YORKE FIRES TRINIDAD TO VICTORY

[Mr Mc]

By Ben Collins, PA Sport, London

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/overseas/other/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/06/02/28/SOCCER_Trinidad__Tobago_Nightlead.html


Dwight Yorke sent a warning to the England camp with a two-goal performance for Trinidad & Tobago in Tuesday's World Cup warm-up with Iceland at Loftus Road.

The former Manchester United striker, who is set to lead the Soca Warriors against England in Nuremberg on June 15, netted the game's opening goal in the 10th minute and scored a second with a cheeky penalty shortly before being withdrawn in the 59th minute.

The 34-year-old, who could train with United once Sydney FC's season finishes on Sunday, has a licence to roam with the Soca Warriors and dropped back to produce a number of incisive balls for frontman Stern John and the wide midfielders.

One of which was Dundee United's Collin Samuel, who made the opening goal and impressed on the left, while Sven-Goran Eriksson's advisors should also be wary of Port Vale's Chris Birchall.

The Stafford-born midfielder showed again why he was accepted so quickly by the Warrior Nation - the team's passionate supporters - by providing the driving force in the centre of the park.

Kick-off was delayed by almost half an hour due to the late arrival of the Trinidad & Tobago squad.

When play did eventually start, both sides struggled to get going on a bitterly cold evening, but the Caribbean outfit are unlikely to encounter such harsh conditions in Germany this summer.

Stefan Gislason had the game's first shot, saved comfortably by West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, before Yorke's underhit pass to Wrexham defender Dennis Lawrence almost allowed Eidur Gudjohnsen a run at goal.

Lawrence then played the ball wide left for Samuel, though, who beat his marker to cross from the byline. Iceland failed to deal with it and the ball fell kindly for Yorke, who was arriving on the edge of the box to chest the ball before lashing it right-footed past former Manchester City keeper Arni Arason.

That roused the Warrior Nation, who were already boisterous despite the freezing conditions, but not the game itself.

The next chance did not come until just after the half-hour mark following an error by Charlton defender Herman Hreidarsson.

Left-back Avery John launched a free-kick into the box and Hreidarsson misjudged his header, leaving Stern John free to bring the ball down just 10 yards out but the Coventry striker lacked composure and fired over the crossbar.

In the 37th minute, Hreidarsson had an opening at the other end, blazing over as he stretched to meet Gudjohnsen's knock-back, and shortly after the Chelsea striker went close himself, curling a 25-yard free-kick narrowly wide.

Fulham keeper Tony Warner came on at half-time to make his international debut, as did Swindon's 21-year-old midfielder Ricky Shakes.

Nine minutes after the restart, Stern John was bundled over in the box and Yorke scored with a cheeky chip before being replaced by Russell Latapy.

There were no other moments of note as both coaches used their substitutes, with Leo Beenhakker also bringing on Southampton's Kenwyne Jones for Stern John.

[Pasdah Beatz]

An imagine ah year ago ah used to hate on Yorke

[Dutty]

And after all dat..de man wukk still eh done...is TRAININ & NO SLEEP fuh he ass ..pure .PRESSHA



"Yorke to dash back to Sydney
By Ray Gatt
March 1, 2006

SYDNEY FC is leaving nothing to chance in ensuring key player Dwight Yorke is fit and fresh for Sunday's decider, even as he completes a 48-hour round trip on international duty.

Yorke is not expected back in Australia until Friday morning (AEDT) after playing in a World Cup warm-up match for Trinidad and Tobago against Iceland in London.
It will leave the midfielder precious little time to prepare properly with his Sydney teammates for the grand final against the Central Coast Mariners. However, it is a situation for which the Sydney hierarchy is well-prepared.
Yorke will fly home first class to ensure he is comfortable for the 24-hour journey and gets adequate sleep. On arrival he will be whisked off for a private recovery session and will be instructed to stay awake for the rest of the day.
His one and only session with the side will be on Saturday morning when the team will run through its set-pieces.
Sydney officials had been contemplating rushing him back on the first available flight out of London after the Iceland game but that meant he would have arrived home on Thursday night, making it more difficult for his body to adjust to the time difference.
Sydney coach Pierre Littbarski admitted the Yorke situation had given him some headaches but was quick to laugh it off.
"He will have some time for recovery work and that is it," Littbarski said. "We can't do much about it.
"I'll make sure he gets to bed and I'll read him some bedtime stories to get him to sleep and hope he recovers."
 
