Trinidad beats Guyana 2-0 in friendly.
The Associated Press.[/size]
Clyde Leon and Keon Daniel scored either side of halftime to give Trinidad a 2-0 win over Guyana in an international friendly Tuesday. Trinidad opened the scoring in the seventh minute when Leon drove a powerful shot past Guyanese goalkeeper Richard Reynolds into the top left hand corner of the net.
Daniel extended the lead in the 69th minute when he cut inside and hit a deflected shot from the top of the box that substitute goalkeeper Andrew Durant could not stop.
Daniel appeared to shoulder-charge Guyana left-back Walter Moore before setting off toward goal, but referee Geoffrey Hospedales made no call. The Soca Warriors were far from convincing in a disjointed performance at Marvin Lee Stadium and Guyana wasted a number of good chances.
Both Trinidad and Guyana completed their 2nd Round CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers on June 22, but with contrasting fortunes. Guyana lost out to neighbors Suriname 3-1 on aggregate scores, while Trinidad secured a narrow 3-2 aggregate win over Bermuda.
The victory sent the Soca Warriors into the semifinals round qualifiers in a tough-looking group stage with home and away fixtures against USA, Guatemala and Cuba. A top-two finish is needed to progress to the final qualification round. Trinidad's first contest is at Cuba on August 20.
FinalT&T 2 (Clyde Leon 7th, Keon Daniel 69th) v Guyana 0
Team Line-UpsT&T:[/b] - Marvin Phillip, Aklie Edwards, Kern Cupid, Keyeno Thomas (capt), Makan Hislop, Clyde Leon, Khaleem Hyland (Kerry Noray 77th), Kendall Jagdeosingh (Kevon Carter 46th) (Jerol Forbes 70th), Keon Daniel, Anthony Wolfe (Akeil Guevara 46th), Cornell Glen.
Guyana: - Richard Reynolds (Andrew Durant 60th), Howard Lowe (Kelvin Smith 80th), Collie Hercules (Kestore Jacobs 76th), Dwain Jacobs (Brion Baker 65th), Carey Harris, Konata Mannings, Charles Pollard, Dwight Peters (Edison Gomes 54th), Walter Moore, Kayode McKinnon, Nigel Codrington (Anthony Abrahams 65th).
Warriors beat Guyana at Marvin Lee.
By: Ian Prescott (Express).[/size]
Closer to home, on Tuesday night at the Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, Colombian Francisco Maturana, Trinidad and Tobago's national team football coach, might have been schooling in public.
The T&T Soca Warriors came away comfortable enough 2-0 winners over Caribbean rivals Guyana in their friendly international, using a defensive system.
It might be argued that a 4-5-1 system, in which Cornell Glen was the lone striker, was over-kill against moderate opponents such as the Guyanese.
But the way Maturana's men were methodically getting behind the ball, especially on the extremities, suggests that this strategy may be adopted for bigger fish...possibly the United States, Cuba and Guatemala, who Trinidad and Tobago will play when the CONCACAF semi-final round of 2010 World Cup qualifying gets going in just over a month.
Maturana certainly has enough "babies" at the international level to run his own nursery. Apart from recent regulars like Khaleem Hyland, Keon Daniel and Kern Cupid, most of whom have less than ten caps, there were also places for a few more.
W Connection's Clyde Leon, who took over the defensive midfield role of injured captain Aurtis Whitley, produced a sizzling opening goal from 35 metres and also looked the part of an international player.
Kendall Jagdeosingh, playing with the Puerto Rico Islanders in the American United Soccer Leagues (USL), got his break at left midfield, but did not look as sharp as when with Joe Public in the T&T Pro League last year.
Kerry Noray, back with Joe Public since last month's international break after a trial with the Puerto Rican team, got a run but had insufficient time to "show" in 15 minutes. Likewise, North East Stars midfielder Aklie Guevara.
Glen and Anthony Wolfe, who went to the World Cup in Germany two years ago with the T&T national squad, also returned to the line-up.
