Tasha St Louis: Game of our lives.
By: Ian Prescott (Express).[/size]
Tasha St Louis looks to clash with Mexico.
"This is the most important game of our lives. We have to win it," top Trinidad and Tobago player Tasha St Louis said of today's CONCACAF Gold Cup match against Mexico, which takes place from 8.30 p.m. (T&T time) at Tropical Park Stadium, South Miami.
The winner of the elimination match earns a trip to the Home Depot Center, California, for a semi-final meeting with two-time World Cup winners, the United States.
"Everybody on the team can play the game. We will do well. Once we get past the first leg with Mexico, I think we have a chance to go to the World Cup, because even if we don't beat the USA, we can still finish third and play a playoff with Japan, who we should beat."
St Louis rarely makes predictions, but she has been brimming with anticipation for days before tonight's match.
She thinks Trinidad and Tobago's national women's football team, the "Soca Princesses", are going to shock a Mexico squad who have played many warm-up matches and are better prepared than their Caribbean opponents going into the tournament.
St Louis has adopted a "no matter" attitude to her team's inadequate preparation, which was only made worse when the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) agreed to allow them to leave home just two days before the tournament.
"We never get to play warm-up games anyway. So, that is not a big issue for us. We know what Mexico is capable of and what we have to do to beat them. We haven't played together since the last tournament, but I know what these girls can do. I play with some of them and once we play up to our potential, we can win this game."
St Louis is Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy combined for the Soca Princesses. Playing since she was nine, St Louis is the most naturally skilled of the T&T players, picking up some of her experience on the Carenage Recreation Ground, playing against her cousins Kerry Baptiste (San Juan Jabloteh) and Christon Baptiste (Defence Force), both Trinidad-based professional players.
A national footballer since 17, and playing her second CONCACAF Gold Cup, St Louis has made her name, but she has also remained with local champions Real Dimension, mainly to lend experience to the younger players, although she knows she should be playing at a higher level.
Last year, St Louis scored 22 goals for Indiana FC in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPFL) lining up against top women players in the USA.
Earlier this year, she transferred to the New England Mutiny, before returning to Trinidad and Tobago at the end of the US season in August to play with Real Dimension.
St Louis knows that the younger T&T players will be looking up to her along with the likes of Darcel Akheela Mollon, number one goal-scorer in junior college in the United States two years ago with 56 goals and 23 assists for Young Harris, Leslie Ann James and keeper Lisa Jo Ramkisoon, who are also in their second Gold Cup.
"First I am looking for performance from the girls on the team ... winning will come after. We are looking for performance first. Some of the girls are still maturing and are playing their first Gold Cup. This will be a growing experience for them, but they have the ability to do well," she said with confidence.
St Louis said that although the national team will not have much fan support at the tournament, she believes that all that will change should they come back successful.
"We already know what to expect from the people of Trinidad and Tobago. I can't even say fans, because we don't have many of them. We usually expect a certain amount of people to support us and that is that.
"It is true that we have not achieved much yet, but we expect much more support from our country. It should not be a case where we go out and qualify for a World Cup for people to jump on the bandwagon. Like any other team, we are the representatives of Trinidad and Tobago and we are going out there to do the best for this country. They should support us only for that alone."
News from the 18th of November 2006.
Birchall takes Zenn to hometown.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
National team midfielder Chris Birchall has taken a bold step to carry a piece of Trinidad and Tobago back to his hometown in England.
Known for his exploits on the field in national colours since breaking into the Soca Warriors line up a little more than 18 months ago, Birchall has now invested in a nightclub, known as the hottest spot in Stoke and has decided to rename it Zenn, a name he says has been influenced by his favourite hang out spot in Port of Spain.
He bought over the club with close friend, Stoke City player Andy Wilkinson recently and is planning for a grand opening on December 9 when he has a host of celebrities including Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Stern John, Brent Sancho and the rest of the T&T based contingent in the UK as well as other known celebrities from Stoke and environs.
“I have invested in it with my mate Andy and I decided to name it Zenn with the extra N at the end because of my addiction and love for Zen nightclub back in Port of Spain,” Birchall revealed in Vienna on Monday. This obviously stems from my experience in Trinidad and everyone knows how well I have been accepted. I wanted to bring something from Trinidad back to England with me and show my appreciation in some form.
“This is not going to take away from my football as it’s just an exciting investment for my future. My dad will be involved in the day to day running and it’s a spot where I will look forward to having a nice meet up with the guys outside of football,” Birchall said.
Meantime, he will be aiming to bounce back into the Coventry team and help them push for Premiership promotion as their season continues.
News from the 16th of November 2006.
