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1

Football / TT team for Jamaican game on August 11 2010

« on: August 08, 2010, 01:15:01 PM »

Latapy’s names 20-man squad for Reggae Boyz friendly
Issued by TTFF, August 8,2010

National Senior men’s team head coach Russell Latapy on Sunday announced his 20-man squad for Wednesday’s friendly international against Jamaica and it includes several high performers from the T&T Pro League including top marksmen Kerry Baptiste of Joe Public and Defence Force duo Devon Jorsling and Kevon  Carter.

Also in the mix will be Puerto Rico Islanders duo Kendall Jagdeosingh and Keon Daniel whose club enjoyed a triumph over MLS club La Galaxy in the Concacaf Champions League last week.

However, San Jose Earthquakes striker Cornell Glen will not be available for Wednesday's friendly because of last minute overseas commitments.

Glen, who was invited for the encounter last week, has indicated his willingness to accept further invitations for upcoming international friendlies once called up again.

Also missing will be midfielders Densill Theobald and Clyde Leon through injury but experienced Joe Public midfielder Trent Noel and teammate Hayden Tinto are in the squad alongside W Connection’s Hughtun Hector.

Both Jorsling and Carter enjoying good runs, having scored in the recent 4-1 win over Antigua/Barbuda last month while Baptiste is coming off a fine opening item in Joe Public’s 4-2 win over Costa Rica’s Brujas FC last Wednesday.

T&T’s back line includes the likes of Defence Force’s duo Aklie Edwards and Keston Edwards as well as W Connection’s Kern Cupid and  Makan Hislop are also in the squad while Public’s Carlyle Mitchell has gotten a first time call for the new year from Latapy.

The Jamaicans, who also face Costa Rica in another friendly later this month and like T&T, are preparing for the 2010 Digicel Caribbean Cup, will arrive in Port of Spain on Monday evening and will train once on Tuesday ahead of the match.

They are expected to have five overseas-based players in their squad including New York Red Bulls player Dane Richards, San Jose Earthquakes’ Ryan Johnson, Rodolph Austin of Norwegian Premier League side SK Brann and Eric Vernan, currently on loan to Nybergsund IL, in Norway and LA Galaxy goalkeeper Donovon Ricketts.

Both Latapy and Jamaican head coach Theodore Whitmore are widely regarded as two of the most decorated and recognized players to represent their respective countries and will be coming head to head for the first time since taking over the positions of head coach of both countries.

For Latapy, it is just another key element of what promises to be another intriguing clash between the region’s top two teams.

“Like I said before, we haven’t seen Jamaica in a while and I wanted to see where they are at the moment and I’m pretty sure they will be hoping to do the same. It’s going to give us another idea of where we are at right now in preparations for the Digicel Cup,” Latapy told TTFF Media.

“The only point we have to prove is to play to the best of our ability. It’s always interesting when Trinidad and Tobago faces Jamaica and football is a game when you never stop learning.

This is always one of the bigger games in Caribbean football is just now as you’re getting older you end up coming up against players in a different capacity and we’re both at the helm of our countries national teams,” Latapy said in reference to the match up against Whitmore.

Wednesday’s evening of matches kicks off at 4pm with T&T’s Women’s Under 17 team meeting the T&T Women’s Senior Team followed by a 6pm start for the feature match between the “Soca Warriors” and the Reggae Boyz”. Tickets priced at $40 for adults and $20 for kids will be available on Wednesday at the venue.

T&T 20-man squad

Goalkeepers
1) Marvin Philip -Joe Public
2) Jan Michael Williams -W Connection

Defenders
3) Makan Hislop -Joe Public
4) Keston Williams – Defence Force
5) Aklie Edwards - Defence Force
6) Kern Cupid- W Connection
7) Carlyle Mitchell - Joe Public

Midfielders
8] Kendall Jagdeosingh – Puerto Rico Islanders
9) Hughtun Hector – W Connection
10) Kevon Carter- Defence Force
11) Hayden Tinto – Joe Public
12) Keon Daniel –P.R. Islanders
13) Devon Jamerson – Ma Pau FC
14) Trent Noel – Joe Public
15) Ataullah Guerra - Jabloteh

Forwards
16) Matthew Bartholomew - W Connection
17) Shahdon Winchester - W Connection
18) Jason Marcano - Jabloteh FC
19) Kerry Baptiste – Joe Public
20) Devon Jorsling -Defence

2

Football / Gorean Highley shot

« on: August 07, 2010, 11:50:33 AM »

Bake n Shark and Brownsugar, the two KNOW-IT ALLS, do u know that Gorean Highley was shot earlier this week? Anyone informed u both of that, seeing that you both are the Keith Rowleys of Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum, and both waste of sperms?

3

Football / CONCACAF Under-17 Championships

« on: August 05, 2010, 04:42:34 PM »

Men's U-17s opens CFU qualifiers vs St Kitts.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).

Trinidad and Tobago’s Men’s National Under 17 footballers will contest the Caribbean Football Union leg of the World qualifiers for the 2011 FIFA Under  17 World Cup with a four-nation group in T&T from August 18.

T&T will open its Group E campaign at the Marvin Lee Stadium on August 18 against St Kitts/Nevis while the other two teams, Cuba and Bermuda will meet in the other match of the double header.

The top team from the group will advance to the Concacaf Final Round next year at a venue to be determined. The 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be held in Mexico

The T&T Under 17 boys team have been in training  since January under coach Sean Cooper and according to team manager Christo Gouveia, are hoping to follow in the exploits of the under 17 team of 2007 which advanced  to the FIFA U-17 World Cup on South Korea.

“We have been working very hard since January, training three days a week preparing for this tournament,’ Gouveia told TTFF Media.

“We expect to advance to the Concacaf final round. I expect we will give a good account but we will take none of these teams for granted particularly Cuba who we know can be tricky opposition.”

“International exposure is always a key and while we have not had much of it, we have been playing against the Pro League teams and the team has handled these games well. We hope this can give us a bit of a cutting edge going into the tournament.

The squad comprises some very talented young players who are hungry for success. They have been hard at work and I expect them to give the kind of display which will put them up there with the best in the confederation,” Gouveia added.

Fixtures

NOTE: All matches will be held at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya, Trinidad.

Group    Date    Time    Venue    Team A    vs    Team B

STAGE II
E - 18/8/2010 - 9:00 - Trinidad/Tobago, Cuba  vs  Bermuda
E - 18/8/2010 - 11:00 - Trinidad/Tobago, Trinidad/Tobago  vs  St. Kitts/Nevis
E - 20/8/2010 - 15:00 - Trinidad/Tobago, Bermuda  vs  St. Kitts/Nevis
E - 20/8/2010 - 17:00 - Trinidad/Tobago, Trinidad/Tobago  vs  Cuba
E - 22/8/2010 - 15:00 - Trinidad/Tobago, St. Kitts/Nevis  vs  Cuba
E - 22/8/2010 - 17:00 - Trinidad/Tobago, Trinidad/Tobago  vs  Bermuda

Winners of Group E & F automatically qualify to the CONCACAF Finals in 2011. Group F fixtures of the CFU U-17 Qualifying event have not yet been released.

4

Football / Ricky Shakes turns to Guyana.

« on: August 01, 2010, 02:42:24 PM »

Professional footballer to play for Golden Jaguars
By Stabroek staff | August 1, 2010 in Sports

Ricky Shakes will on Sunday become the first ever professional English league player to play for the Guyana national team.