It was strange to see Wolfe, joint top-scorer in the Pro League two years ago, playing in midfield. His unsettled club North East Stars have had to use him there and, utilising a defensive 4-5-1 system, Maturana opted for the same.
But, Wolfe is an out and out striker on nine of any ten days.
Glen has never quite regained his form since getting injured at the World Cup, but given his chance in national colours, the ex-Ma Pau marksman attempted to get on the score sheet as early as the second minute, testing Guyana keeper Richard Reynolds with a rasping shot from the right side.
After just eight minutes, Leon struck from far out to give T&T a 1-0 lead, hitting a scorcher past keeper Reynolds following a free-kick.
Later, Glen outraced the defence in the tenth minute and hit just wide of the upright under pressure from defender Charles Pollard, then T&T central midfielder Hyland had the ball in the net again soon after from close up, but was adjudged offside.
But after looking like they would be blown away in the first ten minutes, Guyana soon settled down to some constructive and sometimes better football.
The Soca Warriors' deliberate attempt to zone mark and the lack of options up front gave the ascendancy to their opponents. Guyana therefore held much midfield possession without turning that into dangerous moments.
Nigel Codrington had their first chance in the 18th, but he hit straight at T&T custodian Marvin Phillips from close up. And in the 33rd , a mix-up between the keeper and his captain Keyeno Thomas almost allowed the weakest of crosses to sneak into T&T's goal.
Konata Mannings, the deadlocked midfielder, had been pulling the strings for Guyana and also got Phillips' attention with a 40-metre scorcher.
A much more attack-minded home team showed up for the second half following the introduction of Kevon Carter. But, while the Warriors got control of the game, they failed to regularly penetrate the Guyanese defence. It was not until the 69th minute that a piece of skill from Daniel, aided by.
Maturana continues to mystify.
...From Guerra to Glen.
By: Lasana Liburd (Express).[/size]
Francisco Maturana was a winner on the football field again on Tuesday night with a 2-0 triumph against Guyana at Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya.
It was his sixth win from ten matches since inheriting the post of Trinidad and Tobago head coach. But the performance, against a disinterested Guyanese team-already eliminated from the 2010 World Cup qualifiers-would have done little to convince football stakeholders that he could produce a squad to match Leo Beenhakker's 2006 outfit.
If there are doubts over the Colombian's leadership, his inconsistent philosophy and dodgy scouting are nearing farcical levels.
It took him six games to work out that schoolboys Jamal Gay and Akeem Adams were better off left to develop with the national under-20s. He needed three more matches to spot the potential of versatile W. Connection midfielder Clyde Leon, who made his international debut two years ago but saw Maturana use four different holding players before turning to him.
Leon scored the opener with an audacious long-range effort in the eighth minute, while Keon Daniel got the second after an accomplished individual showing playing behind the lone striker, Cornell Glen.
But it was Glen's charges down the channels-between opposition full back and central defenders-that were a breath of fresh air and the Warriors' most potent weapon on Tuesday night.
Maturana claimed to have full knowledge of the 2006 World Cup players yet it was Glen's first game for the Colombian. Does Maturana also know that Glen has not played a competitive domestic match since May?
Glen has ditched Pro League outfit Ma Pau and spends his time training with former employers, CLICO San Juan Jabloteh, who he cannot even represent in Reserve matches. He is expected to rejoin Jabloteh when the transfer window opens in August. Wait until Coventry City discard, Chris Birchall, hears about this.
Perhaps Maturana has finally grasped that Trinidad and Tobago's limited talent pool does not allow for the haphazard replacement of capable players. If Glen's selection means such a shift in policy, one hopes the Colombian has not left it too late.
But, arguably, the most damning indictment against Maturana's reign thus far never got on the pitch. His name is Ataullah Guerra, but it may well have been Osama Bin Laden judging from the national coach's apparent fear of unleashing the 20-year-old talent.
Maturana, almost from inception, showed a fondness for babysitting duties as he summoned a litter of rookies into his training squad. Yet his treatment of Guerra has been so appalling that perhaps Jabloteh may consider a call to the relevant child protective services.
