Caribbean Sports Network

NEW YORK: Joe Public are hoping the signing of CONCACAF Champions League veteran Gayson Gregory, who played for Montreal Impact in the inaugural campaign two years ago, will strengthen their squad. “We are hoping that he would give us depth up front,” Eastern Lions coach Derek King said. “He brings added experience to the team. We are now in the group stage and having him in our team will be a plus.” Municipal and Joe Public will look to bounce back from losses in the first round when they meet at Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City tomorrow night. This is the attacking midfielder’s third stint with Joe Public. He previously played for Joe Public from 2001-03 and again in 2005.

He also competed for San Juan Jabloteh in 2007-08 before joining Montreal. “It wasn’t a hard decision to make when I was approached by Joe Public,” Gregory told the league’s official web site.

“I believe that I can fit into the present formation of the team and help the club do well in the Champions League and defend their (Digicel Pro) League title.” Municipal, meanwhile, will look to bounce back not just from a 1-0 loss to Columbus last week in the CONCACAF Champions League, but also a 2-0 defeat to Xinabajul Saturday in Guatemalan Apertura.

Municipal is third in the 12-team table with seven points from four matches. Consecutive losses in the CONCACAF Champions League, though, would be a major blow to either team’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stage A year ago the Columbus Crew were the lone Major League Soccer team to advance to the knockout stage of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Tonight they’ll attempt to become the first MLS squad to travel to Mexico and win when they face Santos Laguna in a match-up of Group B leaders. American teams, both domestic and national, have struggled south of the border and the Crew is no exception.

In last year’s Group Stage, Columbus were thrashed by eventual finalist Cruz Azul 5-0 at Estadio Azul and lost 3-2 to Toluca at Estadio Nemesio Diez in the second leg of the quarter-finals. That led to a 5-4 aggregate defeat after rallying to tie the first leg 2-2. Steven Lenhart, who scored both goals in the Crew’s quarter-final draw last year, missed the team’s opening group stage match, serving a one-game suspension for a red card in the second leg in Mexico. Columbus will also be buoyed by Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Andy Iro, who acquired a waiver from the United States government.