Sidebar

28
Thu, Mar
25 New Articles

Typography

T&T U-17 vs CanadaEarly first-half goals by Christopher Nanco and Keven Aleman sparked Canada to a 2-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago in the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship quarterfinals on Wednesday and sent it to the youth World Cup for the first time since 1995.

Nanco gave Canada the lead in the 15th minute and Aleman added his third of the tournament five minutes later to earn the country its fifth trip to the World Cup.

Trinidad was one of two remaining Caribbean hopes along with Jamaica, but was denied a third trip to Mexico.

Canada next will face Panama on Friday in the semifinals with a chance to assure itself of its best finish in the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship with a victory.

The Canadians had control from the start, with Nanco volleying high at the back post in the eighth minute and Michael Petrasso dribbling past three Trinidad defenders and into the penalty area before being stripped of the ball in the 10th.

Nanco finally converted when Parker Seymour's throw-in from the left side into the middle of the was headed on by Daniel Stanese, and Nanco slipped between Trinidadian defenders Adan Noel and Nicolas Marcano to head in unmarked.

Aleman's individual effort doubled the lead. He took the ball away from Noel at the top of the offensive third, drove toward the top of the penalty area where he worked left against Damani Richards, Dario Holmes and Kiel Pierre before twisting and unleashing a left-footed blast that sailed just inside the right post past diving goalkeeper Quesi Weston.

Canada continued to have the possession and the legitimate chances until late in the half. Nanco volleyed high again at the backpost in the 35th, while Trinidad was limited to a free kick from distance by Marcano in the 25th that Canadian keeper Maxime Crepeau bobbled before recovering, and a promising sprint by Jomal Williams down the right side in 32nd that fizzled and only produced an ambitious shot by Marcano that went high.

Trinidad opened the second half with more promise and had its best chance in the 54th when Shackiel Henry tested Crepeau from 20 meters with a twisting, right-footed drive that the Canadian keeper touched around the left post.

The "Young Warriors" had a more equal share of the possession the remainder of the match, but produced little danger as Canada relied on its defense to secure a third straight shutout.


Early goals end T&T's W/Cup hopes.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).

Early first-half goals by Christopher Nanco and Keven Aleman ended Trinidad and Tobago’s World Cup hopes and  sparked Canada to a 2-0 victory on Wednesday to send them through to the 2011 FIFA Under 17 World Cup.

The defeat meant that T&T failed to advance to a third U-17 World Cup and will return home this week while the Canadians qualified for a youth World Cup for the first time since 1985. T&T were hoping to repeat their qualifying success of 2007.

In the Concacaf quarter final match at Catherine's Hall, Montego Bay,Nanco gave Canada the lead in the 15th minute and Aleman added his third of the tournament five minutes later to earn the country its fifth trip to the World Cup.

T&T head coach Shawn Cooper was understandably disappointed with the result but still applauded his players for their effort during the campaign.

“I thought we prepared well for the game and it was disappointing to see how the Canadians scored their two goals. The way they got their two items is something we were preparing and guarding against and it was a lapse in defense that resulted in the goals,” Cooper told TTFF Media after the loss.

“There was one on the far post that allowed the player to come in. When we started to push up a bit higher we were able to get ourselves back into the game.

We had the majority of possession in the second half but we did not make much of our chances going forward. We played with a lot of determination and with a bit more exposure maybe we could have produced the goods to take us to the World Cup but overall I’m pleased with the effort the boys gave,” Cooper added.

Cooper thanked the fans and family members of the players for their support throughout the campaign which started last August when T&T defeated Bermuda (2-1), St Kitts/Nevis (8-0) and drew 0-0 with Cuba.

“This crop of players can definitely play a part in the future of our football. Guys like Duane Muckette, Jomal Williams, Adan Noel and Quesi Weston performed creditably  in this tournament.

We were unfortunate somewhat that the draw for the quarter finals went against us and we pulled Canada which for me was the best organized team in the tournament.

Yes I am disappointed with the loss but I’m pleased with the effort and I wish to thank all the supporters and family members of the players for supporting us through thick and thin throughout this campaign,” Cooper added.

On the field of play, Canada had control from the start as T&T struggled to settle on the hard uneven surface.  Nanco volleyed high at the back post in the eighth minute and Michael Petrasso dribbling past three Trinidad defenders and into the penalty area before being stripped of the ball in the 10th.

Nanco finally converted when Parker Seymour's throw-in from the left side into the middle of the box was headed on by Daniel Stanese, and Nanco slipped between T&T defenders Adan Noel and Nicolas Marcano to head in unmarked.

Aleman's individual effort doubled the lead. He took the ball away from Noel at the top of the offensive third, drove toward the top of the penalty area where he worked left against Damani Richards, Dario Holmes and Kiel Pierre before twisting and unleashing a left-footed blast that sailed just inside the right post past diving goalkeeper Quesi Weston.

Canada continued to have the possession and the legitimate chances until late in the half. Nanco volleyed high again at the backpost in the 35th, while T&T was limited to a free kick from distance by Marcano in the 25th that Canadian keeper Maxime Crepeau bobbled before recovering, and a promising sprint by Jomal Williams down the right side in 32nd that fizzled and only produced an ambitious shot by Marcano that went high.

T&T played with more purpose going forward in the second half and went close to pulling a goal back in the 54th when Shackiel Henry tested Crepeau from 20 meters with a twisting, right-footed drive that the Canadian keeper touched around the left post.

T&T enjoyed better possession as the game progressed but were unable to get a goal back as Canada held maintained clean sheet to finish 2-0 winners. The other teams advancing to the World Cup from Concacaf (prior to the Jamiaca/Honduras game) include United States and Panama.

Next up, T&T”s Under 20 team will head to the Concacaf Finals in Guatemala in April as they seek a spot in the 2011 FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Colombia later this year.

Recap With Flex.

Team

Trinidad & Tobago: - 1.Quesi Weston; 3.Nicholas Marcano (Yellow 70'), 4.Dario Holmes, 5.Damani Richards, 6.Adan Noel; 7.Neil Benjamin (12.Dwight Quintero 85th), 8.Karl Duane Muckette (capt), 10.Jomal Williams, 17.Kiel Pierre; 7.Shackiel Henry (16.Glen Sutton 85th), 11.Garvin Samaroo (13.Tevonne Morris 74th).

Subs From: - 21.Tevin Dodds; 2.Tariq Nicholls; 15.Isaiah Noreiga, Akeem Garcia, Anthony Charles, Rondell Phillip.

Coach: - Shawn Cooper.

Canada: - 1.Maxime Crépeau; 7.Marco Lapenna, 5.Daniel Stanese, 13.Luca Gasparotto, 6.Parker Seymour; 8.Bryce Alderson (capt), 2.Samuel Piette, 20.Michael Petrasso, 10.Keven Aleman (14.Shadrack Mmunga 87th); 9.Sali Jalali (19.Wesley Cain 68th), 11.Christopher Nanco (15.Jordan Hamilton 73rd).

Subs From: - 18.Quillan Roberts; 4.Ismail Benomar, 3.Adam Polakiewicz; 16.Jay Chapman, 21.Dylan Carreiro.

Coach: - Shaun Fleming.

Venue: - Catherine Hall Sports Complex, Montego Bay.

Game Type: - CONCACAF Under-17 Championship quarterfinals.