HEAD COACH Brian Haynes said he is seeking consistency after his Men’s Under-19 national team lost 1-3 to Jamaica in their friendly at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar on Thursday.
In a ten-minute span Jamaica scored three goals in the first half.
“I take the blame for (that) because I need to prepare them enough to be ready for any game that they are playing,” Haynes told TTFA Media.
He added the Jamaicans took care of their chances while his charges did not.
“Those things mount up and teams get momentum when you miss chances...it becomes harder on us,” Haynes said, adding the overall performance was “choppy,
“At times we controlled the game, at times we were out of control...they were too sporadic up and down, up and down and in games like these, at this time of the year when we are getting ready to go into a tournament, we need to have some consistency.”
Haynes said his charges performed better in the second half after he made a tactical change to the formation from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2 to deny the Jamaicans space.
Describing his charges as a good cohesive group, Haynes said the goal going forward was to ensure the squad does not give away easy chances while fighting to regain possession.
“All we have to do is keep working hard no matter what happens. We concentrated for the most part...I am thankful it is happening now and not in the tournament,” Haynes reasoned. “While we didn’t win the game, the experience they got here is something you cannot get in practice.”
Foreign-based players are expected to try out for the squad, starting from the Carnival Camp which starts Carnival Friday and runs through to Ash Wednesday.
But Haynes said they would only be welcome if they make the team better.
“This group here has made me proud and I am saying I love it. We have good players coming from overseas...but we have good soccer players here in Trinidad...and if the guys that are coming in are not challenging these guys, this is what I am going with.”
SOURCE: T&T Express