Warriors' sweet November 16
By Lasana Liburd (Trinidad Express)
Manama was a cunning city filled with contradictions. On the one hand, she smiled with the courteous modest one expects of a supposedly religious nation.
Bahrain insisted that her taxi drivers were fluent in English-among other languages-to better serve tourists while the downtown streets seemed to welcome outsiders.
But she was two-faced. The smiles often served their own ends. Visitors were gazed upon in the same seductive manner as Bro Anansi would greet an enormous fly.
Everything, even taxi fares, were negotiable. Anything that required a cash fee was meant to be haggled over and one was either shrewd or gullible. A trip to downtown Manama was an exercise in nerve, patience and composure.
It was a lesson that 21 Trinidad and Tobago football players had to learn very quickly.
On November 16, 2006, a coveted place at the Germany 2006 World Cup Finals was at stake in Manama's National Stadium. And the hosts, Bahrain, appeared in control.
Four days earlier, the "Soca Warriors" fought back from a goal down to hold the Bahrainis at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain. Now, they were a 14-hour plane ride away from home on a desert island in the Middle East.
Their mission was to beat Bahrain at their own game. In Port of Spain, the Arab nation defended resolutely while, in possession, they took few risks and waited for Trinidad and Tobago to blink.
It happened 14 minutes before the final whistle as Bahrain striker Salman Ghuloom gleefully capitalised on a corner kick. Only a superb equalising goal from Chris Birchall, T&T's new English recruit, kept Bahrain's dreams in check-almost.
In Manama, Bahrain were as confident of progressing as was Trinidad and Tobago's own "Strike Squad" in 1989. The irony could not have been lost on the surviving members of that famous team who had travelled to the Middle East-team captain Dwight Yorke, veteran playmaker Russell Latapy and goalkeeper coach Michael Maurice.
Coach Leo Beenhakker, a wily poker-faced Dutchman, was doing his best to instill confidence.
It makes no difference if you are home and away, he explained at a pre-match press conference, because it is still 11 against 11, and the same rules apply.
Yorke, Latapy, defender Marvin Andrews and goalkeeper Shaka Hislop had the experience of playing in such big games. Strikers Stern John and Kenwyne Jones also tasted the highly competitive, adrenalin-fueled barometer of England's Premier League.
Beenhakker had to get the right mix on the field with a plan that offered the best chance of success. Bahrain played conservatively for most of their qualifying games, but would they attempt a touch of style on an historic night?
Beenhakker too preferred to mug his opponents rather than pummel them in open combat.
It seemed to have the ingredients of either a very dull match or an extremely exciting one. In other words, the media, like everyone else, had no idea what to expect at Manama's National Stadium.
On the shuttle ride to the stadium, the talk was on Beenhakker's possible tactics. Should the Dutchman abandon his trusted 4-5-1 formation to play with two orthodox strikers? If so, would Jones or Jason Scotland play alongside John?
Which midfielder would give way to facilitate the tactical switch? Might the first leg hero, Birchall, be sacrificed or would it be the talismanic Latapy? Would goalkeeper Kelvin Jack's painful left knee allow him to continue?
In the end, Beenhakker opted for Jones and John upfront with Jack between the sticks while Latapy was a notable omission. There was one unexpected shuffle though. Local-based player Aurtis Whitley was given the reins in central midfield while Yorke was moved to the left flank.
It is debatable whether Whitley was promoted or Beenhakker saw some added benefit from using Yorke as a wide player. Yorke battled bravely and rarely conceded possession, but he never once got past the opposing full back.
On the other flank, Bahrain used two players to stunt the progress of Carlos Edwards down the touchline while neither Trinidad and Tobago full backs Avery John or Cyd Gray offered much value in the attacking third of the field.
Jones and John worked hard and kept Bahrain's defence honest, but the Warriors' offensive forays were sporadic for much of the first half. Still, the host team was even more tentative. There was one nervous moment when Jack lost a long ball in the lights and was rescued by an Andrews' header over his own crossbar.
But the visitors must have been reassured by Bahrain's lack of ambition at the start of the second half. Four minutes after the break, the Warriors stunned the host nation as six foot seven defender Dennis Lawrence rose to head home an inswinging Yorke corner that had been earned by the industrious Jones.
It would become the nation's most famous goal and ensure Lawrence a stream of interview requests from top global sporting publications. But there was still much work to be done in Manama. The old girl was wide awake now and fighting wildly.
Beenhakker returned to a 4-5-1 system with Latapy's introduction and then added Ian Cox, an England-based defender, to play 5-4-1. But, by then, the Warriors were not just battling a football team anymore; they were taking on the stands too.
Some Bahraini spectators, enraged at their team's precarious position, began to throw missiles-including water bottles and plastic seats-at Trinidad and Tobago players and the travelling supporters.
But the violence seemed to unnerve Bahrain's players more than her exotic guests. Bahrain striker Ahmed Hassan cheekily flicked the ball away from Jack, while he executed a drop kick, and stabbed it across the goalline.
It was a clear infringement on the goalkeeper, but desperation had set in and the hosts protested so furiously that Colombian referee Julian Acosta expelled Hussain Ali Baba from the field for gross misconduct.
There was one final twist. In stoppage time, Bahrain won a corner kick and, as the Warriors' defence failed to get distance on their clearance, Talal Yusuf sent a dipping shot at the opposing goal.
Somehow, Jack contorted his body to tip the effort over his bar. Trinidad and Tobago's own World Cup Finals dreams had simultaneously been saved.
The celebrations in the visiting dressing room were raucous and unforgettable. The trip home and the amazing reception at Piarco International Airport was a dream.
Trinidad and Tobago's bow in Germany was a proud, inspiring moment. But who can forget that tense, exciting battle in Manama.
