Charles: I'm proud of T&T girls.
By: Ian Prescott (Express).
Leonardo Cuellar, coach of the Mexican women's football team, sympatised with his opponents from Trinidad and Tobago following Mexico's 3-0 victory at the 2006 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup in Miami on Sunday.
"After the game, the Mexican coach told me 'you have a good team'," said Marlon Charles, the Soca Princesses head coach.
"He wanted to know how FIFA could have teams in training for one, two years and have them just play one game in a tournament. He told me it could have been his team going home. He wanted to know why the United States and Canada were not made to take the same chances."
Charles isn't complaining, but felt late changes to the tournament format were unfair to his young squad, especially after what he feels was a good showing by his charges.
"I am very proud of the girls," he declared. "These girls are talented. To have had just one 45-minute session before the tournament and do so well is tremendous. I've always said the chemistry between the girls is good they enjoy playing together. Afterwards, the Jamaican coach told me that my team played well and lost, while his played badly, but won."
Charles is especially glad that Anton Corneal, assistant coach of Trinidad and Tobago men's World Cup squad, came aboard as a consultant for the tournament. He hopes that Corneal's report on the talent within the line-up will urge the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federa-
tion to pay more respect to the national women's football team.
"Even Anton could not believe how good these girls are. He told me that I have good material to work with. In just one session we came up with a plan which they stuck to all the way. Mexico couldn't play in the midfield. They played the ball around at the back and we allowed them that. When they couldn't get through the midfield, they resorted to the long ball, which we were expecting, so it played right into our hands."
Charles felt the final result hinged on three errors by goalkeeper Lisa Jo Ramkissoon, who only recently returned to training after having a child and also suffering the tragic loss of common-law husband, NCC TV cameraman Sean Vincent, who died from a heart attack last month.
"They were all soft goals really and that was the only difference between the teams. I told Lisa Jo to keep her head up and keep at it. She will be back to her very best soon. Had we gotten the equaliser when Tasha (St Louis) hit the ball over, I think it would have been a different outcome-the energy would have been with us. But, the girls got a bit deflated by the long shot which came off the bar. That's football, sometimes you play well and still lose."
Charles said certain things within the game also affected his strategy. For instance, he planned on putting on a second striker to help Leslie Ann James up front, but Ramkissoon had to be stretchered off and replaced by Stokely Vale's Kimika Forbes.
"Lisa Jo rolled on the ball when trying to save the shot in the first half and got injured, but she did not say anything. Had I known, we would have made the change, but she played with the pain. When the ball bounced over her head for the third goal, she hardly even raised her arms. She was in pain."
Charles also defended the effort of his main player St Louis, whom he said still gave a credible performance, playing a central midfield role which she doesn't like. A natural striker, St Louis was asked to play just behind James in a 4-5-1 system.
"Maybe Tasha could have been more in the game, but she was coming up against a few Mexican players she plays with in the United States, so there was a lot of fouling and so on going on between them."
The national coach paid special kudos to T&T's Mauricia Nicholson, a player with the University of South Florida.
"She's a good player. She has been in our programme since 2000 with the first set of girls, but was injured, and then also was on scholarship and could not come sometimes when we wanted her. We were very lucky to get her this time."
For now, the senior national team programme is at an end and the players return to their universities, which Charles said have been instrumental in developing them. Charles added that many of the players have a lot going for them off the field as well, such as Micah Mahabirsingh, who is on her way to becoming a doctor. Most of the others are completing degrees, while many of the locally-based players will go on scholarship soon.
Six members of the current national team, including Ayanna Russell, Jamila Mathlin and Kimika Forbes, will be in the national under-20 team who play the CONCACAF Final Round in Venezuela next year.
There is also a qualifying tourament coming up for the under-17s , who are already in training.
Overall, Charles feels that had the senior women gone into the Gold Cup with just a little better preparation they would have advanced past Mexico to the semi-final stage.
"This thing is about preparation, not miracles. That was the only difference between us and the Mexicans."
The 2006 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup was a learning experience as well for Charles, who lined up with former top club ASL Sports and is an ex-T&T national player.
Charles referred to harsh weather patterns in the USA which saw the temperature in Orlando dropping from 88F one day to just about 38F, and some cold temperatures in Miami as well.
There was no better support for Charles' argument than seeing Mauricia Nicholson taking Mexico's Patricia Gomez for a run up the flanks, while wearing what looked like white plastic bags to cover her hands.
"Who ever thought Miami was so cold. I guess with all the storm systems taking place in the Unites States, some of the cold breeze came down there. Yes, boy, that was cold."
