Warriors settle for tepid tie against Nicaragua; Hart pleased with late showingBy Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com)
In the build-up to last night’s international friendly, Trinidad and Tobago National Senior Team coach Stephen Hart challenged his players to assert themselves at home and set a standard for football visitors at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
But, in the end, it was the stretcher bearers who saw the most action as the “Soca Warriors” and Nicaragua played to a largely dull goalless draw in Port of Spain.
Hart, who extended his unbeaten run in regulation time to seven games, was happy to look for the positives, though.
“I thought in the first half we were a little bit lethargic,” said Hart, in the post-game press conference. “(But) I was really, really pleased with the second half. I thought we just took over the game and Nicaragua realised that and started to kill the whole rhythm of the game.”
Only Hart would know how much of his positivity was genuine.
In truth, the Warriors had a wonderful opportunity to show their offensive capabilities against organised but limited opponents. And, at best, Nicaragua goalkeeper Justo Lorente looked to be in trouble just twice.
Warrior fans with long memories know what it means to dominate opponents and that was not it.
There was no doubting the sincerity of Nicaragua coach Henry Duarte’s pleasure with the result, though.
“Four days ago, Trinidad won a very difficult game against Panama,” said Duarte, via a translator. “And they were playing at home…”
Last night was Nicaragua’s ninth game under Duarte, a Costa Rican native, and they have lost just once with six wins against Anguilla (twice), Suriname (twice), Jamaica and Cuba.
“Within a couple of years, Nicaragua will be a team to reckoned with,” said Duarte.
The Warriors do not have the luxury of time, not where their Russia 2018 World Cup dreams are concerned.
Ironically, if there were disappointed supporters yesterday, it was because the Warriors have made a habit of overachieving when it mattered.
Yesterday was a reality check. Hart’s troops are still a work in progress. They are spiky, defiant and athletic. But they are not expressive, creative and domineering.
Not yet anyway.
The first blow to the squad’s ego might have been delivered at 7 pm as roughly 2,500 people came out to see the Warriors kick off against Nicaragua. The number of supporters doubled by halftime but, in a venue built to accommodate 22,000 supporters, the attendance still seemed scant respect for the efforts of the young men.
Regardless, the Warriors started brightly and should have scored after just three minutes as playmaker Keron “Ball Pest” Cummings crossed from the left flank for full back Aubrey David whose close range shot was denied by Lorente while Khaleem Hyland and Trevin Caesar both failed to bury the rebound.
But it was a false dawn.
Joevin Jones whistled a free kick narrowly wide, three minutes later, but, largely, the Warriors struggled to get their rhythm against Central American opponents who closed passing lanes quickly.
The boys in red shirts dished out more turnovers than a server at Linda’s Bakery. But Nicaragua had neither the guile nor the explosiveness to capitalise.
Credit is due here to the composure and athleticism of the Trinidad and Tobago back four, which was superbly shielded by midfield ball winner Kevan George. But the football fans had hoped for more against a team that was already eliminated from the World Cup qualifying series, albeit by the most slender of margins against 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup finalists, Jamaica.
Trinidad and Tobago were better in the second half, although it was near impossible to be worse.
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