T&T stay alive....U20s to meet Jamaica in playoff.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Trinidad and Tobago’s under 20 footballers will have to go through the back door and may still need to pick an extra lock to progress in their qualifying bid for the 2007 FIFA World Youth Championship. All this was determined as the Brian Williams coached team showed some guts in a 3-0 victory over St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Ato Boldon Stadium on Sunday to secure second spot in the group and a place in the playoff with Jamaica in two weeks time.
St Kitts/Nevis proved the odds wrong as they outlasted Dominican Republic 2-1 in the first game of the double header on a muddy pitch. The result meant they moved to six points and that T&T would have had to win by three clear goals to edge Dominican Republic for the second spot.
A 27th minute header goal by Radanfah Abu Bakr and a double by Matthew Bartholomew in the 70th and 81st minute paced T&T to the much needed victory in front a few hundred fans who turned up in desperate hope of something good from their boys.
A couple days earlier, the Spanish-speaking players were cheering on the Kittitians from the stands and on Sunday they were quiet and left disappointed with the eventual outcome.
T&T started with more purpose than they did in the two previous encounters as it appeared they finally realised that they weren’t that good as they may have been made to feel. Defenders Marvin James and Brendon Boucaud were left out of the start team this time while Corneal Thomas returned from injury and Stefan De Las got his first start.
The Vincentians actually had the first attempt on goal on 15 minutes when Cornelius Stewart tried from long range without any direction and a couple minutes later T&T’s Javed Mohammed had no control over his skied effort from the top left of the box under no pressure.
The chances were coming for T&T but the goals were what they needed. First time starter Stefan De Las’ left side ball led to Bartholomew’ try with the outside of the right foot going inches wide on the near left post. And moments later Bartholomew failed to make contact with Mohammed’s quicker grounder across the goal. The ball seemed to be following the W Connection striker throughout that he would have had many sleepless nights if he hadn’t converted later on.
The deadlock was finally broken just before the half hour mark when Keon Daniel, who continued with his dangerous looking deliveries from the right, floated one over for Bakr to clinically head home.
After the break, T&T continued to press for more goals as the Vincentians found it hard to even testing T&T’s Adrian Foncette in goal. They ran hard though and tried even harder to deny the hosts.
Mohammed’s left side corner preceded a Bakr header which went straight to goalie Dwaing Peters Sandy on 53 minutes and seven minutes later the same provider saw his corner headed wide by Bartholomew.
Lester Peltier wasn’t penetrative and was replaced by Carlyle Mitchell in the 68th minute and Downing came on for Mohammed.
It wasn’t long before Downing chased a loose ball on the left and timed his cross perfectly for an onrushing Bartholomew to stab home from the six yard. Two goals ahead and T&T began to see more light on the night.
At that stage, youth development director Anton Corneal, who sat on the bench for the first time in the series, was now on his feet sending out instructions. And the rest of the T&T faithful too were doing their own spurring on.
The goal that kept T&T alive then came when Atullah Guerra’s shot was partially blocked by the ‘keeper and the ball ended to the left of the goal for a busy Downing to square back for Bartholomew’s make sure connection.
The scorer had a chance to grab a hattrick but he alone could explain how his right footer ended up behind the goal after a breakaway down the left near the end. St Vincent lost a man for a second bookable offense but T&T had already done enough by then that not even that mattered at that point.
Teams
T&T[/b] – 1.Adrian Foncette, 5.Radanfah Abu Bakr (capt), 13.Stefan De Las, 4.Corneal Thomas, 18.Christon Thomas (14.Elton John 74th), 7.Khaleem Hyland, 16.Javed Mohammed (11.Aaron Downing 68th), 8.Keon Daniel, 12.Atullah Guerra, 9.Lester Peltier (20.Carlyle Mitchell 68th), 10.Matthew Bartholomew.
SVG – 22.Dwaing Peters-Sandy, 19.Olean Hannaway, 3.Keith James, 6.Shemol Trimmingham, 7.Iziah Sam, 8.Tiron Miller, 10.Quillian Tash, 12.Seinard Bowens, 11. Cornelius Stewart (Japheti Garrick 29th), 13.Amon Bascombe, 14.Romano Snagg.
News from the 28th of October 2006.
St. Kitts/Nevis hurt ‘Young Warriors’ in W/Cup qualifier.
By: Vinod Narwani (ttproleague).[/size]
St. Kitts/Nevis dealt Trinidad and Tobago’s Under-20 footballers a heavy blow in the CFU stage of the World Cup qualifiers by edging them 1-0 on Friday night at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar.
The lone item came in the 3rd minute when Orlando Mitchum received a ball from the left side and made no mistake, hitting the back of the net to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.
T&T came close to opening their account four minutes later when skipper Radanfah Abu Bakr headed in a corner, which was just cleared off the line by one of the St. Kitts/Nevis defenders.
The visiting team had a chance of extending the lead in the 10th minute when Mitchum dashed towards goal, but his tame effort was not enough to challenge T&T goalkeeper Adrian Foncette.
