Barbados hold Soca Warriors in Digicel Cup.

[trinbago]

Barbados hold Soca Warriors in Digicel Cup.
By: Ian Prescott (Express).

Trinidad and Tobago's young footballers showed glimpses of promise, but wasted several good chances as they opened their campaign in the Digicel Caribbean Cup with a 1-1 draw against Barbados yesterday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. Coach Wim Rijsbergen's bunch is a work still in progress.
For the first 45 minutes, the young Soca Warriors looked a better unit than Barbados. But having taken a 1-0 lead at the half, Trinidad and Tobago gave the Bajans a point they did not deserve.
Rijbergen, though, will not just be concerned about the lost ground, but that some of his stalwarts, failed, especially in the second half.
Skipper Densill Theobald had World Cup experience but failed to lift his standard above mediocre for most of the second half, while Gary Glasgow scored one, but missed many equally simple chances to score.
Barbados started cautiously, playing behind the ball, and showing much respect, even for an inexperienced T&T squad.
Early on, there was smooth movement in the T&T midfield. Theobald and Kerwyn Jemmott manned the centre, while Kerry Baptiste and Leslie "Tiger" Fitzpatrick held the wide positions. Gary Glasgow and Scott Sealy looked a solid enough tandem in attack, but neither produced on the night. Where the new-look Trinidad and Tobago team looked shaky was at the back where Tobago United's Dwayne Jack, Seon Power and Osei Telesford and Nigel Daniel were struggling to look a solid unit.
Glasgow eventually gave T&T the lead when he picked up a loose ball and scrambled it into the Barbados net  in the 32nd minute.
Barbados took 36 minutes to get their first shot at the Trinidad & Tobago goal and even so, the effort was well held by T&T keeper Jan Michael Williams. T&T chances were bound to sting T&T at some point and striker Neil Harvey did just that when he pulled Barbados level in the 67th minute when getting a free header from Gregory Goodridge's corner kick.
But even so, T&T had enough chances in the final 20 minutes to come away comfortable winners. Newcomer Darryl Roberts made his T&T debut in the 70th minute as a substitute and his inexperience let him down immediately. Put through by a bouncing ball from Glasgow, Roberts had the Barbados goal at his mercy, but lost composure and stabbed at the ball, turning his shot wide. It was that kind of night. In the later game, Haiti continued its good form from the repechage round when beating Martinique. Brunel Fucien scored the goal in the 12th minute. Fucien collected a through pass, chipped the advancing keeper Oliver Sylvestre, ran on and poked the ball home.

Team Line-Ups:

Trinidad & Tobago[/b]

1.Jan Michael Williams, 2.Dwayne Jack, 5.Osei Telesford, 16.Seon Power, 17-Nigel Daniel, 6.Leslie Fitzpatrick (7.Keeron Bonito), 10.Kerwyn Jemmott (8.Kwame Wiltshire), 14.Kerry Baptiste, Densill Theobald (capt), 9.Scott Sealy (11.Darryl Roberts), 12.Gary Glasgow.

Barbados

20-Morrison Taylor, 3-Jonathan Straker, 10-Gregory Goodridge, 12-Louis Soares (4-Ramuel Millar), 15-John Hawkesworth, 16-Neil Harvey (18-Jeffrey Williams), 17-John Parris, 19-Ryan Lucas (24-Rudy Grosvenor), 21-Norman Forde (capt), 23-Dyson James, 25-Romell Burgess.

Trinidad and Tobago 1 - 1 Barbados

16 Shots 13
7 Corners 4
5 Fouls 8
0 Yellow cards 0
0 Red cards 1
3 Offsides 2

Crowd

8,000

Standings

P  W  D  L  F  A  P[/b]

Haiti  1  1  0  0  1  0  3
T&T  1  0  1  0  1  1  1
Barbados  1  0  1  0  1  1  1
Martinique  1  0  0  1  0  1  0

Tomorrow's Matches:

Cuba v Guadeloupe, 5 p.m. Manny Ramjohn Stadium
Guyana v SVG, 7 p.m. Manny Ramjohn Stadium

Monday's Matches:

Barbados v Haiti, 5 p.m. Hasely Crawford Stadium
Trinidad & Tobago v Martinique, 7 p.m. Hasely Crawford Stadium


T&T striker Gary Glasgow goes past Bajan defender Jonathan Straker during the opening match of the Digicel Cup finals at the Hasely Crawford Stadium last night. Glasgow opened the scoring for the Warriors in the 36th minute. ...Photo: Anthony Harris.Barbados, T&T draw.
By: Ezra Stuart (Nation News).[/size]