This was disclosed yesterday by head of Temptations Promotions Group Faizal Khan.

Khan told Stabroek Sport yesterday that Sunday’s historic encounter between Guyana’s Golden Jaguars and Cray Wanderers Football Club in England will see Shakes in action for the Golden Jaguars.

Temptation Promotions along with GT Promotions, are set to make football history by staging the first ever football match between a Guyana Football Federation (GFF) sanctioned ‘Guyana All Star XI’  and the second oldest football team in the world, the Cray Wonderers.

The match takes place this Sunday at the Dulwich Hamlet Football Club, Champion Hill Stadium, Edgar Kail Way, Dog Kennel Hill, London SE22 BD.
Khan said Shakes, who has played professional football for Bolton Wanderers on two occasions in the English FA Cup, will be remembered by soccer fans for scoring on his debut against Tranmere Rovers in the last minute to take the game into extra time in 2005.

He also disclosed that Shakes has represented Trinidad and Tobago.

“He has played 10 minutes for Trinidad in a friendly against Iceland in 2006. He only came on for a few minutes at the end of the game,“ Khan said.

“He never carried on looking at international football because he wanted to focus on his club career. He wanted to play for a nation that’s hungry for success and, although he has played for Trinidad, he sees Guyana as a far more attractive proposition to really start his international career especially with this game, Khan said yesterday.

According to Khan, Shakes, whose father is Guyanese by birth and mother Trinidadian, has played over 100 professional England league games.

Last season he played for Ebbsfleet United in League Three.

Khan said he hopes that Shakes will be the first of many professional English league players to see the light and switch allegiance and join the campaign for Guyana to qualify for their very first World Cup.

“If Jamaica can do it, Trinidad can do it then Guyana can do it,” he declared.

However Khan said football would need the general support of the public for this to be a reality.

He said that one of the biggest stars in the Major League Soccer (MLS) is Dwayne De Rosario.

“De Rosario plays for the Canada International team, although both is parents are Guyanese, simply because there was no means for him to play for Guyana.

“Temptation is bridging the gap to make sure that there will no longer be this type of problem,” said Khan who is the first FIFA licensed agent from this region after having been accredited by the English FA and FIFA.

“What I’d like this license to do is to open more doors like the upcoming match which should have happened 30 years ago,” he said.

“This is catch up time for Guyana football.  We need the continued support of the GFF and the Guyanese community,”  Khan added.
The Guyanese community must come out and support the team. Also, Guyanese all around the world must believe that we can qualify for the World Cup either this one or the next. If we don’t believe that it will happen then it won’t happen.”

5

Football / TT Women U-17s in Brazil

« on: July 16, 2010, 01:40:21 PM »

Bake n Shark, have a lot of words for me, you got this story already?

Released by the TTFF

Dear All
Kindly find listed the squad of players comprising the National Women's Under 17 team along with the staff members that will depart for the two-match tour of Brazil next week.

Kind Regards

T&T U-17 Squad for tour of Brazil

   1. Keri Myers
   2. Linfah Jones
   3. Shalette Alexander
   4. Camille Borneo
   5. Rehana Omardeen
   6. Khadisha Debesette
   7. Lauren Schmidt
   8. Patrice Vincent
   9. Jonelle Warrick
  10. Tineisha Cobham
  11. Victoria Swift
  12. Nia Walcott
  13. Khadidra Debesette
  14. Patrice Campbell
  15. Nykosi Simmons
  16. Diarra Simmons
  17. Jasmine Sampson
  18. Liana Hinds
  19. Kayla Taylor
  20. Jo Marie Lewis
  21. Camille Charles
  22. Anique Walker
  23. Brianna Ryce
  24. Emma Abdul
  25. Courtney Bahadursingh

 
Staff
 

   1. Even Pellerud (Head Coach)
   2. Richard Hood (Asst. Coach)
   3. Jinelle James ( Manager)
   4. Ricarda Nelson (Asst. Manager)
   5. Chris Bailey (Trainer)
   6. Nicole Kistow (Physio)
   7. Claire George (Equipment Manager)
   8. Marius Rovde ( Goalkeeper Coach)
   9. Glennon Foncette (Asst. Goalkeeper Coach)

NB - The tour is from July 19-31

6

Football / Thread for the T&T vs Antigua Game (21-July-2010)

« on: July 14, 2010, 06:18:39 PM »

‘Warriors’ to face Antigua at Marvin Lee next Wednesday

Issued by Shaun Fuentes, TTFF Media Officer, July 14,2010

With two home and away friendlies carded against Jamaica in the coming weeks, Trinidad and Tobago’s Senior footballers will go into action before that when they face Antigua/Barbuda’s Senior National Team in a friendly international at the Marvin Lee Stadium from 6pm next Wednesday July 21.

The game will serve as a warm up for the Antiguans who are preparing for the upcoming Digicel Caribbean Championships (DCC) and will also serve similar purpose for the “Soca Warriors” who are carded to tackle the “Reggae Boyz” on August 11 in Port of Spain and in Kingston in October

National Team head coach Russell Latapy completed a training session on the outside pitch of the Hasely Crawford Stadium with a full turn out of local-based professionals with Defence Force goalkeeper Kevin  Graham also among the call ups.

A 20-man squad will be announced on the weekend for the encounter and will go into training on Monday and Tuesday before Wednesday’s match.

The upcoming three friendlies will not only allow Latapy’s team to sharpen up before the DCC but should also help them boost or at least maintain their current FIFA world rankings. The “Soca Warriors” made a healthy 19 spot jump on the latest rankings released on Wednesday moving to76th and regaining the top spot on the Caribbean while lying fifth among the Concacaf nations. T&T made the third highest jump among all countries, with New Zealand moving up 24 spots from 78 to 54 and Botswana moving from 116th to 93rd.

Team manager David Muhammad said the team would now to try and maintain a steady improvement rate.

“It’s welcoming news for us at this stage because we are heading into a series of friendly matches and also competitive ones where we believe our chances of an unbeaten streak are very good,” Muhammad told TTFF Media.

“The move up the rankings is also positive news for our players who are seeking work permits to play in Europe and it means too that we will want to go all out to prove that having regained the number one spot in the region, we should now aspire to become champions of the Caribbean and subsequently move on to making a strong challenge to be among the top teams in Concacaf.”

Looking ahead to the friendly against Antigua, Defence Force topscorer Devon Jorsling said he was hopeful all the players would seize the opportunity to begin making their marks on the international stage.

“Like the coach said it’s time for us to start dominating on the Caribbean stage. It’s one thing to say on paper we are better but we have to show it out there on the pitch and then take it on to the Concacaf and world stage,” Jorsling told TTFF Media.

 “I believe that all the players will be eager to prove themselves against Antigua and Jamaica because every player wants to maintain his place in the team in the Digicel Championships and move on to the Gold Cup. All of us grew up following the Shell Cup and Gold Cup and a lot of us will get the opportunity to play in these tournaments for the first time so we definitely want to earn the coach’s pick and go on to achieve big things,” Jorsling added.

Tickets for Wednesday’s match will be available at the venue at $40 (adults) and $20 for children.

7

Football / Dwarika at North East

« on: April 16, 2010, 06:11:30 PM »

North Easts' Stars and Stripes.
North East Stars Release.