Abu Bakr’s men again had another opportunity at getting their opening item courtesy W Connection’s Matthew Bartholomew’s header after he received a pass from the energetic Lester Peltier on the right flank; however, goalkeeper Alexis Richards saved his effort in the 20th minute.
Aaron Moses then gave T&T a scare with a low drive that required a diving save from Foncette to prevent the little fancied St. Kitts from making it 2-0.
The young ‘Soca Warriors’ had the best chance of the night in the 42nd minute when referee Enrico Wijngaarde of Suriname gave the hosts a penalty for a handled ball inside the box.
Khaleem Hyland failed to convert the spot kick, as a diving Richards in goal for St. Kitts/Nevis saved his effort.
T&T now getting desperate tried to up the ante in the second half in the wet conditions that caused players on both sides to slip on the surface quite often.
Marvin James dribbled his way in and laid the ball for Bartholomew, who fired off target in the 54th minute.
Bartholomew again dashed towards goal in the 61st minute, but again the W Connection striker’s shot was badly directed.
The home side kept pressing for the equalizing goal, but lacked penetration and had the fans frustrated.
The 81st minute provided another scare for the young T&T side as a free kick, floated in from the right, was received by substitute Kervin Benjamin only to be hit wide off target.
Abu Bakr showed throughout the match that he was not going to go down without a fight, his direct free kick in the 89th minute producing a quality save from the St. Kitts/Nevis custodian.
Substitute Christon Thomas of Superstar Rangers tried to salvage some pride in stoppage time, but his shot could not find the back of the onion bag, which meant T&T had to suffer the humiliation of a home loss to the little fancied St. Kitts/Nevis and will have to hope for some luck if they are to move into the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers for the FIFA World Youth Cup.
The earlier game between the Dominican Republic and St. Vincent and the Grenadines ended 3-1 in favour of the Spanish-speaking country.
As a result, T&T must win Sunday’s encounter with the Vincentians and hope the Dominican Republic defeats St. Kitts/Nevis in order to grab the second qualifying spot in the group.
Trinidad & Tobago - Adrian Foncette (GK), Brendon Boucaud, Marvin James (Christon Thomas 55th), Radanfah Abu Bakr (capt), Khaleem Hyland, Keon Daniel (Elton John 83rd), Atulla Guerra, Javed Mohammed, Aaron Dowing (Carlyle Mitchell 45th), Lester Peltier, Matthew Bartholomew.
Coach – Brian Williams
St. Kitts/Nevis - Alexis Richards (GK), Tishan Hanley, Javin Matthew, Rovan Wigley, Tiran Hanley, Kevin Benjamin (Irandy Byron 66th), Kareem Harris, Aaron Moses (Byon Morson 83rd), Gerard Williams, Orlando Mitchum (Kervin Benjamin 70th), Matthew Berkeley.
Coach – Lester Morris
Match Referee – Enrico Wijngaarde (Suriname)
Trinidad & Tobago v St. Kitts/Nevis
0 GOALS 1
1 YELLOW CARDS 4
0 RED CARDS 0
5 SHOTS ON TARGET 3
11 FOULS 13
6 CORNERS 4
2 OFFSIDES 1
News from the 27th of October 2006.
Under 20s go for more vs St Kitts.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Trinidad and Tobago’s Under 21 footballers will be going for three points and hopefully more goals when they take on St Kitts/Nevis in the second outing in the Caribbean Football Union Under 20 qualifying competition at the Larry Gomes Stadium from 7pm.
And why the need for more goals? Simply because the T&T youths failed to put their chances away and had to settle for a 1-1 stalemate with Dominican Republic at the Ato Boldon Stadium on Wednesday. And with only one team going through to the CONCACAF Final round as automatic qualifiers, St Vincent and the Grenadines are leading the race after a 1-0 win over St Kitts/Nevis in the opening match yesterday. This now means that it could turn out as battle for points with goals telling the difference and the team that finishes second will meet the runners up from Group F (Haiti, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, Bermuda) in a playoff for the third CFU spot.
On Wednesday, T&T never looked a settled bunch during the first half of play as despite getting closer to goal a lot more than their opponents.
On 10 minutes, Dion Peters saw his low effort go wide of the left post and Lester Peltier also hit win with a shot on the run after 22 minutes.
The muddy conditions didn’t make play on the surface any easier and T&T eventually sneaked ahead on the stroke of halftime. After hitting two previous attempts over the mark, skipper Radanfah Abu Bakr picked his spot and executed perfectly from the top left of the box, sending the ball into the right corner for a 1-0 T&T lead going into the interval.
The second half has much more incidents but little to cheer in terms of goalmouth excitement.
Two minutes into the break, after Peltier thought he had scored from a left side cross and with almost the entire team celebrating with cross provider Aaron Downing on the left side, the assistant ruled offside and Grenadines referee George Phillip allowed the restart as the visitors charged goalwards. Fortunately, with T&T clearly outnumbered, they over-pushed the ball and goalie Adrian Foncette cleaned things up.
T&T’s next best chance came on 60 minutes when Matthew Bartholomew had his attempt saved low down by Wellinton Agramonte.
