Members of this country’s national football team will be going all out in their next 2006 World Cup fixture against Panama in Panama City on October 8.
But similar to the support from the fans at the last away match to Costa Rica in San Jose earlier this month, coach Leo Beenhakker and his team will be hoping to have further backing when they face off with Panama in their penultimate encounter on the “Journey to Germany”. A victory then will push the “Warriors” to 10 points and keep alive their chances of sealing fourth spot.
The presence of the fans backed by the sounds of the Laventille Rhythm Section who came via a charter arranged by CLICO and TSTT put a smile on Dwight Yorke and his teammates when they were informed of the support while they were in the dressing room shortly after arriving at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium.
“It meant a whole lot to us,” Yorke told TTFF Media. “It’s always difficult when you play away from home but knowing that you have some of your own fans there with you could make a big difference and we surely hope this continues,” he added.
Defender Brent Sancho who was ruled out of the match with a hamstring injury sat for a short period in one of the corporate boxes with Honourable President Max Richards but wasted no time before making his way over the T&T section to join up with the likes of CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh players Angus Eve, Nigel Daniel, Kerry Baptiste, Trent Noel and Keyeno Thomas. The contingent also included Cricket star Brian Lara, ex-national football coach Everald “Gally” Cummings and Olympic Gold Medalist Hasely Crawford.
“It felt like being home for a bit especially with the sounds and the flags around,” Sancho said. The sounds of Laventille were heard throughout the venue particularly during the last 15 minutes of the first half when T&T's play had the 18,000 odd Costa Rican fans in silence.
Beenhakker was the first to spot the fans as he entered the field.
“That’s absolutely great. I was already on the field with my colleagues before the warming up and it was great to see all these people with the music. I went back into the dressing room and I said to the players that listen there’s a lot of support from Trinidad and Tobago so in that way when you go on the pitch, say hello and enjoy it. And I know that from the players that they enjoyed it very much. It’s always difficult to play in a Latin American countries with a lot of pressure on the visiting team,” Beenhakker said on local television programme Spalk on Sunday night.
The Dutchman also revealed that T&T cannot afford to drop any gears going into the remaining matches against Panama and Mexico.
“That’s now the situation. We know what Guatemala has to go to Mexico and normally knowing these Mexican guys and the pressure of the public, they will play to win. Apart from that there’s no doubt that we have to win the Panama game.”
When quizzed as to whether he would consider staying here on a long term contract, Beenhakker preferred to concentrate on the immediate goal of qualifying for Germany but didn’t count out the possibilities.
“We have a contract until the last match against Mexico and then we’ll see what happens. It’s difficult to make a plan in football. Sometimes they want to keep you for three or four years and then in six weeks they kick your a** but it’s part of our job. We are working here with a lot of passion and what we see around is everybody is very enthusiastic and the players want to work. So in that way let’s see what happens. The first job is to go for the fourth place now. It’s never over until it’s over,” Beenhakker ended.
Along with his staff, Beenhakker will continue to monitor the home-based players and will then finalize his team for the upcoming qualifier against the Panamanians.