Trinidad & Tobago		Venezuela
Stern John (pen 47') Stern John (89')

International Friendly

Date	Venue	Location	Attendance
2003-07-03	Hasely Crawford Stadium	Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	8000

Stern John's double completes T&T comeback

Trinidad and Tobago’s senior footballers gave a display of true grit and determination as they came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Venezuela at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Thursday.A double by Birmingham City Stern John almost led the “Soca Warriors” to an exciting victory as the homeside produced a performance which left many wanting for more. On the heels of a 2-1 defeat to South Africa and two successive draws against Kenya and Botswana, T&T showed all signs that they are working their way back up following the disappointment of failing to make the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup. It was not all smooth running for skipper Reynold Carrington and his teammates as the visitors shocked all at home when they grabbed the lead inside 30 seconds. From the kickoff, Venezuela strung their passes before the ball ended up with Cristian Casseres who had a clear view on goal and made no mistake, hitting into the left corner from atop the penalty box. The start was far from what T&T were hoping for but it didn’t deter them from trying to settle into a decent rhythm. John and his teammates thought they had the equalizer in the 9th minute but assistant referee Michael Ragoonath ruled offside after the striker headed home Silvio Spann’s left side free kick. The call seemed doubtful as the players protested Ragoonath’s call which referee Richard Piper obeyed. Two minutes later, striker Hector Sam was also unlucky as his right footed effort hit the left post before going out and Spann followed up on his own free kick to shoot low into the hands of goalkeeper Javier Villafraz. T&T continued to make inroads into the opposition’s penalty box with Edwards, Sam, John and Kerry Baptiste combining well. Nigel Daniel had another good try when after Carlos Edwards and Sam interchanged passes on the right, the midfielder collected wide on the left before cutting inside and shooting at the ‘keeper. Sam also had a good try saved by the ‘keeper near the half time break. T&T would get the equalizer two minutes into the second half as a last ditch effort to win the possession by Silvio Spann resulted in the ball bubbling and catching the hand of Leonel Vielma. John made no mistake with the resulting penalty, stabbing it hard and low into the left corner. But little more than two minutes elapsed before Venezuela went ahead again. A lapse in defence allowed Casseres to travel across the box with sufficient room and he raced past defender Keyeno Thomas before hitting high into the net from the edge of the box. T&T goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams made a timely saved after his initial clearance fell for Luis Vallenilla who, spotting the ‘keeper way off his line, chipped goalwards but the youthful custodian hurried back to tip over bar almost on the line. The introduction of Nigel Pierre and Kendall Davis meant that coach Fevrier had attacking intentions and it seemed only a matter of time before another T&T goal arrived. On 83rd minutes it was John again. This time, Davis, after failing to get off an earlier shot, controlled and played the ball back inside from the left and John got a touch to Pierre who slipped the return pass to the former to shoot home from close up. The home fans were now in a frenzy as a strong second half fight had just paid dividends. Six minutes from time Pierre also shot into the net but it would be the second offside ruling against T&T. This time however, the call looked right. Regardless of that, the evening was one where the 10,000 odd fans enjoyed a keenly contested affair and one which the “Soca Warriors” were unfortunate not to come away victorious to avenge April’s 3-0 loss in San Cristobal. Final Score: TnT 2 vs 2 Venezuela. TnT Squad: Jan-Michael Williams, Reynold Carrington (capt), Dennis Lawrence, Keyeno Thomas, Nigel Daniel (Anthony Wolfe 90th), Dale Saunders (Kurt Williams 80th), Kerry Baptiste (Kendall Davis 61st), Carlos Edwards, Silvio Spann (Trent Noel 89th), Héctor Sam (Nigel Pierre 69th), Stern John. Other TnT Subs: Ian Gray, Daurence Williams. Venezuela Squad: Manuel Sanhouse, Luis Vallenilla Pacheco, Leonel Vielma, José Manuel Rey, Jorge Rojas, Gabriel Urdaneta (Ricardo Páez 80th), Javier Villafraz (Luis Vera 88th), Leopoldo Jiménez, Giovanni Pérez (Alejandro Cichero 74th); Rubert Morán (Daniel Noriega 66th), Cristian Casseres (Juan Arango 78th). Venue: Hasely Crawford Stadium - Trinidad. Crowd: 10,000. Game Type: Friendly International. TnT Goal Scorer: Stern John - 2 Goals - 47th & 73rd. Venezuela Goal Scorer: Cristian Casseres - 2 Goals, 1st & 49th.

LINEUP
	Jan-Michael Williams
5.	Reynold Carrington (capt.)
17.	Nigel Daniel
	90' Anthony Wolfe
7.	Dennis Lawrence 57 '
6.	Keyeno Thomas
12.	Carlos Edwards 42 '
3.	Dale Saunders 66 '
	80' Kurt Williams
16.	Silvio Spann
	89' Trent Noel
	Kerry Baptiste
	61' Kendall Davis
14.	Stern John
9.	Hector Sam
	69' Nigel Pierre
SUBSTITUTES
	Trent Noel
	Kurt Williams
	Kendall Davis
18.	Nigel Pierre
	Anthony Wolfe
	Daurance Williams
	Ian Gray
COACH
	Stuart Charles-Fevrier
SUBSTITUTIONS
61'	Kendall Davis for Kerry Baptiste
69'	Nigel Pierre for Hector Sam
80'	Kurt Williams for Dale Saunders
89'	Trent Noel for Silvio Spann
90'	Anthony Wolfe for Nigel Daniel
YELLOW CARDS
42'	Carlos Edwards
57'	Dennis Lawrence
66'	Dale Saunders