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« on: January 19, 2007, 07:40:40 PM »
This is an excerpt from article in Barbados Nation.
Favouring
At the post-match media conference, Martinique coach Guy Michel Nisas charged that the officiating was unfair and even accused sponsors Digicel of favouring Haiti because of their association with them as well as the host country.
"I feel sorry because 'we were not able to be on level terms. We don't think it was fair to us.
"Some of the calls were not good and we suffered because of it," an angry Nisas charged.
"Maybe, we will have 'a better chance against Barbados because they 'are not the host team 'and they are not Haiti," 'he added.
Officials
The officiating in the finals has come under fire from both Martinique and Barbados, with the presence of Trinidadian officials doing duties in the Sedley Joseph Group being questioned.
Barbados midfielder John Hawkesworth was controversially sent off 'by Moreno in their opening match.
Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti qualified for tomorrow's semi-finals from the group, with Martinique finishing third on three points and Barbados fourth 'on one point.
I went to all three of warriors' games. While the officiating might not have been to the highest standard, I saw absolutely no bias. These teams are looking for excuses for their performances. Martinique has a good side and would have tested T&T were it not for the sending off. When they had 11, they pressed Trinidad, not allowing our defence to knock the ball around (Just had to clear up field). T&T did not look good with as much as six or seven opposing players pressing us high up. Barbados on the other hand is a poor team that does not have a brand. They have some talented players but no clear organisation. If anything can be said of the officiating is that it tended to favour them especially in the Martinique game.
If Cuba presses and hustles Trinidad, especially early on, I believe we would be under heavy pressure to withstand it. Must mention that while Jemmot has excellent touch and good passiing, he is much too slow for international ball. He can get away with it at this level but he must work on his general fitness. This explains why his performances game to game and within a game are so inconsistent.
T&T standouts: Telesford, Roberts, Glasgow*, Theobald, Tiger, Baptiste and Daniel.
*while Glasgow misses many chances, his movement, work rate and comibining with other players is excellent. I have not seen such a mobile attack from Trinidad for some time now(Glasgow, Roberts,Tiger, Baptiste.)