DIRECTV North East Stars C.E.O. Brent Sancho today introduced the clubs new Head Coach, Rod Underwood. Underwoods' career to date has been both pioneering and successful.

He became the first African American to play soccer at Furman University and was a prolific goalscorer with teams such as Albuquerque Geckos, New Mexico Chiles and New Orleans Gamblers.

Underwood's coaching career began as player-coach at The Chiles and then The Geckos, before being appointed head Coach at South Carolina Shamrocks.

Rod also coached at Georgia State University and Portland Timbers before taking up the position of Head Coach at Cleveland City Stars for the 2009 season.

Underwood said "I am pleased and excited to take up the position of Head Coach of DIRECTV North East Stars. This is an immense challenge because my appointment has occured so close to the beginning of the
season.

"Underwood continued" I spent some time getting to know the staff and players before I committed myself to the club. One of the main reasons I accepted the offer from the club was because The Stars are clearly ambitious, both on and off the field. I was particularly impressed with their plans for community interaction and a youth academy.

Development of young local talent is a real passion of mine" When asked how the team is shaping up for the season ahead, Coach Underwood commented " We're looking good to go. We still have some areas that we'd like to strengthen, but I have been delighted by the positive attitude of the players and coaching staff.

I've pushed them really hard to ensure that we are ready to compete in the ProLeague. My only concern is the overall conditions of the playing surfaces due to the recent lack of rain. Its easy for players to pick up injuries on these surfaces, but its the same for all teams, so we will have to manage through this period."

Sancho said " We have probably taken a little too much time in selecting our Head Coach, but we wanted to ensure that we made the right choice. I knew Rod from my days playing in the U.S.A. and he has an excellent reputation. The players will find him to be tough, but fair, and will benefit from his coaching abilities."

Director of Football, Kevin Jeffery said " The whole coaching staff have been working hard to ensure Coach Underwood had a solid group of players to enable him to make his final selections. It was great to discover that our footballing philosophies are very similar, and this allowed The Coach to "hit the ground running" and fine tune our training and tactics to suit his requirements."

Underwood and Jeffery also confirmed 3 new signings. The Stars are welcoming back two of their former players, 1999 Caribbean player of the year, Arnold Dwarika and Glenton Wolfe, who have nearly 80 international caps between them.

Alongside the two T&T favourites is Jamaican Kimarley McDonald. The 25 year old defender has spent his career to date in his homeland, but is excited about playing in a new league.

Twenty-eight (28) year old defender, Wolfe, is returning to his home team, having been born in Manzilla, while Dwarika needs no introduction to T&T football fans. The 37 year old midfielder brings a wealth of experience gained as far afield as China, Scotland and The Lebanon.

"Although we have some very talented youngsters, we firmly believe that these three signings will provide additional experience to the squad" commented Underwood.

The new signings will be on show at the Ojoe Rd Recreational ground in Sandre Grande on Sunday, where the local community are invited to meet the DIRECTV North East Stars staff and players for this season. There will be 3 youth team matches, as well as The Stars playing an exibition match.

Events Director, Jason Julien said " Its free entry, so we want the whole community to come along and meet the players. Our main partner, DIRECTV will be on hand with their promotional van and give aways, and we will also have freebies from our other partners to distribute" Youth matches begin at 10 am and the senior team will be at the ground from 4pm.

8

Football / North East sign 3 new Stars

« on: April 13, 2010, 09:33:20 AM »

North East sign 3 new Stars
 
DIRECTV North East Stars Director of Football, Kevin Jeffrey, today announced the signing of 3 new players. Gary Glasgow and Errol McFarlane will be no stangers to Trini football supporters after amassing nearly 70 international appearances between them for Trinidad & Tobago. Joining them is 23 year old Jason Devenish. The Diego Martin born midfielder has spent 3 seasons in U.S.A. and Canada.
 
Jeffrey said " We are continuing to move forward with our blend of youth and experience. Jason will benefit greatly from playing alongside senior internationals like Gary and Errol and I expect him to be pushing for international caps this season."
 
33 year old Glasgow has spent much of his career in the U.S.A and China, while 32 year old McFarlane has spent the majority of his career between Lebanon and Iceland. Both strikers, however, have played for several clubs in the Pro League. Glasgows most prolific season saw him score 26 goals in 22 matches for Defence Force.
 
All three players will be on hand to sign autographs at the Ojoe Rd stadium, Sandre Grande on sunday when DIRECTV North East Stars host a friendly match and fun day. Jeffrey said " We want to introduce the squad to our community before the season begins and this will be an ideal opportunity for our supporters to collect autographs and take some photos with the players"
 
Some of the players were on hand to meet supporters at Movie Towne on saturday, where they took part in a DIRECTV promotion. "Its important to us to give our business partners as much support as possible" said Jeffrey. 

9

Football / TTFF man get a big bligh

« on: October 20, 2009, 08:22:18 AM »

TTFF Media Officer selected
 
 
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation’s Media Officer, Shaun Fuentes has been selected to serve on the prestigious Media Department of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria.

 

Fuentes , who received his instruments of appointment two months ago, was selected by FIFA out a pool of thousands of  applicants worldwide.

 

Mr. Fuentes will serve as the supervising FIFA media officer at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium located in Kaduna, Nigeria.

 

His appointment will be effective from the 22nd October-15th November 2009.

 

The teams in his group include Italy, Algeria, Uruguay and Korea Republic.
 
While this is Mr. Fuentes’ first appointment as a FIFA Media Officer he is no stranger to the policies and procedures that guide a World tournaments.
 
 
As the TTFF media Officer he has worked at a number of international and regional events.
 
In 2006, Fuentes served as Media Officer attached to this country’s National Senior Team , he was the youngest Media officer in the tournament.

 

His outstanding efforts at the World Cup did not go unnoticed, less than six months later Fuentes was appointment to the FIFA Media Committee.

 

The TTFF family would like to congratulate Mr. Fuentes on his latest appointment.

 

Commenting on the appointment Special Advisor to the TTFF Jack Warner stated “ Shaun has been employed with the TTFF family for over a decade during this time we have  seen the consistent growth and development of his skill. He is an asset to any team and we know his will represent not only his Federation but his country well in all his endeavors . We wish him the very best and look forward to his return”

 

 Other appointees include

National Stadium, Abuja: Sami Terävä (Finland)

Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos: Mondher Chaouachi (Tunisia)

UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar: Chetan Kulkarni (India)

Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu: Osasu Obayiuwana (Nigeria)

Sani Abach Stadium, Kano: Richard Scott (Canada)

Gateway International Stadium, Ijebu-Ode: Amanuel Abate (Ethiopia)

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi: Bryan Chenault (USA)

10

Football / Fuentes match preview - TT vs C/Rica on October 10

« on: October 09, 2009, 04:45:16 PM »

Dwight: A win will be great for us

Simoes: I know how T&T plays

T&T and Costa Rica tangle in San Jose

Issued by Shaun Fuentes, TTFF Media Officer, October 9,2009


Trinidad and Tobago will go for their second victory in this current World Cup qualifying campaign when they take on home side Costa Rica at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium in San Jose from 8 pm (10pm TT time) on Saturday.

With nothing to play for other than honour and trying to break the jinx of never winning on the road to Costa Rica, the “Soca Warriors” will also attempt to make life difficult for the Rene Simoes coached outfit who are still in with a chance of advancing to South Africa 2010.

