Triniwings Match Report.
A brilliant day of pleasant sunshine was the setting within which I drove down to the Hasley Crawford Stadium to witness a friendly warm-up between my local Soca Warriors and 2004 PFL Champions, North East Stars. Somehow, there was a deep feeling of optimism in the air, that my Warriors would be a new team, playing with a greater sense of purpose and national pride that was seemingly absent in our Senior team of the fairly recent past.
I arrived at the venue exactly at 5:30p.m., and as I proceeded to the entry gates, to my pleasant surprise, ENTRANCE WAS FREE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was seated in Grounds at around the 4th minute of play (hence was not able to hear the starting line-up) and was anticipating a good contest.....here is what I got instead.................
Starting Line-up (could have some errors due to some player unfamiliarity).
Goalkeeper.
Duarance Williams
Defenders.
Atiba Charles
Derek King
Keyeno Thomas
Nigel Daniel
Midfielders.
Angus Eve
Densil Theobald
Aurtis Whitley (aka Otis Seaton - #10)
Arnold Dwarika
Forwards.
Gary Glasgow
#11 Michael Celestine
To sum things up in my uncharacteristic brief and frustrated match report, we played with no kind of cohesion, purpose and were totally outclassed by the Sangre Grande outfit!
Players' first touch were deplorable, and when placed under pressure which lasted for almost 90 minutes, un-professional errors and poor quality in their individual technique were severely exposed. At times, it would have been easier to support NE Stars, and the crowd, approximately 2,500 strong (I stand to be corrected) began to get behind the real Stars on the day.
Our defenders were unacceptable in terms of their trapping and controlling off the ball when placed under pressure. They should all be replaced in my opinion, although some were worse than others. Their distribution out of the back always seemed to result in an interception or another playing unable to hold possesion of the ball. At times they were caught ballwatching while many NE Stars players made runs at them. When they tried to play the ball between themselves at the back, the passing of the ball were so bad that many players had to run after balls in empty space with players on their backs. It really looked like panic recovery at times. The T&T wingbacks were non-existent throughout the match, especially with respect to Nigel Daniel. So many on this board have praised his ability and work-rate, but I can confidently tell all on this board that he is not all that some claim him to be. Maybe it could be the strategy and formation that Leo B implemented, but his control and passing in tight spaces were a lot less to be desired. He was absolutely nothing offensively, as he hardly made overlapping at all. The same can be said about Derek King, who was played at the right back position. Thomas and Charles were just about average, and can be easily replaced by Andrews, Sancho, Cox....or even Anton Pierre for that matter.
The midfield was almost as disappointing because although some players did try their best, the distribution from the back was so poor, that they had to fight hard to collect the ball and create anything with the pressure that NE stars midfielders and defenders placed on them. The best midfielder on the day hands down for me was Densill Theobald. Everytime he collected the ball, clearly there was some purpose and thought behind his decisions. He passed the ball well, distributed well, turned well, but somehow the T&T unit looked a bit disorganised in their positional play, and our midfield could not link well with our forwards. Theobald however, had an admirable work rate offensively and defensively, made some intelligent runs, distributed quickly, and was certainly one of the few players that Leo B could safely retain. Whitley played a fairly decent game, but it must be said, that a lot more was expected of the San Juan Jabloteh player. He really tried at times, and although his passing was decent, he was not as effective in midfield as probably Theobald was. Well as for Angus Eve, he did not have a good game at all. He was pretty much, an ordinary midfielder, that was non-existent and added nothing that another midfielder could have. I was anticipating a solid performance from him, but that is not what Leo B got. Dwarika also had a decent game, but as we all know him to be, he was inconsistent in his performance, however his effort was there to be seen. When he did play well, he added a little spark of creativity and unpredictability, but he did have a sitter saved by the goalkeeper about ten yards outsied goal midway in the first half. Dwaika seemed to play up-front at times, on the right on other ocassions and even drifted into center midfield. His positioning was a bit vague, but I am unable to comment on this, since I do not know what was Leo B's tactics on the day. Maybe he was instructed to play as a roaming midfielder, I do not know. He was certainly one of the best of a very bad lot today. His best play was when he was in midfield though, not up front.
Our frontline was the worst I have seen in years. Gary Glasgow (#9) and another player who I was unable to identify(#11 Celestine ?), lacked aggression, confidence and any kind of attacking instincts expected of modern strikers. Glasgow was easily 8-10 times offisde in the match while Celestine really brought nothing to the team. Celestine did throw away a simple shot on goal on an almost 1v1 with the keeper, but selected to lay-off the ball for Glasgow who was nowhere in as good a position as he was. Besides that, I cannot recall any other goal scoring opportunities that came the way of the Soca Warriors. The offense was so minimal that the NE Stars goalkeeper began to do some light jogging and stretching laterally across the field, a considerable distance outside his penalty box. How embarrassing.
All in all, the Warriors were pre-occupied with defensive responsibilites in order to keep out the NE Stars. NE Stars did look quite menacing in attack, and really proved to Leo B, that there is not much between the players selected to represent T&T and other local players who were discarded or overlooked. Our players, especially our defenders and forwards were outhustled and showed little skill and technique in their first touch, passing, and movement in tight spaces. As a result, our passing and offensive attempts if any were either hustled with poor technique, very defensive, or lacked the confidence expected of players representing the twin-island republic. The backline was so defensive and at times displayed such a lack of confidence in their individual play and belief among themselves, that the ball was played back to the keeper so so so so many times that the keeper could have easily had one of the most touches in the game.
Not a good start for Leo B, but to be fair, he only had the team for a few days. Improvement is a must. There were substitutes, but I could not identify them and the PA system was very weak where I was sitting. They did not make any impact at all. I do remember Nigel Pierre being one of those.
Look like this was not so brief after all.
Anyways fellas....I tired and a bit disappointed. Let us look forward to the next game.
I out
Laters
Tell meh wa alya tink...Feedback is welcomed.
