FOR the first time since he took charge of Trinidad and Tobago's qualifying campaign, T&T's Dutch national football coach Leo Beenhakker could not afford to give his 'Warriors" a rest after their 15-hour flight to the Middle East on Sunday night following Saturday's second-leg of the World Cup playoff with Bahrain.
Yesterday, the 'Warriors' were back on the job for a one hour morning session on the training ground outside the Bahrain National Stadium and also had a more strenuous 5.30 p.m. session which was open to the many T&T media personnel that traveled with the team.
Beenhakker was disappointed with the level of performance by his 'Warriors' against Bahrain on Saturday. But, he has suggested to his charges that Bahrain played as best as they are capable of in that match, and it was now up to T&T to lift their level and play how he knows they can play.
The T&T coach was also unwilling to use the long flight and back-toback schedule of games as any excuse for underachieving in tomorrow's deciding second leg tie.
"If you have the ambition to play on a high international level," Beenhakker told the media, "it's part of the job!
"You prepare yourself and you play your brains out. Some of them are probably not yet ready for that. But if they want to act on this level, they have to learn it."
So despite the long flight which brought the team to Bahrain on Sunday evening, Beenhakker had all his players out for duty yesterday morning. But the national coach cautioned his players that they must get adequate rest during the day and also see the team doctor and trainer to deal with any minor knocks they may have picked up. He wanted his footballers fully fit for tomorrow's showdown, since only a victory or a high-scoring draw will see get them to Germany. A goalless draw will be enough for Bahrain.
Midfielder Aurtis Whitley and central defender Dennis Lawrence both picked up slight knocks and took it light yesterday. Whitley is recovering from a blow to the calf, while Lawrence has a slight groin strain.
For the most part, the Warriors limbered up under trainer Zephrinus Nicholas, before doing a spell of ball work in which they focused on possession. Beenhakker will have at least three more sessions, which will proportionally increase in intensity in a bid to have the team peak in time for the all-important match.
Meanwhile, the Bahrain footballers are reported to have been given a heroes' welcome back home after the1-1 draw with T&T in Port of Spain. However, the Gulf Daily news reported that star striker Ala'a Hubail warned his teammates not to be complacent going into Saturday's decider.
"We still have 90 minutes to go and it will decide our fate. At this stage, we need full support from our fans and we promise to give of our best," he said. We played a very good game and shocked the hosts with Salman Isa's goal, but we were unlucky to concede the lead," said Bahrain star striker Ala'a Hubail, who came in for Hussain Ali just after half-time.
"I was pleased with the performance. Each player did his work perfectly and now it is time for us to prepare for the next stage," added Ala'a, the elder brother of team midfielder Mohammed.
"I would like to invite all our supporters for the second-leg in which we will be in our complete red outfit which will boost us morally," he said. BFA member Yousef Hassan said he was expecting this result.
"I spoke to the players before the match and told them that this Trinidad team is not better than us," said the former international.
Interestingly, Hassan was a member of the national junior team which reached the semi-finals in the 1989 World Cup in Scotland along with present goalkeeper Hassan.
"Our mission is not over yet. We still have one match to go. So, let's hold off our celebrations until the final whistle on Wednesday," said Hassan.