And having coached the Caribbean team before, the Brazilian-born “Professor” will not take his former side lightly.

“I know Trinidadian football," insisted Simoes. “They will play a tough game; they will play a free game. In 2001, when I coached Trinidad, we went to Honduras after we were eliminated and we beat them in San Pedro Sula with ten men! So I will not look past them.

Simoes also wasn’t bothered about the short period he had to prepare the team since taking over from Rodrigo Kenton.  "When you start talking about the weather or the surface of the field or the amount of time you have, that's an easy way to lose a game before you even kick off," he remarked. "We want to think, 'yes, we can do this.' So let's use the time we have and do it."

The new coach also stamped his authority on the squad list from the start, calling old captain Luis Marin out of retirement, recalling 35-year-old Rolando Fonseca and dismissing Gilberto Martinez. "I want only strong men in my squad," he declared. "I want winners, thinking players who understand we must win now."

Celso Borges was the double scorer in the 3-2 win in Tobago. That victory was not only Cost Rica’s last win in the final round but it was also the last time they found the net.

Dwight Yorke, now assistant coach to Russell Latapy, said on the eve of the encounter that T&T will try to weather the early storm from the homeside.

“We have come here with good intentions to get a good result. Obviously we have a one or two changes with a few under 20 players but we are here nonetheless to give the best account possible and to get a result even though we are out of the race for South Africa,” Yorke told TTFF Media.

“We have to be very careful because Costa Rica needs the points and Trinidad and Tobago needs the win just for the sake of team spirit and honour. We know it’s going to be a difficult game but we will try to have the right balance. We have a duty to the rest of the teams in the group to play our best game. And it’s vital that we just don’t come here and get beaten without giving a good fight,” Yorke said.

Yorke, asked by Costa Rican media as to why T&T were now out of the running, replied “There are a number of situations we can look back on… maybe not taking our chances against El Salvador when we were winning with ten minutes to go. We had key players missing vital games and there are other issues we can look  at. We are in a transitional period but it’s down to us now as managers and players to look at ourselves now and bring things back into perspective and plan for the future,” the ex-Manchester United star stated.

Dennis Lawrence and Carlos Edwards were among those not considered for selection when Simoes was in charge of the senior team and the duo will be keen to prove their worth in this game.

“It would be nice to get the win and to show that as a team as well we have a lot more to offer than some people think. I would love to make a contribution to help us finish the campaign with more points and get us higher up on the FIFA rankings,” Edwards said.

The likes of Kenwyne Jones, goalkeepers Marvin Phillip and Jan Michael Williams as well as DC United defender Julius James will be all too familiar with Simoes, having played under him at the 2001 FIFA Under 17 World Championship.

And the current crop of Under 20 players such as Leston Paul, Juma Clarence, Robert Primus, Glenroy Samuel, Jake Thomson and Shahdon Winchester will be overly eager for a chance to impress.

Joe Public striker Kerry Baptiste was the lone scorer in the 4-1 loss to Honduras and is hoping to continue his run on the road. “Definitely it’s a good opportunity for players like me and the other home-based pros to put in a good performance and try to help us finish on a high,” Baptiste said.

Surely Latapy would love no other result than what his players are all aiming for.

American Jair Marrufo will carry the whistle with countryman Charles Morgante and Jamaican Ricardo Morgan as his assistants.

There is also expected to be small clip of some 30 T&T supports at the Stadium, some of them having made the trip over from Port of Spain and Miami.

11

Football / TTFF Advisory - Re Jlloyd Samuel's travel schedule for Costa Rica game

« on: October 08, 2009, 05:25:16 PM »

The below is a statement from National Senior Team manager David Muhammad on the matter highlighted in a story written and published on the fans forum Socawarriors.net which is a website ran by fans living in the USA.

Mr Muhammad wished to make it clear that just like the other overseas-based players who were invited, were sent their notifications and travel schedule and received such, Mr Samuel was also a recipient but unfortunately turned up for his flight on the wrong day, contrary to the date printed on his scheduled.

Kind Regards

Statement from David Muhammad

The invitation letter that I just e-mailed to was sent to the 6 UK based players that were originally invited since September 26th (15 days prior to the first match). It clearly states that players were to fly in on Sunday, Oct. 4th. Bobby Zamora was the only player who said he had to change the date to Oct.5th as he had a match on Oct.4th. Jlloyd for some reason felt that he was to fly on Oct.5th and went to the airport also despite what the letter said. I was informed by Simpaul's Travel agency that Samuel's ticket was paid for in full and available on Oct.5th but was not located due to a the date change and original ticket number.
His travel itinerary was e-mailed on September 29th, but unlike the other players, he did not receive the information until I spoke to him and his agent directly. - David Muhammad.

Below is the letter of invitation sent all the overseas-based players on September 26,2009

Greetings,

I pray this brief invitation letter reaches you in the best of health and spirit.

You are among 6 UK based professionals being invited to play for the Trinidad & Tobago Senior Men's National Football Team for the final 2 FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches on October 10th and 14th against Costa Rica (away) and Mexico (home) respectively.

Our UK based players are expected to fly in to Trinidad on the evening of Sunday, October 4th and then we all leave as a team to Costa Rica on Wednesday, October 7th. We return to Trinidad to Sunday, October 11th to prepare for the final game against Mexico on October 14th. All overseas based players shall return to their separate leagues on Thursday, October 15th. Release letters have been sent and should have already been received by your clubs.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to e-mail, text or contact me on the number below,

Regards,

David Muhammad
T&T National Team Manager

12

Football / Jlloyd out of Costa Rica trip

« on: October 06, 2009, 09:58:40 AM »

Latapy focused on match at hand

Issued by Shaun Fuentes, TTFF Media Officer, October 6,2009


Trinidad and Tobago head coach Russell Latapy will lead the National Senior Team into San Jose on Wednesday night for what has all the ingredients to be an eventful 2010 World Cup Qualifying match against Costa Rica on Saturday.

After all, T&T’s chance of qualifying for South Africa 2010 are no longer alive but the “Ticos” are in a desperate must win situation and guess who’s in charge of them for this crucial encounter – none other than Brazilian-born Rene Simoes, a man who will be all too familiar with a situation like this present one. It was Simoes who led T&T to a shock 1-0 win over Honduras on October 7,2001 which crushed the Central American’s hopes of advancing to the 2002 World Cup. And now Simoes comes up with Russell Latapy as his opposite number. Dwight Yorke will also be in San Jose as an assistant to the former FC Porto star. The dynamic T&T duo retired from international football shortly after Simoes took charge of the T&T team in 2001, prior to a World Cup qualifier against Jamaica at the Queen’s Park Oval.

When asked by local reporters whether he had any of the events of that period in 2001, Latapy simply, nodded, saying it was history and he was focused on the match at hand.


“That is the way football is and that is the way life is. Sometimes in a particular situation you don’t always see eye to eye and you voice your opinion and the other party also has the right to voice their opinion. That was in 2001 and we’re now in 2009. He has a job to do for his employers and I also have a job to do for my nation so that’s all I’m going to be concentrating on,” Latapy said.

Another memory that will be around, both with those in the current squad and the ones not here at present, is the passing of former striker Mickey Trotman. Last Thursday marked eight years to the day the former Miami Fusion forward lost his life in a vehicular accident leading up to T&T’s away victory over the Hondurans.


Latapy  was also asked on Monday as to what extent he was now looking towards the shaping of the national team for 2014 Brazil.