Nine minutes later, Abu Bakr was again at the centre of attention when he was on spot to head off the line after Jose Diaz’s header had Foncette clearly beaten.
With the minutes ticking away, T&T tried to keep hold of the ball and go for the second goal but neither seemed a good possibility.
The Dominicans then got their equalizer in the 77th minute . It came when referee Phillip awarded them a free kick on the right of the box after defender Marvin James was penalized for holding the ball after the assistant’s flag went up for an offense. Instead of a throw in, the visitors got the free kick and Leandro Garcia chipped it well over Foncette into the top left corner of the net.
Bartholomew had one last crack in the 85th minute when he forced the ‘keeper to push out for a corner.
Phillip also resorted to being a spectator during an altercation in the 90th minute between a couple players from both teams, deciding to back away rather than part the exchange before the assistants eventually got involved and play was restarted.
Next up, St Vincent and Dominican Republic tangle from 5pm with T&T and St Kitts dong battle from 7pm at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO – DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 1:1 (1:0)
Radanfah ABU BAKR 45’ – Leandro GARCIA 77’
TRI: Adrian Foncette – Marvin James, Corneal Thomas (63: Stefan De Las), Radanfah Abu Bakr, Devon Drayton, Khaleem Hyland (63: Atulla Guerra), Keon Daniel, Lester Peltier, Matthew Bartholomew, Aaron Downing, Dion Peters (83: Christon Thomas).
Booked: Hyland 45’
Head coach: Brian Williams.
DOM: Wellington Agramonte – Yan Carlos Berroa, Solangel Miliano (84: Inoel Navarro), Johan Sanchez, Gerson Garcia, Pablo Ceballo, Leandro Garcia, Darlin Batista, Francisco Garcia (59: Jonathon Faña), Italo Acevedo (46: Jose Rafael Diaz), Kerbi Rodriguez.
Booked: G. Garcia 9’, L. Garcia 43’, Miliano 63’, Batista 75’
Head coach: Ljubomir Cruokraj
ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES – ST. KITTS & NEVIS 1:0 (1:0)
Romano SNAGG 10’
VIN: Dwaing Peters-Sandy – Keith James, Jalonshoy McDonald, Shemol Trimmingham, Iziah Sam, Tiron Miller, Steven Henry (45: Quillian Tash), Seinard Bowens (81: Cornelius Stewart), Amon Bascombe, Romano Snagg, Ashford Forde (54: Japheti Garrick).
Booked: McDonald 35’
SKN: Alexis Richards – Javin Matthew, Lance Mason, Rovan Wigley, Tiran Hanley, Kareem Harris (Kervin Benjamin), Aaron Moses, Gerard Williams, Irandy Byron (Kevin Benjamin), Orlando Mitchum (Keshawn Warde), Matthew Berkeley.
Booked: Berkeley 30’, Williams 64’
Williams, Abu Bakr says chances still good.
By Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
National Under 20 team head coach Brian Williams will be looking to get more positive vibrations from his team from an offensive perspective when they face St Kitts/Nevis in their second match of the CFU U20s qualifying round at the Larry Gomes Stadium on Friday.
Williams didn’t hold any excuses towards his team’s failure to come away with full points against Dominican Republic but he did hint that maybe they were surprised by the visitors style of play.
“It was something a little strange for our players because of the lack of international exposure,” Williams said in the post match briefing.
“I was pretty satisfied with the performance, I felt we could have kept the ball some more and add some more preparation in midfield. I think with the type of intimidation and quick tackling surprised us because of the lack of international competition. But we have seen what it is like and we have to look forward to the next two matches.
“The field conditions wasn’t too well and our players were sliding a bit. Keon Daniel our key playmaker was a bit off with his distribution. But I think we will regroup and come better on Friday.
“Our approach has to be a lot more positive especially in our goalscoring department. At the end of the day the goal difference will tell a big story,” Williams added. One reporter asked whether the foreign-based players meant it was harder for the team to mesh and Williams disagreed saying that he had recalled only two in Abu Bakr and Stefan De Las who had also previously trained with the team. In fact, he commended Abu Bakr on his performance, saying “Radanfah played well. He had three sessions with the team. His reading of the game was good and his fitness level seemed pretty decent…. maybe he needs a little more covering and distribution of the ball.”
Skipper Radanfah Abu Bakr, T&T’s goalscorer on the evening, was confident his team will bounce back.
“Obviously we are disappointed to not come out with the victory. It almost seems as a loss. As everyone witnessed tonight - we played well. We defended well most of the times, a couple little errors here and there. I think maybe we were hard done by the ref once or twice but that’s the game and we will try to pick it up on Friday,” said the Kingston College student who plays in a semi-professional League where his current visa only allows for 21 hours of football action.
Now the former Caledonia AIA and Queen’s Royal College player says T&T will be going all out to represent in winning style.
“It’s always an honour to represent and furthermore to captain the team. It’s more about the team, at the end of the day it’s not any individual player comes out with the points or the goals- it’s the team. That’s what the coach has instilled in us and that’s how we play. It’s not about Radanfah or coach Brian … it’s Trinidad and Tobago,” Bakr ended.
