Trinidad and Tobagos Under 20 footballers came from a goal down to stun Cuba 3-2 in their CONCACAF Under 20 Caribbean zone second round qualifying match at the Estadio Pedro Marrero on Friday evening.
The result was a make up for their earlier affair which saw T&Ts Under 17s give up two late goals in a 3-1 loss to their Cuban counterparts in the CONCACAF Under 17 qualifier at the same venue.
In the Under 20 encounter, the young Soca Warriors went out pressuring their opponents from early with the Cuban defenders having to give chase to speedy front duo of Shane Calderon and Christopher Sam.
But the Cubans drew first blood through Mario Gil in the 6th minute when the player worked his way nicely through the T&T defense before shooting low past goalkeeper Thorne Holder. The Cubans went on to dominate the rest of the half.
But T&T settled as the second half started and the introduction of Daniel and Tinto added some spark to their attack.
Cuba still enjoyed the better of the early exchanges as T&T tried to make use of their long ball approach. But then came Daniel in the 50th minute and he changed T&Ts approach, taking control of the middle with some well directed passes which left the Cubans struggling to match T&T on possession.
Following a couple of good combinations, Daniel then moved his way towards goal before unleashing a powerful left footed shot from 15 yards out which left the Cuban goalkeeper hopeless and the T&T contingent up in celebrations of their equalizer.
From then, the game swung T&Ts way. Tinto came on in the 60th minute and his speed and versatility had the Cubans chasing. Corneal also introduced Kevin Crooks and soon after he made his presence felt. A good run down the right led to him crossing for Tinto to hit home one time to send T&T 2-1 ahead on 65 minutes.
T&T were now in control and the Cubans were even pulling up with cramps as the match went on. Realizing they were on top, T&T then went for the kill and Tinto was again the man to do the damage. He combined well with Daniel, collecting a through ball and then hitting home from inside the penalty box for T&Ts third item.
A lapse in concentration allowed Adonis Ramos to pull a goal back for Cuba in added on time but it wasnt enough to spoil a win on the road for Corneals boys.
I thought the performance and the result was exceptional for the boys, Corneal told TTFF Media.I was delighted to see how they went out there and really give it their all, they played to plan and got the result for doing that. All credit must go to them for going to Cuba for their first international away from home and giving this sort of performance, he added.
Under 17 coach Nigel Grosvenor would have hoped for a stronger finish from his team which, according to reports, were not outplayed by the Cubans but lost it at the end.
Following a 10:30am kick off, T&T fell behind against the run of play when Adrian Hernandez slotted past goalkeeper Kevin Mussio who was under pressure to collect a pass back and T&T paid the price for the mishap at the back afte 35 minutes.
T&T still pressed forward but had to wait until substitute Kyle McIvor met a left side cross and hit home from 12 yards for the equalizer in the 64th minute. T&T then looked the more dominant team but then the match slipped away from them.
Onai Martinez collected a through ball and made no mistake with his shot past the advancing goalie and then two minutes into added on time Martinez punished T&T again when he latched on to a loose ball and got it over the line for a 3-1 Cuban win. The return legs will be played on December 9.