U-17 Head Coach Credits T&T Team.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Trinidad and Tobago’s National Under 17 men’s head coach Shawn Cooper credited his team for their 0-0 draw with Cuba on Friday at the Marvin Lee Stadium which put the hosts in the driver's seat to seal the lone spot In next year’s Concacaf Final round towards the 2011 FIFA Under 17 World Cup in Mexico.
The result on Friday left T&T top of the four-team table with four points ahead of Cuba on a superior goal difference. T&T will still need to muster a win over Bermuda in their final match on Sunday from 5pm to stay clear at the top but will have prior knowledge of the requirements as Cuba battles St Kitts/Nevis in the first game from 3pm. St Kitts are on three points after beating Bermuda 3-2 on Friday.
T&T, with several players appearing on the international stage for the first time in this tournament, are yet to concede a goal and that was one of the pleasing factors for Cooper.
“We had to dig deep this evening. We didn’t play our natural game and I thought a point coming out of this game would have been a good result. We will are on top and we hope to improve in the other games, The main goal at this time is to qualify out of this group for the Concacaf Final round,” Cooper told TTFF Media after the match.
“For most of the guys, this was only their second international so I don’t want to be too harsh on them and I thought they have played with a lot of heart so far.
“Our Trinidad teams have been leaking goals at the back and we have focused on our defensive approach for the past two months. Even though Cuba had more possession in the midfield when it came to the last third, they had to shoot from outside and it limited their opportunities.
“I think we are in the driver seat and I think we have the ability to win our last game and get the required result. I would like to get two or three goals against Bermuda and seal the spot.”
Cooper hopes to see his team led by captain Karl Muckette settle faster at the beginning of matches .
“We have quality in the team but we lacked some international experience and the more we play at this level then we will grow. The boys were disappointed with not winning the second game. I think we need to have more patience because Cuba pulled off and played deep.
Our defence tried to play the ball over the top, behind their backs to try and stretch them and then settle down and start to play the ball around in the first fifteen minutes. But with the lack of experience, the guys still continued to play the ball that way and we needed to settle down faster and make better choices,” he added,
Cooper and Hutson Charles returned last week from a coaching course with the Netherlands Association.
“It was a real stepping stone experience because I learned a lot of stuff that I think I can implement back home in local football. We had a chance to visit the Ajax Amsterdam and Vitesse training camps and did a lot of match analysis and team preparation. It was an excellent learning curve for us,” Cooper concluded.