“It is the future and we always look forward towards the future. It would be a situation that at the end of this game I would have to sit down with the powers that be and try to figure out exactly where we go from here. It’s a situation where if I’m as to continue I’d be delighted to. But first things first is for us to get these two games out of the way and then we can deal with all the other issues,” Latapy added.


A 22-man squad will travel to San Jose minus Bolton Wanderers defender Jlloyd Samuel who pulled up with a groin strain in practice. It means that National Under 17 player Shahdon Winchester will get his first experience of traveling and training overseas with a Senior national team after being invited by Latapy to train in the sessions at home this week.


“We want to give some of the younger players the experience of playing at this level.  It is very possible (that they can play on Saturday). They are here and they are training. My job is to put the best possible eleven on the pitch and to have the best squad available. Based on how the players perform in training, I will pick the best team possible for the pitch. I’m happy to say that the players are showing that they understand that it’s an honour at all times to represent the country y and to play with passion and pride.”

T&T Under 20 captain Leston Paul is among the younger ones getting the opportunity to rub shoulders with the likes of Kenwyne Jones, Carlos Edwards and Dennis Lawrence in an official World Cup qualifying scenario.


“It’s a pleasure always to be called up to a senior team. I was invited in the past but now being here with the rest of the players going into a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica is definitely something more intense and of a higher experience. I’m looking forward to it especially having come back home from the Under 20 World Cup. I don’t think there is anything else myself and the other under 20 players could have asked for as a follow up to the World Cup in Egypt,” Paul told TTFF Media on Tuesday.

13

Football / Zamora blank TT again.

« on: October 04, 2009, 03:56:13 PM »

Back to work for Senior footballers.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).

It’s back to work for this country’s national senior team as they resume training at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Monday from 5pm in preparation for next Saturday’s away 2010 World Cup Qualifying match against Costa Rica in San Jose.

Russell Latapy will conduct two sessions on local soil before the team departs for San Jose on Wednesday afternoon.

Latapy has also made a couple changes from his original 22-man squad. Fuham striker Bobby Zamora is no longer on the list and he has been replaced by National Under 20 striker Juma Clarence who was the scorer of T&T’s goal in its 2-1 loss to Italy in Cairo at the Under 20 World Cup.

And W Connection midfielder Clyde Leon replaces Wigan Athletic’s Jason Scotland who is unable to return for the encounter.

The five Under 20 player in the squad are Leston Paul, Glenroy Samuel, Jake Thomson, Robert Primus and Clarence.

W Connection’s Shahdon Winchester has also been invited to be part of the squad.

“So far all the other players are beginning to assemble. Carlos Edwards, Kenwyne Jones  and Radanfah Abu Bakr are all here and Jlloyd Samuel comes in tomorrow (Monday),” team manager David Muhammad told TTFF Media.

“It appears that Bobby Zamora is injured once again and as such he is no longer on our list of invitees. We will have two sessions here before we head over to San Jose.”

Latapy meantime maintains that the “Soca Warriors” do not intend to lie down flat in its closing matches against Costa Rica and at home to Mexico on October 14.

“I expect every player to go in there and work hard every time they put on the jersey to demonstrate pride on the pitch,” he said in a fifa.com article.

"It's about national pride at this point. It's also about football. All of the lads in our dressing room are professionals, so we are inspired by two kinds of pride: national pride and professional pride, and they're both powerful."

“A powerful impulse, pride can be a massive motivator of men, footballers perhaps chief among them. Trinidad and Tobago's slim 1-0 loss against USA officially signaled the end of their charge for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. However, with two matches still to go T&T remain a proud band and are eager to start the long road to Brazil 2014 with a final push,” the fifa.com article continued.

Latapy added: “So although we're out, we know that every single game we play we're going to try to win it, and that's what we will continue to do. I think we need to become more ruthless in finishing games off and we have to take our opportunities. We have to make our dominance into winning performances."

14

Football / T&T leave Egypt with a point (match story with comments)‏

« on: October 01, 2009, 05:42:47 PM »

T&T leave with a point

Issued by Shaun Fuentes, TTFF Media Officer, October 1,2009

Trinidad and Tobago secured their first point in the history of the FIFA Under 20 World Cup when they labored to a 0-0 draw with Paraguay in their closing Group A fixture of the FIFA Under 20 World Championship at the Al Salam Stadium, Cairo on Thursday night.

The result meant that Leston Paul and his teammates achieved what T&T could not back in 1991 in Portugal and they leave Egypt with T&T’s second point in any type of World Cup football event, equaling what Dwight Yorke and the “Soca Warriors” did at Germany 2006. At that tournament, T&T were 2-0 losers to Paraguay in their final match. But this time, Zoran Vranes’ troops did what they needed to ensure that T&T didn’t go home empty handedly. They also came better than the 4-0 defeat inflicted by the South Americans in a warm up encounter in Venezuela couple months ago.

The 50 odd T&T fans at the venue waved flags and celebrated the point afterwards, singing to the tune of Maximus Dan’s “Fighter” and some Egyptians also joined in, singing “Thank You… Trinidad.”

TTFF Special Adviser Jack Warner witnessed the draw from the VIP box and after acknowledging the fans, said he felt the team got its just reward for their showing in Egypt.

“My heart is not good in matches like these because I had to wait anxiously until the referee blew the final whistle to celebrate this point. This is another historical moment for Trinidad and Tobago and it signals the start of an era in which we shall show the region and the rest of the world that we can compete against the best in football,” Warner said.

The game was not of the best quality but Vranes didn’t take anything away from his team’s performance.

“It was always going to be difficult to play against a team like Paraguay and also the surface made it difficult for both teams but okay… we didn’t play our best tonight but I am thankful for the result and I think the players deserved some applause for their efforts,” Vranes told TTFF Media.

“If you look back at our performances in all three matches you will see some areas which we can definitely say we improved on and then some others where we have more work to do. But the experience for these boys has been a great one and hopefully they can turn out to be the future of football in Trinidad and Tobago in some years to follow. I think there is a lot of potential. I would not say they are the team for 2014 but of course there are some of them who can be pushed forward along with the other experienced senior players to make a very good team for 2015,” Vranes added.

Paul said he felt better this time around leaving with the point having also skipped the Under 17s at the 2007 World Cup which was thrashed 5-0 in their final game and left without a point.

“It  feels good this time because we put in a lot of effort for this tournament. We competed okay and I think the point was a good reward. Right now we want to enjoy this but we know there is a lot of football to come so we will need to get focused again and look to see what the future brings for us,” Paul added.

The FIFA end of match stats showed both teams with 50 percent possession and the 7.500 fans at the venue after seeing Spain get past Venezuela 3-0 in the first game, then witnessed two teams battle it out leaving nothing for chance.

T&T had to wait until midway through the first half for their first attempt when Khaleem Hyland's shot went just wide. Four minutes later, Robert Primus headed just over from a free-kick as their confidence grew. This rise in self-belief was confirmed when Jake Thomson tried to beat the keeper from a full 40 yards, but it again went wide.

Aldo Paniagua's shot from just inside the box forced Glenroy Samuel  into a great save. Hernan Perez also had a shot from the edge of the box, but it whistled past the left hand post.