First half hattrick dents T&T in Vienna.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).[/size]
Trinidad and Tobago’s senior footballers didn’t live up to the expectations of their eager fans as they slumped to a 4-1 defeat to Austrian before 20,900 fans at the Ernst Happel Stadium on a not so chilly night in Vienna.
But neither was it warm by any means for the visiting “Soca Warriors” as they suffered too many unforced errors and paid the price with Rene Aufhauser grabbing a first half hattrick and substitute Ferdinand Feldhofer netting a late fourth item for the hosts.
T&T head coach Wim Rijsbergen, already missing no less than seven World Cup regulars, thought his team would have had a chance of salvaging a result as though being exploited at the back, they did manage to force some pressure on the Austrians with Carlos Edwards and Collin Samuel in particular running at them.
But skipper Dennis Lawrence was an overworked man by the end of the game and even his efforts couldn’t prevent the scoreline. Missing due to late knee injury was leading goalscorer Stern John, Dwight Yorke, Avery John, Kenwyne Jones, Brent Sancho, Kelvin Jack with Cornell Glen injured out and the likes of Shaka Hislop, Silvio Spann and Marvin Andrews also out of the fray.
From as early as the third minute, goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams had to gather Sanel Kuljic’s effort. Then on four minutes Cyd Gray had to clear off the line with Williams beaten and Roland Linz looking set to open the scoring.
Samuel later cut in from the left and had his shot deflected out. But it wasn’t before too long that Aufhauser converted from Linz’s pass on the left of the box.
Then in the 17th minute, defender Atiba Charles, having one of those nights that he would quickly want to forget tried to find Chris Birchall only for Christoph Leitgeb to see his effort saved low down by Williams.
T&T got back in it when Edwards sweetly created for Samuel to collect and neatly beat the advancing Alexander Manninger for a 1-1 scoreline on 23 minutes.
But T&T’s celebrations were shortlived as another lapse in their half of the field as Aufhauser converted from a tight angle and the same man headed home on the near post from Andrea Ivanschitz just before the interval.
In other first half action, Charles misjudged a ball played deep into the area and Kuljic had only himself to blame for shooting wide. Birchall had T&T’s next closest attempt as his free kick drive was deflected just over bar.
Rijsbergen put midfielder Densill Theobald in the middle after the break at Charles’ expense and though trailing by two, T&T enjoyed more possession and looked more settled than previous. Edwards almost pulled the deficit to one when his cracker from 30 yards out crashed off the cross bar and Samuel collected inside the box and failed to push it past Manninger, also seeing a second attempt scrambled away on the rebound.
Home based pros, Kerry Baptiste, Andre Toussaint and Andrei Pacheco all got runs in the closing ten minutes but there was little more done to T&T’s performance. All that was left was for the home fans to applaud their team’s fourth item on the night. The overseas-based pros return to their respective clubs on Thursday while the home-base contingent also fly out of Vienna in the morning.
Team Line-Ups:
Trinidad & Tobago: - 1.Jan-Michael Williams, 8.Cyd Gray (16.Andrei Pacheco 84th), 3.Nigel Daniel, 6.Dennis Lawrence (capt), 2.Atiba Charles (18.Densill Theobald 46th), 11.Carlos Edwards, 7.Christopher Birchall, 9.Aurtis Whitley (13.Kerry Baptiste 78th), 12.Collin Samuel, 15.Scott Sealy (10.Andre Toussaint 80th), 20.Jason Scotland.
Austria: - Alexander Manninger, Johannes Erntl (Joachim Standfest 59th), Martin Stranzl, Martin Hiden (Ferdinand Feldhofer 46th), Christian Fuchs, Andreas Ivanschitz, Rene Aufhauser, Yuksel Sariyar (Zlatko Junozovic 59th), Christoph Leitgeb (Gyorgy Garics 46th), Roland Linz (Muhammet Akagunduz 71st), Sanel Kuljic (Klaus Salmutter 71st).
We paid the price for slow football says Rijsbergen.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).[/size]
Trinidad and Tobago’s senior team head coach Wim Rijsbergen took Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat to Austria with a pinch of salt and vows to return to the sunshine and work the team’s way back into a respectable fashion.
The Dutchman let it be known after the defeat in Vienna that he was disappointed immensely with the performance of the team as their lackadaisical first half performance allowed the Austrians to take the match beyond their reach before 20,900 fans at the Ernst Happel Stadium.
The “Soca Warriors” as they suffered too many unforced errors and paid the price with Rene Aufhauser grabbing a first half hattrick and substitute Ferdinand Feldhofer netting a late fourth item for the hosts.
Rijsbergen, already missing no less than seven World Cup regulars, thought his team would have had a chance of salvaging a result as though being exploited at the back, they did manage to force some pressure on the Austrians with Carlos Edwards and Collin Samuel in particular running at them.
