Dwight Yorke and his teammates were a less stressful bunch by late Saturday night as they boarded the Air Tahiti charter flight out of Piarco International Airport on the way to Bahrain.
The 13-hour direct flight arrived in Bahrain at 11pm local time (4pm T&T time) and the fans including FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, departed for a separate hotel whilethe team and the country’s President George Maxwell Richards took the short drive to the Bahrain Crowne Plaza.
Despite the 1-1 result at home, several fans back home made it their duty to show appreciation to the “Warriors” from the time they left the Hasely Crawford Stadium and made it up Ariapita Avenue and on to Crowne Plaza where a contingent applauded them off the bus and through the lobby.
As the team bus headed up the priority bus route on the way to the Airport after leaving Port of Spain at midnight, fans on the roadside jumped and waved at the sight of their team.
Yorke and company got on to the flight, all seated in business class with some passionate fans behind them in economy including Warner. Only the country’s President and his contingent and TTFF President Oliver Camps sat in First Class.
The vibes on the entire flight, with maybe the exception of the player’s area due to them taking time out for a rest after the match, was exhilarating. But even later on, Yorke’s men got a piece of the ambience as they exchanged words with some of the fans including Warner and Richards.
They sang, danced in their seats and drank from their glasses with Spalksman Anil Roberts and Warner leading the crew in good spirits. His Excellency even took a walk down the aisle to join in the lime for a short while.
For those on board who may have been sweating, maybe even with a headache over the first leg result, the vibes on the plane must have turned their feelings around. Bahrain would be welcoming a still very much optimistic T&T contingent ahead of Wednesday’s return leg.
Beenhakker will hold his first session at 9am on Monday to shake off the jet lag and a second session is carded for later in the day.