 9:00am.

  Trinidad and Tobago will then close their visit against the youth team of a prominent club, next Tuesday.

  Both the young Reggae Boyz, to be guided by former Reggae Boy midfielder Altimont "Freddy" Butler, Carlton Simmonds and Vassel Reynolds, and the Shawn Cooper-coached young Soca Warriors are preparing for the Concacaf Men's Under-17 Championship which was pushed back to 2025. The tournament was initially scheduled for August this year.

  According to recently installed Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president, Kieron Edwards, this friendly initiative is in line with the TTFA’s application to the FIFA Talent Development Scheme, which aims to provide additional resources to member associations for the elite youth national teams.

  Edwards insisted that there will be continuous efforts to provide opportunities for exposure and match preparation for the various national teams.

  “In keeping with the executive’s mantra to strengthen partnerships and our relationship with our brothers in CFU, we are pleased to be embarking on this journey to Jamaica,” said Edwards.

  “Despite the challenges, the commitment to the continued development of our high-performance programme shines through. This trip marks a pivotal step towards our U-17 team’s quest to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2025. It’s a testament to the dedication of all involved, securing this opportunity mere days after the new executive’s installation," he added.

  The current T&T U-17 selection features several players who have graduated from the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association High Performance Programme and competed at the CONCACAF Boys Under-15 Championship in the Dominican Republic last August, recording memorable wins against Costa Rica and Qatar.

  T&T squad: Antuan Louison, Seth Hadeed, Jonathan Mason (Fatima College); Alejandro Harper, Eran Mc Leod (CIC); Nikosi Foncette, Kyron Baptiste, Josiah Simmons, Jimally Renne (Presentation College, Sando); Jasai Theophilus, Jayden Christophe (QRC); Dimitre Jones, Keston Richards (Arima North Sec); Jaydon Caprietta, Jeremiah Daniel, Adasa Richardson, Antonio Hills, Mikhail Clement (Naparima College); Salim Soanes (St Benedict’s College); Necose Moore (Chaguanas North Sec); Riquelme Phillips (Speyside High School)

• Archer included in England's T20 World Cup squad

  Jofra Archer has been recalled to England’s provisional squad for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States this June.

  The 29-year-old, who has not played competitive cricket since May due to a long-term elbow injury, could make his first appearance for the international team since a tour of Bangladesh in March 2023.

  Archer has been limited to just 15 T20Is since his England debut in 2019 and missed their 2022 World Cup success in Australia due to the same injury.

  There is a recall for fellow fast-bowler Chris Jordan, who last played for England against New Zealand in September 2023, at the expense of Chris Woakes.

  Uncapped Lancashire left-arm spinner, Tom Hartley, is also named in Jos Buttler’s 15-man squad, which includes nine players from the 2022 World Cup.

  England will play a four-match T20 series against Pakistan at Headingley in May before they begin their T20 World Cup title defence against Scotland in Barbados on 4 June.

  England’s provisional squad:

  Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, To Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingston, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.

• Captain fantastic: Reid again on target as Arnett Gardens edge Portmore United to book semi-final spot

  As the famous English proverbs states “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.”

  That’s the mindset of Arnett Gardens’s Head coach Xavier Gilbert, who is backing his team to not only overcome the Cavalier hurdle in the semi-final, but also to possibly go all the way in this season’s Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League.

  Gilbert’s thoughts followed their 1-0 win over Portmore United in second-leg quarterfinal action, as Arnett Gardens wrapped up a 2-1 aggregate scoreline at Sabina Park on Monday.

  Captain fantastic, Fabian Reid, was again the saviour, as he got the all-important strike in the 90th minute to break Portmore United’s heart and ensure the five-time champions remain on course for the final.

  With the “Junglists” last title coming back in the 2016/17 season, Gilbert is optimistic about breaking the drought, but first they will have to get by last season’s beaten finalist, Cavalier in the semi-final, which kicks off on Sunday.

  Arnett Gardens, who fell at the semi-final stage to eventual champions Mount Pleasant FA last year, lost 0-3 and drew 2-2 with Cavalier earlier this season.

  “We knew it would only get tougher as we go on, and that's a given. But when the situation becomes difficult, that’s when we need to show our strength and stand up to it. So, yes, it will be another tough encounter against Cavalier, but we have to prepare mentally and physically for it, and then analyse how we're going to approach that game tactically,” Gilbert said in a post-game interview.

  “But I'm happy that we got the win tonight. I thought we created some good opportunities, and we just didn't finish. We knew that it was just a matter of time, and we finally got it (the goal) in the end. I am happy for the players, I think they really deserve it, and it's a huge boost heading into, into the semi-final. They should be confident for that (semi-final) game, and we're just going to go back, recover and get ready for it,” he added.

  It was a fairly decent, but goalless first half, as both teams evenly matched strides and had their fair share of chances to break the deadlock. Arnett Gardens initially looked more threatening in open play, but the best chance of the half fell to Portmore United in the 39th minute, when Alex Marshall’s glancing header sent Chevaughn Walsh through on goal, but the striker sporting the number nine jersey, couldn’t beat Eric Edwards, who left his line well to block the effort.

  Prior to that, Chevany Willis’s seventh-minute freekick for Arnett Gardens, came back off the crossbar, while Keheim Dixon went on a break in the 10th minute, but was taken out by Portmore United’s custodian Benjamin Williams, who strayed well outside his area. Fortunately, the resulting freekick didn’t inflict any damage on the St Catherine team.

  Portmore United started more purposeful on the resumption, and enjoyed a decent passage of play, but failed to create any meaningful chance to hurt Arnett Gardens.

  

  Arnett Gardens eventually settled and should have opened the scoring through Dixon in the 54th minute. The former Clarendon College standout picked up a pass from Jaheim Thomas and had time and space to pick a spot from deep inside the danger area. However, his first opportunity came off the upright, while the second off the rebound, slammed into the underside of the crossbar.

  Arnett Gardens again went close in the 66th minute, as Reid rose highest to deflect Philando Wing’s weighted corner kick towards goal, but Williams, diving full stretch to his right, got down well to parry.

  Portmore responded six minutes later, but Walsh, arriving at the far post, failed to connect with Marshall’s cross.

  From there, it was all Arnett Gardens, as they applied consistent pressure and had two quick looks at the target, but both Marlon Martin and substitute Shai Smith, misfired in quick succession.

  However, the South St Andrew team inevitably got the goal their many fans waited for on the stroke of full time. Smith, with a cheeky play, orchestrated a tidy build up in a one-two combination play with another substitute Kimani Arbouine, before playing a perfect pass across the face of goal for Reid to finish his 12th goal of the season, and 86th in a dazzling JPL career, from close range.

  With the defeat a tough one to take, Portmore United’s Head coach Phillip Williams rued their missed opportunities.

  “I think we created enough chances but at the same time, I don’t think we were clinical enough to make the most of those chances. It was a game of fine margins and against a quality team like Arnett Gardens, you have to put away those chances, but the guys stuck to the tactical adjustments that we made, and we were in the game for a longer period it is just unfortunate that we didn’t put away our chances,” Williams reasoned.