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« on: November 05, 2015, 09:02:12 PM »
Hart: Guatemala a different side at home( T&T Guardian Reports)
by Shaun Fuentes
Published:
Thursday, November 5, 2015
“They will be a different side at home… Playing them in Guatemala City is a totally different affair to playing them anywhere else.”
That is the clear description of Guatemala coming from T&T head coach Stephen Hart ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifier on November 13.
And history tells a similar story.
On this country’s two previous visits to the Estadio Mateo Flores for World Cup qualifying matches, it has been an uphill battle for the “Soca Warriors. In its second match in the final round towards the 2006 World Cup in 2005, Guatemala put a sound beating on T&T, 5-1 with Carlos Edwards being T&T’s lone scorer. The T&T side in that match was led by Dwight Yorke and included the likes of Shaka Hislop, Angus Eve, Dennis Lawrence, David Nakhid, Kenwyne Jones and Stern John. Three months before that game, T&T also lost 4-1 to Guatemala in a friendly at the same venue.
The only victory for T&T in World Cup qualification at the Mateo Flores came in 1989 courtesy of a Kerry Jamerson 57th minute winner. Current senior team staff members Michael Maurice and Hutson Charles both played in that encounter.
In 2008, T&T needed to avoid a loss to stay in the race after both teams drew 1-1 in Port of Spain. Russell Latapy came out of retirement for this match and played in the first half to help T&T secure a 0-0 draw with the T&T team being applauded at the end by the Guatemalan fans. Cyd Gray had been sent off in the first half and John was ruled out of the contest by injury.
The stadium was filled to capacity some two hours before kick off and the T&T team was welcomed with loud jeers and boos from an estimated 28,000 fans. The team was also left waiting outside the stadium for some 20 minutes before gaining access to a training venue for a session a couple days ahead of the encounter
“It was a fantastic point for us,” Latapy said about the game.
“We showed a lot of character, determination and spirit to hold out with ten men. It was not the best surface which is conducive way we want to play football and the way we’ve always played football. But you have to adjust to whatever opponent you are playing against and surface you are playing on.
“It happens a lot in football and in players speaking to each other and I think Guatemala treated us with a lot of disrespect in terms of some of the things they were saying to us. The referee had a lot of wrong calls and homeside decisions and with us holding out said to me that we have beaten the odds here under really harsh and difficult and aggressive atmosphere. And we had to depend on nobody else.”
Come November 13, skipper Jones will be looking to weather the storm and steal the points.
Latchoo tries to lift football in Barrackpore
Barrackpore United Sports Club has engaged the services of national women’s football coach Rajesh Latchoo as its technical director for the ongoing TTFA NGC National Super League Championship Division season.
Latchoo, a former coach with Joe Public and head coach of the T&T women’s Under-15 and U-17 teams, has been overseeing the team since June. Through a partnership between Barrackpore United and Pro League outfit Morvant Caledonia United, Latchoo has been able to secure the services of ex-T&T and Caledonia AIA player Conrad Smith as well as midfielder Dwayne James who was a member of the T&T team during the 205 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“There is a wealth of talent in these rural areas but often their lack of exposure and drive are often their downfall,” said Latchoo who is also a TTFA coaching instructor.
“Only the serious players show that appreciation for training and wanting to go to the next level. So as the window opened we kept the serious players and formed a partnership with Caledonia to prepare a couple of their reserve players for 2016 while we balanced the team with other experience players who were waiting to play pro league in January and needed to keep match fit for when they return to their respective Clubs, like Dwane James and Conrad Smith.
“My role at the club is to help the club owner Josh Dhanesar realise his vision of taking football to the next level in Barrackpore by helping to implement and maintain the right training environment and club structure. Most players from rural areas don’t get the exposure to a professional environment because of the distance they have to travel to reach that environment, so what Josh is doing is bringing that environment to them.
“Besides the senior team the Club has also started its own youth academy so that it can expose and prepare players for future teams.
Football in Barrackpore has a history with several domestic games being played on the old A-class Trintoc ground located near GP Road in the past. Teams such as X-Men Sports club have also drawn decent grounds at its Carat Hill home base while the Barracpore Secondary ground has been host to a vibrant Primary Schools League for schools in the area.
“The greatest challenge for most ‘country’ or zonal teams is the lack of commitment to training as they believe they can just show up to a game, play and win. The first thing people think of when they hear the name Barrackpore is cricket but football holds a special space here. At Barrackpore United. the management has done everything possible to make sure players can attend sessions and games by providing transport for the players to and from training,” Latchoo said.
Klinsmann wary of match fitness
United States head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has admitted that the fact that some of his players are not playing currently due to the end of their MLS season is a bit of a worry.
The US face St Vincent/ Grenadines on November 13 before traveling to Port of Spain to face T&T at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on November 17 at 7.30 pm.
The season has ended for seven of the eight starters that lost to Mexico in the Confederations Cup playoff recently.
“Either they didn’t make the playoffs or they just lost now in the playoffs in the first round,” Klinsmann said. “So that makes it tricky for us to keep them going until we meet up on November 8 for the St Louis game against St Vincent and the Grenadines. To give them training plans, to make sure that they keep going for players like a Jermaine Jones, a Kyle Beckerman, a Chris Wondolowski, a Mix Diskerud, a Lee Nguyen, and others is now really, really crucial because they are not playing games anymore prior to the World Cup qualifiers.”
Klinsmann added that he has had to evaluate players not currently starting for their overseas clubs.
“John Brooks is one of them and Ventura Alvarado is another one. So it’s tough for some of our players to get regular playing time and that influences our situation prior to the World Cup qualifiers. That’s just normal, but it’s sad to see because you want the youngsters to come through and to put a stamp on the team but they cannot do it if they sit basically on the bench in their club teams.”
Shaun Fuentes is the director of communications for the TTFA. shaunfuentes@yahoo.com
Source:http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2015-11-05/hart-guatemala-different-side-home
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I thought we played very well. It was hard for Coach Hart to prepare tactically against the Haitians. With a new coach, we knew nothing about how they would play and Hart didn't want them running at us, so we flood the midfield and went at them. We were unlucky, Haiti absorb the pressure and they were more physically prepared and had a game plan. It's easy to look at our team and predict what would be the situation upfront - we had many chances but most importantly while been solid at the back the team was able to create chances. I thought we rush de brush tonite. no finesse.. sometimes just a little patience and less panic when frustrated is important in games like these. 
Great to see you on the forums, welcome home. 