JOE PUBLIC EARN DRAW WITH BARBADOS NATIONAL TEAM

EXPECT A TOUGHER battle tonight at the YMCA.

That is the warning from Joe Public's coach/player Michael McComie after the visiting Trinidad and Tobago professional side played
to a scoreless draw with the Barbados national team in a friendly
football match on Sunday at the "Y".

The two-match goodwill series, which concludes at the same venue tonight, is being used to prepare the Barbados team for the Digicel Caribbean Cup second round which kicks off on Sunday at the National Stadium.

McComie, who came on in the second half for the injured Wolry Wolfe said he would be putting out a full-strength starting line-up when the match starts at 7 p.m.

"Unfortunately, we played last night (Saturday) so I couldn't start the first team, so the majority of the reserves had to play tonight (Sunday) because of the fatigue factor but on Tuesday (today) they will get a much better game from us," McComie said.

"On our team we have national players. We have Gary Glasgow, who played in the MLF and in China and now he's back with us before he goes out and Lynden Andrews, who plays with Hibernian in Scotland," he added.

McComie said that flashy former Trinidad and Tobago winger Arnold Dwarika was expected to arrive yesterday and would be part of the team, as well as Colombian Alcandro Figueroa.

Barbados' coach Eyre Sealy said "the Bajans" got a good work-out on Sunday and showed improvement from the previous Sunday when they drew 2-2 with Grenada at Carlton.

"We improved quite a bit from last Sunday. Even though we scored goals last Sunday, we weren't as organised as today. We kept possession better and even on the small ground, we still managed to keep possession a little better," Sealy said.

"I wanted to get the ball moving from left to right a little faster but we will have to continue to work on that on the training pitch so that we can keep our shape when we are attacking as well as when we are defending,"
he added.

The match itself was evenly contested with Barbados making a number of line-up changes.

With Rommell Brathwaite unavailable, John Straker was used at sweeper, behind front stopper Dwight James and both had a solid game, keeping out Joe Public's strikers Devon Mitchell and Kendell Davis.

Bryan Neblett started at right wing back and also played commendably, while Gregory "Lalu" Goodridge moved into a striking role, alongside Kenroy Skinner, who looked a lot sharper up front even though he missed what should have been the game-winner in the second half.

The hard-working Michael Forde found Skinner on the right side of the penalty area with a neat pass but he lashed his shot wide of the near post, when he should have been looking to place the ball into the far corner or even slipped it over to an unmarked Goodridge on the left side.

Substitutes Malcolm "Buju" Marshall and Ramuel Miller both accredited themselves well in midfield after the experienced John Parris and captain Norman Forde were rested. The team will get a further boost tonight as play-making former national midfielder John Hawkesworth is back in training and is almost certain to be given
a run tonight.

Hawkesworth is expected to fill the void created by the absence of the injured Paul Lovell and Jeffrey Williams, who has missed national training during the past two weeks.