T&T men's beach soccer team nearly executed a heroic come-back, but fell just short with a 8-7 loss to the Bahamas, which saw them finish in sixth place at the 2019 World Beach Games qualifying tournament in El Salvador yesterday.
It was somewhat of an anticlimactic end for a T&T team that lost two matches and won one over the course of the three-day elimination tournament, while scoring several stunning goals in between.
They began their challenge on Saturday with a 9-3 defeat to the United States, a flattering scoreline for the Americans who, despite a valiant effort from T&T’s beach soccer players, was overshadowed by a questionable refereeing decision to award the US a penalty for a hand-ball, which never was.
That result ruled the T&T out of contention for a place in the 2019 World Beach Games in Qatar.
A day later, T&T turned up the momentum and impressed the Salvadorian locals with a stylish display, resulting in a 6-4 victory over Guatemala, in the first match of the play-offs to determine the fifth to eighth place finishers.
Despite their victory over T&T, the US team failed to qualify for the final or the World Beach Games, finishing third with a victory over Panama.
SOURCE: T&T Newsday