But skipper Dennis Lawrence was an overworked man by the end of the game and even his efforts couldn’t prevent the scoreline. Missing due to late knee injury was leading goalscorer Stern John, Dwight Yorke, Avery John, Kenwyne Jones, Brent Sancho, Kelvin Jack with Cornell Glen injured out and the likes of Shaka Hislop, Silvio Spann and Marvin Andrews also out of the fray.
Wouldn’t we have had a lot of answers from the defeat, Rijsbergen was asked and he replied “Not just answers but also questions. The people in Trinidad saw the game. Don’t matter what international game you play, if you start too easy or too slow, you pay the price for it. Physically we give the Austrians the chance to come into the game and they build up their confidence,” Rijsbergen told TTFF Media after the game.
“We didn’t show in the twenty minutes that we came to win this game. We didn’t have one good pass in the first eight minutes with the first one being from Aurtis to Carlos. If you start like that then of course it’s very difficult to come back. Everyone sees how easy we gave the goals away. After some talking, we did a little better in the first half but that wasn’t enough.
“But if you can play much better from the first half then you won’t have to pay the price.
He emphasized the need for the players, particularly the home-based ones to increase their intensity of play. And not because four of those outfield players didn’t start means he cannot refer to them as the fact is, had they been in better conditions, the possibility lies that they could have been among the starters.
“Physically, if you see their number 6, he scored three goals and he did a lot more. On the day you have to do a lot of work and it’s a team effort. Austria is not the best team in the world but all their guys were working and fighting for every one v one situation. If you do that, then the rest would come much easier,” he added.
The former Dutch defender didn’t forget to say that prolific scorer Stern John deserves every credit for his efforts for T&T.
“I know Stern has a lot of enemies but we saw also today that Stern John is by far the best forward that the country probably ever had. We missed him because with him holding the ball a little more, it would give us some more time to breathe and build but it didn’t; happen today. It’s a good signal to the other players to work very hard and it takes a lot to play this international game.”
Next up will be the Digicel Cup in T&T from January 28 to February 11 but Rijsbergen and his staff heads off to South Caroline next week to conduct a scouting camp for players in the North American region eligible of playing for this country. The overseas-based pros will return to the respective clubs on Thursday while the home-based contingent will also leave Vienna for Port of Spain on the same day.
News from the 15th of November 2006.
John ruled out of tonight's affair.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).[/size]
Trinidad and Tobago suffered a late blow on the eve of their friendly international against Austria as key striker Stern John sustained a knee injury and has been ruled out of the encounter at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna.
The injury was a frustrating one for John who had to leave the field in an uncomfortable mood after a collision with goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams as the team went through some finishing drills at the match venue on Tuesday night.
What started off under a relatively cool conditions turned damp for the Coventry City man as he went in to meet a cross and met a rushing Williams at the top of the six yard box resulting in him receiving a blow to the chest and then a follow through knock to the left knee as he landed. He immediately walked off the pitch in limping and was observed by team doctor Terrence Babwah. He underwent a scan in Vienna on Wednesday morning which reportedly showed sprained ligaments but means he will take at least two weeks before being able to engage in action again. It is obviously disappointing news for the T&T top striker as he has been enjoying good form of late for his club and is nearing the end of his contract at the Championship Division team.
This now means that head coach Wim Rijsbergen will possibly start with Jason Scotland and Scott Sealy in attack as John was already on a flight back to Birmingham by mid afternoon on Wednesday. The team is now down to 16 players with defender Dwayne Jack being unable to make the trip.
“It’s the most disappointing thing to have to miss a game because of this kind of knock and it couldn’t have come at a worse time,” a disappointed John said.
Warriors seek to continue ‘friendly’ run.
T&T Guardian Reports.
National coach Wim Rijsbergen will have extra options in midfield as T&T meets Austria in a friendly international at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna from 3.30 pm T&T time (8.30 pm Austrian time).
Midfielders Aurtis Whitley and Densill Theobald will add some depth to the midfield with Carlos Edwards and Chris Birchall also in the squad but Rijsbergen will not have Gillingham defender Brent Sancho nor Marvin Andrews or Ian Cox, all of whom travelled to Germany for the recent World Cup.
Tobago-born defender Dwayne Jack will also miss out because of travel problems as well as left sided defender Avery John who asked to be excused because of club commitments with New England Revolution, so too regular skipper Dwight Yorke with Sunderland.
The Dutchman along with his assistant Jan Van Deinsen will be keen to see what his new mix will do with Collin Samuel, Coventry City striker Stern John, Jason Scotland and MLS striker Scott Sealy available to provide the fire power up front.
Dennis Lawrence will marshal the defence with Cyd Gray, Irish-based Atiba Charles and Nigel Daniel also around.
