Lambe given green-light for qualifiers
Reggie Lambe has been given the go-ahead by Ipswich Town to join with the Bermuda Under-20s for their Concacaf Championship qualifiers in Suriname next week.Former Town manager Roy Keane, who was sacked last week following a poor run of results in the English Championship, granted the 19-year-old permission to play for Under-20s in their crucial qualifiers.Since then Town have appointed Paul Jewell as their new manager and have not indicated a change in their position regarding Lambe’s availability, despite currently suffering from a major injury crisis, The Royal Gazette understands.Yesterday Lambe was called into Town’s depleted first team squad for their mouth-watering clash against Arsenal in the Carling Cup semi-finals at Portman Road later today.The Under-20s will be in the midst of their qualifying campaign when Town travel to Emirates Stadium for the semi-final second leg match next Wednesday.Town are already without Grant Leadbitter (suspended), Jake Livermore (groin injury and cup-tied), Rory Fallon (cup-tied), Luke Hyam (hamstring), Brian Murphy (ankle), Shane O’Connor (shoulder) and Alan Quinn (groin) for the Gunners’ visit and McParland said the injury list was growing with Jason Scotland (calf) and Troy Brown (hamstring) also doubtful.“Players-wise it gets worse. Jason Scotland pulled up with a sore calf this morning. We’re not sure how he’ll be, and Troy Brown is struggling with tight hamstrings,” said the former Notts County manager, who looks likely to leave the club when ex-Wigan boss Jewell takes the reins tomorrow.Gary Darrell’s Under-20s leave for Miami for a training camp on Friday before heading to Suriname where they will play the hosts, Guyana and Netherland Antilles.Bermuda must finish top of the group in order to secure the Caribbean’s fifth and final entry in the 12-team Championships, which will be held in April in Guatemala.They finished second in their first round group in October, failing to grasp the sole automatic qualifying spot despite going unbeaten throughout the round robin tournament.The successful side will join automatic North American qualifiers Canada, Mexico and the United States, Central American qualifiers, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and El Salvador as well as fellow Caribbean qualifiers Cuba, Jamaica, Guadeloupe and Trinidad and Tobago.Four teams will qualify for the Under-20s World Cup which runs from July 20 to August 20 in Colombia.Bermuda Under-20s qualifying fixturesWednesday, January 19Bermuda vs GuyanaFriday, January 21Netherlands Antilles vs BermudaJanuary 23Suriname v Bermuda