Paraguay goalie Joel Silva almost put his side into trouble when he came rushing off his line to collect a loose ball, but failed to reckon with the pace of Juma Clarence, who got their first only to knock his cheeky lob over the bar. Celso Ortiz forced Samuel into another save in the final minute, which the he gathered at the second attempt

The T&T team will return home on Saturday evening at 5:30pm after an overnight stay in London on Friday.

15

Football / U-20 foursome included in T&T senior Team to face Costa Rica, Mexico.

« on: September 30, 2009, 09:42:08 AM »

U-20 foursome included in T&T senior Team to face Costa Rica, Mexico.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF Media).

National Under 20 foursome headed by captain Leston Paul have been invited to join Trinidad and Tobago’s National Senior Team for its two remaining matches in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign against Costa Rica and Mexico on October 10 and 14.

The 22-man squad, as announced by head coach Russell Latapy also includes English-born and Southampton midfielder Jake Thomson who made his debut for the Under 20s against Egypt last Thursday, goalkeeper Glenroy Samuel and defender Robert Primus.

The players are expected to join the senior team on their return to Trinidad this weekend as the team goes into camp before heading to San Jose on October 7.

Latapy’s team includes several regular faces but he will be without San Jose Earthquakes striker Cornell Glen who is nursing a cruciate ligament injury. Clayton Ince and Marvin Andrews have also been excused from these two games.

Regulars Carlos Edwards, Kenwyne Jones, Jason Scotland, Radanfah Abu Bakr and Dennis Lawrence are in the squad while Bolton Wanderers defender Jlloyd Samuel has also been recalled as well as Fulham striker Bobby Zamora who continues to indicate his eagerness to play for T&T.

DC United defender Julius James has also been invited by Latapy.

Among the home-based pros called up are Joe Public’s Hayden Tinto, Kerry Baptiste and Trent Noel, W Connection goalkeepers Marvin Phillip and Jan Michael Williams, Kern Cupid, Hughton Hector, Caledonia AIA duo Densill Theobald and Keon Daniel and Defence Force forward Devon Jorsling.

Thomson, who has rubbed shoulders with Kenwyne Jones and Stern John during their time at Southampton, said it would be an honour for him to represent T&T’s senior team.

“It’s been a real pleasure for me to represent Trinidad and Tobago in Egypt and for any player, the opportunity to make your debut for the big team, the senior team, is always going to be a big honour,” Thomson told TTFF Media.

“It’s my dream to play for Trinidad at the highest level and when that opportunity comes for me to play for the Senior Team I’m going to try and make the very best of it,” he added..

T&T will go into the match in San Jose against a Costa Rica team that is desperate for a win and which now being coached by former T&T head coach Rene Simoes.

The Brazilian was given the job after Rodrigo Kenton was axed a few weeks ago.

It is hoped that Simoes can bring stability back to the side, which has lost their last three matches, scoring no goals and conceding no less than eight. The Ticos actually led the ‘hexagonal' round for a long stretch, before losing their balance in a spectacular collapse.

A 4-0 thrashing at the hands of neighbours Honduras in August was followed up by a demoralizing 3-0 loss at home against Mexico and seemed to signify something was wrong in the camp. A 1-0 defeat to El Salvador on the road in their last outing then put Costa Rica's campaign, once so promising, in serious jeopardy.

The Brazilian manager, who also coached domestically in Brazil with Coritiba and Fluminense, is eager to get started and expects to be able to turn things around for the Central American powers. "

“A team that has gained 12 points in five qualifying games in CONCACAF has to be strong," Simoes said. "South Africa 2010 is still a good possibility for us because Costa Rica still has a strong team."

List of 22 T&T Players for upcoming WCQ matches Oct.10th & 14th, 2009

Goalkeepers
1. Marvin Phillip – W. Connection, 2. Jan Michael Williams – W. Connection, 3. Glenroy Samuel – T&T National Under 20 Team.

Defenders
4. Robert Primus  – T&T National Under 20 Team, 5. Kern Cupid – W. Connection, 6. Radanfah Abu Bakr – Swansea F.C., 7. Jlloyd Samuel – Bolton Wanderers, 8. Dennis Lawrence – San Juan Jabloteh, 9. Julius James – D.C. United.

Midfielders
10.Jake Thomson – T&T National Under 20 Team, 11.Trent Noel  – Joe Public F.C., 12.Densill Theobald – Caledonia AIA, 13.Leston Paul – T&T National Under 20 Team, 14.Keon Daniel – Caledonia AIA, 15.Hughton Hector  – W. Connection, 16.Carlos Edwards – Ipswich Town, 17. Hayden Tinto  – Joe Public F.C.

Forwards
18.Kerry Baptiste – Joe Public F.C., 19.Devon Jorsling- Defence Force, 20.Bobby Zamora – Fulham F.C., 21.Jason Scotland – Wigan Athletic, 22.Kenwyne Jones – Sunderland F.C.

16

Football / Poor television football coverage

« on: September 30, 2009, 09:39:25 AM »

Poor television football coverage

Wednesday, September 30 2009

THE EDITOR: Why is it that our electronic media and our advertising media remain in a totally primitive mode when doing football coverage?

As we settled to watch, on TV 6, the match TT vs Italy, our local experts were talking to us. Then I realised that the teams were already out and the Italian National Anthem was being played—in a small window showing in corner of the screen.

I wait to see our anthem played. Yes, there we are in that little window, one of the players mouthing the words, but as the local experts were unconsciously still talking, we could not hear anything.

Did they “pull back”, shut up, and let us hear our National Anthem, see our Official Match Flag being shown, and see our small support contingent singing? No, they cut to a series of advertisements.

How far out of touch are you all, really? As the series of ads continued, we missed the Team line-ups, the Toss, which you all contrive to mispronounce as “Torse”, and the Captains’ exchange of Pennants. These are part of the match, which every First World, and probably every other Third World but us, TV station will carry in their entirety. And we do not even understand that.

Then we had, at halftime, our two local experts declare our disallowed “goal” to be valid. Not only that, but they described the slow motion replay in specific terms to “prove” that the goal was valid. And they were totally wrong! And worse, insistently wrong. After the match, not in the least showing any concern, they acknowledged that a referee had called and told them what “Offside” is.

I do not want to sound harsh, folks, and I know and like the two guys, but they are the image of their profession, and they should know what they are talking about. If we had used the halftime commentary that was coming from the stadium, we would all have been better informed. Indeed, and our local experts might have learned what makes a player offside.

Does anybody understand?



Peter O’Connor

Cascade

17

Football / Heartbreaker...Italy edge ‘Young Warriors’ in Cairo contest

« on: September 28, 2009, 03:15:48 PM »

Heartbreaker...Italy edge ‘Young Warriors’ in Cairo contest
By Shaun Fuentes (TTFF)

Trinidad and Tobago’s National Under 20 footballers let their first point at the FIFA Under 20 World Cup slip away as they succumbed to Italy 2-1 before 30,000 fans at the Cairo International Stadium on Monday night.

When Juma Clarence collected and slapped home past Italian goalkeeper Vincenzo Fiorillo on 62 minutes, T&T were left scenting something from the affair as the crowd got behind them and they began to press the Italians for long periods.

But it was not to be and there were no favours for the boys from T&T neither as Solomon Islands assistant referee Matthew Taro saw what nobody else did when he raised his flag to deny T&T an opening goal in the 31st minute when Robert Primus’ sliding effort from a corner beat Fiorillo on its way into the net. The Italians never appealed and T&T celebrated but then referee Peter O Leary of New Zealand, after signaling the goal, ran towards his assistant for confirmation of his call and then disallowed the goal. Even the Italians appeared somewhat surprised by the decision.