Littbarski said he had no qualms releasing Yorke for the international - not that he could have done anything about it given it is a FIFA-designated international date.
Before leaving for London, the Yorke, 34, asked Sydney fans to understand his situation.
"I hope people understand how important it is for me to be representing my country, especially with the World Cup just four months away," Yorke said.
"As the captain of my country, it is important that I play in this match against Iceland."
Littbarski sided with him yesterday.
"I understood his decision," Littbarski said after the Sydney squad went through a one-hour session at Aussie Stadium.
Yorke, who missed three matches during the A-League season because of international duty, has never shirked his commitment to Sydney and demanded to play each time he returned, even if he had had only 48 hours to recover.
Meanwhile, young defender Jacob Timpano is almost certain to reclaim a role after missing the second leg major semi-final victory against Adelaide United two weeks ago through injury.
Timpano has been working tirelessly on a groin strain and showed no signs of discomfort during training yesterday.
The coach also confirmed experienced Andrew Packer will play at right back in place of the suspended Mark Milligan.
Hopes for a sell-out crowd of 42,000 for the grand final have been boosted after Football Federation Australia announced that the match is now "fully subscribed".

The Australian"

[FF]

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,1720597,00.html

Yorke's double sets T&T on winning road to Germany

Trinidad & Tobago 2 - 0 Iceland
Yorke 10, 52pen

International friendly: The Soca Warriors showed enough to worry Sven as Dwight Yorke's double saw off Iceland.

Simon Burnton at Loftus Road
Wednesday March 1, 2006
www.guardian.co.uk

Carnival was celebrated in Trinidad & Tobago yesterday and last night their fans and footballers succeeded in bringing something of the same to west London, where two goals from Dwight Yorke saw them dance to victory over Iceland.
The T&T coach Leo Beenhakker seemed to be the only one unmoved by the performance, however. "I'm very happy with the result," he said later, "but I think I can ask much more of the players."

For all the Dutchman's coolness his team were impressive and even if Sven-Goran Eriksson is unlikely to be losing much sleep as he prepares England for their meeting on June 15, the World Cup's great outsiders showed enough talent and tactical discipline to suggest that they will be an asset to the event.
So too will their supporters, who arrived as if determined to pretend that they were in sunny Port of Spain rather than icy Shepherds Bush, the streets around the ground humming to a party fuelled by beating drums and barbecuing meat. "I think we will bring a lot of colour, on and off the pitch," the goalkeeper Shaka Hislop said later. "Everyone's very excited about our prospects."

The carnival atmosphere continued inside too where, to a constant musical accompaniment, T&T warmed to their unfamiliar role of match favourites by throwing themselves forward from the first whistle. With a population of only 1.1m they may be one of the smallest countries ever to have qualified for the World Cup, but last night they were much the mightier of the two sides.

Iceland's manager Eyjolfur Sverrisson can choose from only 296,737 people and his team is ranked 45 places behind T&T in 96th. They justified such a ranking during a World Cup qualification campaign that was as miserable as Trinidad's was memorable. Their confidence may have been low last night but it seemed their motivation was too as they played as if afraid of pooping a party.

Dundee United's winger Collin Samuel had already caught the eye before he skipped down the left wing and sent in a 10th-minute cross which was headed out as far as Yorke, who had time to control before shooting into the top corner from 15 yards. Before the first half ended Stern John missed a wonderful opportunity to double the lead. Hermann Hreidarsson totally misjudged Avery John's left-wing free-kick but after controlling well, the Coventry City striker shot over.

With T&T deservedly ahead the party continued at half-time with the appearance of a group of female dancers whose attire was not altogether appropriate for February in England. Their team, however, were not distracted and Avery John, impressive at left-back, soon overlapped well and Stern John was bundled over by Ivar Ingimarsson as he fought to reach the cross. Little about Yorke appears to have changed since he left for Australia, and his cheeky chipped penalty was familiar to everyone except the flummoxed substitute goalkeeper Dadi Larusson.

"He's still a great player," said Beenhakker, who will watch Sweden in Ireland tonight and dispatch an assistant to check out England. "Nobody has to tell me that we still have a lot to do. The players can still improve. If it's good enough to surprise some of our opponents at the World Cup I don't know, but they still have a lot of room to grow."

Though they rarely threatened to extend their lead T&T remained in control, with the Dennis Lawrence dominant in defence. He and the team are likely to face several sterner tests this summer.