Dabaris development sides play trial matches

By ROBINSON LEKA
CENTRAL Dabaris on Friday held trial matches for their development players with the club looking to expand its player base and pathway programmes into the Digicel Cup.
Coach Gairo Pepena told The National that the trials would also be used a selection platform for the Dabaris’ development team in the Southern region.
“The players who we selected have been put into two groups and that will be our feeder or player base for the team this year,” he said.
“We have junior development talents and players who did not make the cut for the final team this year.
“These matches are also a chance for me to take a second look at a few of our players who we’ve been keeping an eye on for some time, so that we know where to go and who to pick if we suffer injuries during the season.”
Pepena said his final 28-man squad were primed for the new season with all the players back in training after receiving their Covid-19 vaccinations last month.
Dabaris development officer Indy Verena said the trials also covered the club’s efforts in developing player pathways for talents in Central.
“The players we’ve selected for the development team are all from local associations and village competitions,” he said.
“We’ve established nine leagues in the province and that’s where we’ve recruited most of our development players.
“We tried to make sure that the leagues associated with the Dabaris cover Central because that’s where the future of the club will come from.”