It didn’t get better for the young “Soca Warriors” as Michaelangelo Arbetazzi headed past Glenroy Samuel from  left side corner which T&T were slow in reacting to in the 39th minute.

T&T, with Kevin Molino and Juma Clarence coming into the starting team, made a better start than they did against Egypt and never looked like being toppled over by the higher rated and more respected Italians.

Jake Thomson made a superb goaline clearance with his head in the 16th minute to deny Andre Mazzarani but the English-born was a bit off with his deliveries and was later replaced by Qian Grosvenor as Vranes opted for more firepower upfront in the later stages

T&T settled more as the game progressed making their opponents realise that they were up against a team that had no intentions of giving up points.

Just before the break Khaleem Hyland, playing in his more accustomed midfield role, hit a left footer over bar.

Disappointed at the half, T&T never buckled and Leston Paul and his troops continued to push on. Gay should have done better though when the ball fell perfectly for him in the box but he went for power instead of placement and could only look on in agony as his effort crashed off the underside of the crossbar.

T&T were rewarded for their persistence as Clarence took his goal well when he capitalized on Matteo Gentile’s mis-clearance, beating the latter before clinically finishing to level the scores at one apiece.

The Caribbean team got life from the goal and they got the majority of the fans behind them at this stage. Paul had a low effort saved and Gay also sent a glancing header wide in the 75th minute. Hyland also headed over bar with nine minutes left on the clock.

 But the Italians also stayed in the game, remaining organized and penetrating when they could. And they made T&T pay with twelve minutes left . A bad cross field ball by Clarence was picked up and Mattia Mustacchio made the run before putting the ball into the box for Silvano Raggio to power past a hapless Samuel for the winner.

There’s saying in the game that sometimes you play against 12 and Paul and company could not be blamed for feeling this way as the look of dejection filled the T&T dressing room after the match. Vranes held back his anger.

“I’m not angry but I am proud of our display,” he told TTFF Media. “ I don’t think we just fought this time I think we played a good game and we deserved a better result. We came to play games to see where are right now and I think we have a clear indication. We have seen that can play well and this is positive for the future. But we have our work to do still if intend to finish games with better results.

“I don’t want to say that we were cheated the first goal but again we got punished for our mistakes. I am proud of the effort from the players. We will fight until the end and we have one more game. We will see how we go from here. Maybe if our chances of advancing are over then I can give some other players the chance to play the next game because they all deserve it.”

Reflecting on T&T’s disallowed first half goal, Vranes added that he felt then that T&T needed to keep their heads up and was somewhat pleased that they did in fact keep on pressing.

“I was thinking that we have to keep pressing them after they took away our first goal. I am disappointed to lose this way to Italy especially to see how they were celebrating as if they won the World Cup,” Vranes said.

Clarence was obviously the most disappointed of the lot.

“It was good to get my first goal at this level but maybe we could have done better and maybe I could have done better. But we have to take the experience because this is where you learn the hard way.”

From the moment Clarence played the ball across the field, he went on bended knees, recognizing that his mistake could turn out costly.

“We have another game to go and hopefully we can make up for it,” he said.

At the FIFA post game press conference, several reporters, including one Italian, asked how the team would cope with their misfortune in the match. Vranes would only smile and promise a reversed result if there were to be a rematch. But they would no doubt take note later on that they had just produced one of the more memorable performances by any T&T team in a FIFA World Cup and could rank up there with T&T’s 0-0 draw with Sweden in Germany 2006. It came at a different level but the reaction of the media in the mix zone and post game conference afterwards suggested that the so called minnows had left another good impression.

Italy’ head coach Francesco Rocca was a relieved man.

I'm very happy with my team and with the result. Trinidad and Tobago were a tough team to play against today They were very strong physically and  they had some strong players. We improved as the game progressed and managed to keep them under pressure for most of the match.  I was happy that we got the victory today,” Rocca said.

T&T will play their final Group A encounter against Paraguay on Thursday.

SCORING SUMMARY

Italy:
Michelangelo ALBERTAZZI (39')
Silvano RAGGIO (78')

Trinidad & Tobago:
Juma CLARENCE (67')

TEAMS

Italy:
1. Vincenzo FIORILLO (capt.), 3. Antonio MAZZOTTA, 4. Matteo GENTILI, 5. Michelangelo ALBERTAZZI, 8. Andrea MAZZARANI, 10. Fabio SCIACCA (Marco ROMIZI 69'), 11. Gianvito MISURACA (Claudio DELLA PENNA 82'), 13. Francesco BINI, 16. Giacomo BONAVENTURA (Marco CALDERONI 59'), 17. Mattia MUSTACCHIO, 18. Silvano RAGGIO

Substitutes:
12. Andrea GASPARRI, 21. Antonio PICCOLO, 2. Alessandro CRESCENZI, 6. Marco CALDERONI, 7. Claudio DELLA PENNA, 9. Umberto EUSEPI, 14. Matteo BRUSCAGIN, 15. Vasco REGINI, 19. Marco ROMIZI, 20. Piergiuseppe MARITATO

Coach: Francesco ROCCA (ITA)

Trinidad & Tobago:
1. Glenroy SAMUEL, 5. Akeem ADAMS (Aubrey DAVID 65'), 6. Leston PAUL, 7. Kevin MOLINO (Marcus JOSEPH 56'), 9. Jamaal GAY, 11. Khaleem HYLAND, 12. Robert PRIMUS, 13. Juma CLARENCE, 15. Uriah BENTICK, 18. Jake THOMSON (Qian GROSVENOR 82'), 19. Daniel CYRUS

Substitutes:
20. Andre MARCHAN, 21. Jesse FULLERTON, 2. Aubrey DAVID, 3. Curtis GONZALES, 4. Sheldon BATEAU, 8. Sean DE SILVA, 10. Qian GROSVENOR, 14. Jean Luc ROCHFORD, 16. Marcus JOSEPH, 17. Mekeil WILLIAMS

Coach: Zoran VRANES (SRB)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Peter O LEARY (NZL)
Assistant Referee 1: Brent BEST (NZL)
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew TARO (SOL)
Fourth official: Alberto UNDIANO (ESP)
Match Commissioner: Hamad BROOK (UAE)

STATISTICS

Italy (ITA)	Statistics	Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)
21	Shots	10
8	Shots on goal	3
2	Goals Scored	1
15	Fouls Committed	21
20	Fouls Suffered	14
7	Corner kicks	4
3	Free kicks Shots (scored)	0
0 / 0	Penalty Kicks (Goals/Shots)	0 / 0
2	Offsides	2
0	Own goals	0
3	Yellow cards	3
0	Second yellow card and red card	0
0	Red Cards	0
24	Actual playing time	20
55%	Possession (%)	45%

YELLOW CARDS

Italy:
10. Fabio SCIACCA (2')
16. Giacomo BONAVENTURA (30')
19. Marco ROMIZI (86')

Trinidad & Tobago:
5. Akeem ADAMS (12')
9. Jamaal GAY (70')
6. Leston PAUL (87')

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/reTiP8HuxTw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/reTiP8HuxTw</a>

18

Football / Tough Loss - from TTFF (TT loss to Egypt)

« on: September 24, 2009, 04:49:52 PM »

Tough Loss
by: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).