The game will be the final international for T&T for 2006 and comes on the eve of what marks one year since T&T’s historic qualification for the 2006 World Cup via a 1-0 win over Bahrain in Manama.
“The question people are asking is about Dwight Yorke not being here. While he is a leader for the team and has performed his role well, we also have to use the chance to see other players and then we can see what we have for the future like the Gold Cup next year in America,” said Rijsbergen.
Also missing is Southampton striker Kenwyne Jones who celebrated the birth of twin girls yesterday.
On his return to the team, first time since the World Cup, Theobald said he expects to have a few butterflies in him because playing for T&T is always a big occasion.
“I could have a few tinges in me because I am playing for the first time since the World Cup and I want to make a good impression. But it’s different now because playing these kinds of games are no longer new for me. I think going to the World Cup and especially doing fairly well as we did set a whole new position for us. So it’s just up to us to settle down and play our football.”
Birchall and Cyd Gray cut short their morning session because of muscle tightness but both were carded to take part in the evening session at the match venue while John was allowed to rest up his bruised ankle.
Another one who will be hoping to not only help T&T seek a third straight win in international warm ups, but also put on a good show for interested buyers will be Edwards, now a Luton Town standout but also an attraction to a few clubs ahead of the new transfer window in January.
Austria, preparing to co-host the 2008 Euro Championships have not had such a good run in recent times but they have in fact played in seven World Cups.
Their best finishes were third (1954), fourth (1934), seventh (1978), and eighth (1982). Their line up includes Boavista forward Roland Linz, goalkeeper Alex Manninger of Italian club Sienna as well as Panathinaikos midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz and defender Martin Hiden of local top club Rapid Vienna.
The match venue, with a capacity of 50,000 is named after one of Austria’s best coaches and former defenders. Happel was once voted on a Fifa team and also played for Feyenoord. As coach of Holland, he led them to the 1978 Final in which Rijsbergen was involved as a member of the Dutch team.
Charles: They don't care.
T&T coach regrets late change of plans.
By: Ian Prescott (Trinidad Guardian).
"They don't care," Marlon Charles declared, "referring to the attitude of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) towards the national women's football team.
"But I am undaunted...I am not quarrelling. When things like this happen, you hear people talking after a tournament, but they don't know what is happening. We have many talented footballers, but they are not being given the opportunity to give their best performance through proper preparation." Charles was venting his feelings, but not angry. The head coach of the T&T national women's football team had expected to leave Trinidad for Miami today, play two warm-up matches against an American professional team and the Jamaican national team before facing Mexico on Sunday at the 2006 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup.
But, his squad's lack of preparation was made even more threadbare when the T&TFF took 48 hours out of his intended build-up on US soil. Two days might not seem much, but since the bulk of his players are based at universities in the United States and Canada on football scholarships, Charles felt it vital to get some playing time with them before the tournament.
"Canada, Mexico and the United States are coming into the tournament after playing in the Peace Queen's Cup. We now have to leave on Friday, just two days before the tournament. We leave on the 17th, face the hassle of going through immigration, jet lag, and also wait for a bus to go to the hotel. What can I do with these players on the afternoon of the 17th? Nothing!" he declared.
"I will want to train on the Saturday, but I can't do anything much because the game is the next day. We are going into a World Cup qualifying tournament without preparation. How can that be good enough?"
Charles has consistently said that the T&T Soca Warriors' qualification for the 2006 FIFA Men's World Cup in Germany was the best thing to happen to football in this country. He must now be wondering whether all the resources are going to the men, while other national teams are neglected.
He probably is also wondering if the Soca Warriors had the same problems going into today's friendly international against Austria in Vienna.
"We saw it recently with Brian Williams and the national under-20 footballers, who are meeting teams like St Kitts, who had gone to Brazil before a tournament. Anton Corneal said the same thing about the under-17 footballers not being prepared properly. Yet, they (T&TFF) want good results. Football is not about magic, it's about preparation," stated Charles.
Forced to alter his plans, the T&T coach leaves on Friday with eight locally-based players, including two goalkeepers, who will join 12 foreign-based players in Miami.
Five footballers from local women's champions Real Dimension are in the national team, including Tasha St Louis, Jamila Mathlin, Niasha Reyes, Rae Ann Elder and Nadia James.
Also in the squad are Leslie Ann James (Joe Public), goalkeeper Kemica Forbes (St Clair Coaching School) and Lisa Joe Ramkisson.
Charles has chosen a big locally-based contingent as he has had at least two days a week to work with them and is pleased by what he has seen. He is hoping the American college circuit will at least have brought the T&T foreign-based players to a high level of fitness.
"I am not discouraged," he said. "In fact, I am very optimistic. We are going to do the best we can, with the resources we have. We know it's going to be tough, but the girls are all up for the fight. We are going out there to do our best for Trinidad and Tobago."