Barbados gave a spirited second half performance to earn a commendable 1-1 draw with arch rivals Trinidad and Tobago in an exciting opening match of the 2006-2007 Digicel Caribbean Cup football finals at the Hasely Crawford Stadium here last night.
After trailing 1-0 at half-time, Barbados came storming back to grab the equaliser in the 66th minute with a powerful header by English-based Neil Harvey from a perfect cross by captain Norman Forde following a short corner.
Trinidad and Tobago, minus all but one of their World Cup players – in new captain Densill Theobald had scored in the 32nd minute through a left-footed shot by Gary Glasgow in the for corner, giving goalkeeper Morrison Taylor no chance of saving.
Glasgow, who turned from hero to villian late in the dying moments when he missed a clear chance, was gifted with a ball from a weak diving header from john parris on to the leg of defender Dwight James from a free-kick by Leslie Fitzpatrick and gave the Trinidadians a 1-0 lead.
The Soca Warriors had greater territorial ball possession in the first half, forcing seven first half corners to just two by the Bajans with Theobald master-minding their plays from a deep midfield position.
The Trinidadians concentrated their attacks down the flanks where Gregory Goodridge and John Hawkesworth were stationed on the left and right side respectively in a reshaped defensive set-up with former captain John "Nobby" Parris at sweeper and James and Jonathan Straker in front of him.
But they only had one goal to show for their dominance while the Barbados' new strike pair of Harvey and Ryan Lucas with newcomer Louis Soares of Aldershot Town in England, playing just behind the two on the right side with Forde in the centre of midfield and Romelle Burgess in the defensive midfield position.
Harvey, who plays for non-League team Wrexton in England, had a couple of twists and turns but was closely marked by the Trinidadian defenders until he came through the centre of their defence to head past Trinidadian custodian Jan Michael Williams and silence the 7,000 spectators, who had started to do the Mexican Wave to steel pan music.

Best football

The goal lifted the Barbados team and they really started to play their best football of the match before they found themselves down to ten men after the unlucky John Hawkesworth was ejected for his second bookable offence with 11 minutes left in the match.
Coach Eyre Sealy and technical adviser Keith Griffith quickly consulted and brought Rudy Grosvenor, who had just come on for striker Lucas back and to the left wing back position.
Barbados then defended stoutly for the rest of the game, keeping the goal-hungry Soca Warriors at bay even though substitute Darryl Roberts missed a golden opportunity with his very first touch when Glasgow found them unmarked coming in from the left side.
Earlier, Glasgow also broke free after Straker was beaten but Parris intercepted his pass and knocked the ball away for a corner. Barbados almost got on the scoresheet when Forde played back a corner kick to Goodridge and his cross was headed wide by Parris.
Just before Hawkesworth was sent off, Forde made a few runs at the Trinidadian defence while substitute Jeffrey Williams and Soares also made their presence felt before Barbados, without at least six players who got them through to the final when they played unbeaten in the first two rounds, settled for a draw.

[trinbago]

Warriors flounder in Digicel opener [/size]

Bajans earn draw

[/b][/color]

T&T striker Gary Glasgow goes past Bajan defender Jonathan Straker during the opening match of the Digicel Cup finals at the Hasely Crawford Stadium last night. Glasgow opened the scoring for the Warriors in the 36th minute. Photo: Anthony Harris
T&T made a stuttering start to its quest for a ninth CFU crown, when it was held to a 1-1 draw by Barbados at the Hasely Crawford Stadium last night.

[/size]


The Warriors have only themselves to blame, as striker Gary Glasgow, who eventually found the target had a woeful night in front of goal.

Glasgow opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, but a lapse in defence allowed the Bajans to equalise in the 66th minute through Neil Harvey, and despite being reduced to 10 men in the 78th minute, the Bajans held on for a draw.

Earlier on it was the Bajans who had the first shot at goal, with striker Ryan Lucas forcing goalkeeper Jan Michael-Williams into a reflex save low to his left in the tenth minute.

In the 17th minute, T&T midfielder Leslie Fitzpatrick sent a cross from the left side out of the reach of Glasgow who would have had a clear way to goal.

Seven minutes later Glasgow was gifted by the Bajans just on top of their 18-yard box but he hesitated and was quickly closed down.

Glasgow finally found the target when he was fed a short pass from a free kick by Fitzpatrick and sent his left-footed shot through a crowd of players and into the net.

The score stayed 1-0 until the half. Within two minutes of the resumption, Glasgow ran out to a long throw from Michael-Williams with only Morrisson Taylor to beat and attempted to square the ball for an onrushing Scott Sealy, which was cleared by the Bajan defence.

In the 55th minute, T&T came close to making it 2-0 when Sealy dived to meet a right-sided Kerry Baptiste cross but his attempt was parried onto the post by goalkeeper Taylor.

Against the run of play the Bajans caught the T&T defence lapsing and Gregory Goodridge picked out an unmarked Harvey who headed into an open net.

[Sando]

Better luck next time, we will need it, Martinique and Haiti will try to murder us.

God luck T&T..... I know many nerves played a part as many of our players were first timers, but come on guys, you can do it..... and please drop Theobald....

[palos]

Callin dis team de Soca Warriors is a serious disservice to de national team dat bore that name.

Bess dey come up wit some nex name.

[Trini _2026]

Callin dis team de Soca Warriors is a serious disservice to de national team dat bore that name.

Bess dey come up wit some nex name.

palos come nuh better than that nuh