Economy North East Stars impressive climb up the T&T Pro League standings was rewarded on Tuesday with 45 minutes each to their midfielders Akeil Guevara and Anthony Wolfe-the latter was also a 2006 World Cup squad member.
Striker-cum-midfielder Kerry Noray also got 16 minutes despite his belated start to the 2008 season with bmobile Joe Public. No such luck for the lone representative from the present Pro League leaders and defending champions, Jabloteh.
Guerra has made just two substitute appearances under the present regime, against Grenada and Barbados, for a grand total of 23 minutes. Worse still, the technical staff is stubbornly silent regarding the slight on the John John resident.
Tall and graceful with a good turn of pace and decent shot, Guerra is the reason why Jabloteh did not lose sleep over releasing gifted but temperamental playmaker and national captain Aurtis Whitley last season.
His appreciable technique aside, Guerra, like most Jabloteh employees, cannot be faulted for desire to retrieve possession when off the ball. It seems an indication of some potential. Only the head coach appears lukewarm to the idea.
Maturana, who formerly harnessed the likes of Colombian legends Carlos Valderrama and Faustino Asprilla, should know a good player when he sees one. But then his selection policy thus far, under the watch of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF), has fluctuated more than a teenage girl in a shoe store. From Guerra to Glen, Maturana's philosophy continues to mystify.
Maturana not happy with T&T performance.
By: Gregory Trujillo (Guardian).[/size]
A dull performance by the T&T squad of local footballers against Guyana on Tuesday has left head coach Colombian Francisco Maturana with more headaches. T&T won the scrappy friendly international 2-0 at Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, Tunapuna.
The disappointing display by the all-local squad must have left Maturana worried, especially as Guyana cannot be counted as World Cup material (they were knocked out in the first round by Suriname).
Building a formidable unit is foremost in the mind of Maturana with a little over one month left for the important World Cup group stage contest against the United States, Cuba and Guatemala.
A performance like that on Tuesday will certainly not take T&T to its second successive World Cup and it is now clear that there is plenty work to be done by Maturana and his staff to bring the team to the level of the three teams (USA, Cuba and Guatemala), which are ranked higher than the “Soca Warriors” in the world rankings.
Six minutes into the match, Maturana and the 1,000-plus die-hard fans on hand witnessing the match, must have felt elated when Clyde Leon’s bullet from 35 metres out, gave T&T the lead.
For the remainder of the half though, the local players never looked comfortable against opposition that they knew, since 15 of the 18-man Guyanese team ply their trade in the Pro League.
Except for Leon’s brilliant goal, Maturana had nothing else to be satisfied about in the first session. His team lacked creativity and the players lost possession of the ball so frequently that it had to be a big talking point in the dressing room at the break.
It came as no surprise when Maturana substituted Kevon Carter for Anthony Wolfe and Akile Guevara for Kendall Jagdeosingh at half time. Wolfe, along with Cornell Glenn, were the only two survivors from the Germany World Cup team on the field. Both looked ordinary and have shown no signs of improvement.
Glenn, in particular, was a shadow of himself, not exhibiting the flashy moves he’s accustomed to.
In the 4-5-1 formation, he was the only attacking player up front and the midfielders failed miserably to get the ball to him for most of the 90 minutes.
Fleet-footed Keon Daniel scored the second goal in the 68th minute, after bouncing defender Walter Moore off the ball in the right flank.
Referee Geoffrey Hospedales allowed the play to go continue and Daniel’s drifted inside before unleashing a powerful shot that substitute goalkeeper Richard Reynolds half-stopped, before the ball trickled over the goal line. After the second goal, the T&T players still appeared to be colour blind, passing the ball to a yellow jersey rather than their teammates in red.
Up-close with TouchesClick here for report.
BACK IN THE FRAY: Trinidad and Tobago striker Cornell Glen, left, controls the ball during his comeback match for Trinidad and Tobago against Guyana at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya on Tuesday night. Glen did not find the net in the friendly encounter, which ended 2-0 in T&T's favour. -Photo: CURTIS CHASE.
