Virtual 'war' in Kingston Sunday.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
It will be “war” versus Jamaica on Sunday at their own “office” the National Stadium in Kingston as both Trinidad and Tobago and the hosts go all out for a place in the 2007 FIFA Under 17 World Championship.
Following’s T&T’s hardfought 2-1 win over Canada in the first game of the double header, Jamaica stunned United States, scoring three goals in the closing ten minutes to earn a 3-2 win and set up a virtual final with the “Soca Warriors” on Sunday. Already USA and Costa Rica have snapped up the top two places in the World Championship.
In a sense the current scenario may be a blessing in disguise as T&T now know that the “Reggae Boyz” will be playing with a purpose which means that T&T must win and will have to work for it. Nothing other than three points on Sunday will do it. This time around there will be nothing like “playing for a draw”and Anton Corneal’s boys will have their own destiny at their feet.
By the time the T&T team bus pulled up at the Knutsford Hotel on Friday night, USA were already up 2-0, but moments after dinner the news of a late come from behind win for the Jamaicans left an instance silence throughout the corridor on level two. “Nah! They will come harder now but we go be ready. We ain’t backing down” followed.
Skipper Ryan O’Neil and his troops would now spend their Friday night knowing very well that they have their work cut out in the next affair.
“The result felt good but we were under a lot of pressure. But Knox and Leston kept us in it. I encouraged the boys throughout the game and the fitness runs on the hills (in Maracas, St Joseph) paid off today. We will be up for that game on Sunday. We know that we have to go all out,” O’Neil told TTFF Media as he got under his covers setting up himself for a much needed rest before Sunday.
Paul, it was mentioned previously hadn’t stamped his authority in neither of the two games versus Costa Rica and USA. But he recalled how his inner feelings hinted that he would find the net against the Canadians.
“I know I would have scored today also,” he added with a gentle tone. “Yeah… serious. Is the dreaming too. I kept thinking about the game right through and I knew it had some and I kept telling my roommate Chike whole day too that it would come today.”
“When the ball came with the first touch it bubbled a bit and then I realized I could have taken a couple more so I kept it and then picked my spot.
“We know we had to pull it off today. We were talking a lot too because if we didn’t we could have just go flat,’ Paul said.
And knowing that Jamaica will be coming firing all cylinders all well, Paul feels T&T just needs to stay focused and play its natural game.
“We know it will be a hard game. But every game should be a hard one and we just have to play it that way. We want to qualify so we will play to qualify,” he continued.
Midfielder Chike Sullivan was proof that the team has fighters among it after coming off a knock which sent him to hospital against the Americans. He started on Friday and battled like a warrior for 93 minutes.
“Going into the game there were two ways about it. We had good support from the coaches and parents that kept driving us. We had a few let ups at the back but we kept playing. I had to go out and give my all. I couldn’t go out there and give no fifty percent and the coaches believed in me and I couldn’t let down anyone in this match,” added Sullivan.
Stephen Knox couldn’t have delivered at a better time as Canada kept drilling into the T&T half and looked likely to strike. The Fatima College player knew that the timing was right.
“We know we had to win these two games and everyone had to step up the call and we did it. We know we still have a game to go so nothing has changed really. We just have a win on our side now and we need one more,” Knox said.
His composed finish was a result of practice.
“That just came from practice in training day after day. Our finishing hadn’t been that good before but with the emphasis on winning the game… we just had to go out there and do the job.”
And manager Christopher Gouveia had predicted a clinical finish from the target-man.
“The manager is always an encouraging person and today I couldn’t let him down. We have to refocus again and we need to go out there on Sunday with the same beat again and get it done,” Knox fired.