…Promising show as T&T downed 4-1 in World Cup opener

A picture, they say tells a thousand words. But in football a scoreline doesn’t always tell the proper picture.

That was how skipper Leston Paul and his teammates would have been feeling at the end of the opening match of the 2009 FIFA Under 20 World Championship played before a partisan home crowd of 74,000 at the Egyptian Army Stadium, Alexandria on Thursday night.

The result was 4-1 in favour of the hosts but it could have gone either way as T&T surprised the Egyptians and a host of others including international media with their promising and gritty showing on the night. 

The Egyptians were in a boisterous mood from as much as three hours before kick off as they witnessed a splendid show for the opening ceremony which had Egypt President Hosni Mubarak, FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Vice President and Chairman of the tournament’s organizing committee Jack Warner.

  The home fans waved their national flags for long periods in the stands and they later sang and embraced each other for two miles plus as they made their way out and away from the  match venue following  the match

Midfielder Jean Luc Rochford brought T&T right back into the match with a well taken goal in the 36th minute to level the scores at 1-1. Striker Afroto had given Egypt the lead six minutes earlier when he placed his shot past Glenroy Samuel . T&T started brightly with Jamal Gay rushing a shot off high and wide inside thirty seconds and then defender Uriah Bentick powered a free kick which looked heading to goal before goalkeeper Aly Lotfi pushed over bar.

Hussam Arafat put Egypt 2-1 ahead in the 51st while Mohamed Talaat (59th) and Arafat again in the 93rd completed the scoring.

“It’s a difficult result to accept both for me and the players and I think anyone who saw the game would maybe feel the same way,” Zoran Vranes told TTFF Media after the match.

“I am not disappointed. Maybe we gave away two soft goals but we created many good chances which could have turned the game at those points. But that is football and we will learn a lot from this experience.  I think we could maybe go on to play even better now because the boys have showed that they can compete at this level. But unfortunately the score did not look good at the end,” he added.

Several media correspondents in the post match and mix zone area said they felt T&T were unlucky to come away empty handed and maybe were outdone by the support for the home team.

Paul added that his team came into their own game too late and that he and his teammates were disappointed that they did not give the T&T fans back home the Republic Day gift that they had hoped for.

“It was a good fight but we started to play too late. We conceded goals that led to our loss. We missed our chances and they took theirs. It was our first time playing in front of such a big crowd  and I would say some of the guys were naturally nervous in the early stages. We have to take the positives from it and come again. I think we came out of this a strong team and we will try to play even harder in the remaining matches,” Paul said.

T&T started with Samuel in goal, Akeem Adams,  Robert Primus, Daneil Cyrus and Uriah Bentick at the back, Sean De Silva, Jake Thomson, Rochford and Paul in the middle with Khaleem Hyland playing  in front of striker Jamal Gay.

Primus was solid while Thomson was one of the bright spots in the T&T line up. His confidence and composure on the ball and his deceptive play caused the hosts problems at different points in the game.

For long periods, T&T went against the odds as they kept good possession and had the opposing team and home fans out of the match.

Rochford took his goal well after Gay and Thomson combined with the latter running across the box, evading a couple challenges before slipping the ball to Rochford.

When Vranes introduced forward Juma Clarence and Kevin Molino in the second half, T&T were now creating more chances and looked threatening going forward. Clarence was unfortunate with two of his efforts coming off the woodwork.

Samuel had earlier made a brilliant stop to deny Talaat before the equalizer and then made a superb save to push away the striker’s header but was caught off his line on the resulting play as Arafat’s shot entered the net. Talaat struck the third goal when Samuel failed to hold a shot from Shehab Ahmed and Talaat nailed the rebound.

Clarence forced Lotfi into a couple good saves while Khaleem Hyland forced him to block well after a neat combination with Clarence.  On 71 minutes Clarence tried to lob Lotfi but again the Egyptian ‘keeper was up to the task.

Arafat made it 4-1 with an angled shot past Samuel deep into stoppage time.

There were obvious signs of dejection in the T&T dressing room after the match but all in all, a promising and gutsy display should leave the Young “Warriors” optimistic going into their remaining games against Italy and Paraguay next Monday and Thursday respectively in Cairo.

19

Football / TTFF enforces FIFA 5-day rule for schedule of Pro League matches but

« on: September 07, 2009, 02:57:14 PM »

TTFF enforces 5-day FIFA rule for Pro League Schedule but...
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation wishes to inform you of the contents of a coorespondence sent to the Digicel T&T Pro League, enforcing the FIFA regulations with regard to the organization of matches prior to the conduct of a World Cup (WCQ) match.

The letter send and signed by TTFF President Oliver Camps on September 4 stated:

“Re the above referenced subject, I do wish to advise that, following a meeting of the LOC 2010 yesterday morning, the Executive Committee of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation met in emergency session and decided to enforce the FIFA Regulations with regard to the organization of matches prior to the conduct of a World Cup Qualifying (WCQ) match.

“With immediate effect there shall be no matches in the Trinidad and Tobago Pro League five (5) days before a World Cup Qualifying match.

“The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation kindly requests that you bring the contents of this letter to the participating clubs in the Trinidad and Tobago Pro League.

With best wishes
Yours sincerely
Oliver Camps

The TTFF has noted though that the T&T Pro League has gone ahead and scheduled a round of matches for Tuesday September 8,2009.  There was also an encounter on Sunday involving W Connection and Tobago United, as well as matches last Friday and Saturday, the day of this country’s 2010 World Cup qualifier versus Honduras.

The TTFF has noted too that this creates the possibility of a problem whereby clubs could find it difficult to agree to  requests for the release of  players for  international duty.

20

Football / SSFL Results

« on: September 05, 2009, 05:52:47 PM »

September 03

September 03, 2009 (5:00pm)
Naparima College    1 - 1    Presentation San Fernando
Field: Guaracara Park
Comment: Goals: Adisa Cumberbatch (Naps), Kevin Moodie (Pres)

September 03, 2009 (4:00pm)
St. Anthony's College    1 - 0    Trinity College
Field: St. Anthonys Grounds
Comment: Goal Scored: Rishad Winnt
   
September 03, 2009 (4:00pm)
Mucurapo    1 - 0    Woodbrook Secondary
Field: Fatima College Grounds
Comment: Goal Scored: Tesfa Corrigon

September 03, 2009 (3:45pm)
El Dorado Secondary    0 - 1    St. Augustine
Field: Arima Velodrome
Comment: Goal Scored: Mikkel Collymore
   
September 03, 2009 (3:45pm)
Arima Secondary    0 - 2    San Juan Comp.
Field: Arima North Sec Gd.
Comment:

September 03, 2009 (3:45pm)
Sangre Grande Secondary    0 - 2    Trinity East
Field: Ojoe Road Rec Ground
Comment: Goals Scored: Chryston Browne, Canias Wilson
   
September 03, 2009 (3:45pm)
Shiva Boys    3 - 0    Siparia
Field: Penal Grounds
Comment: Goals Scored: Jamal John, Dwight Pope, Alfred John

September 03, 2009 (3:00pm)
Vessigny    0 - 0    St. Benedict's College
Field: Guaracara Park
Comment:
   
September 03, 2009 (2:00pm)
Fatima College    1 - 0    Queen's Royal College
Field: Fatima College Grounds
Comment: Phillip Coker - 73rd minute