By: Fazeer Mohammed
Trinidad Express[/size]
ONE step forward, five steps back.
At least there are two weeks to go before the next game, more than enough time to crank up the public relations machine into full gear before the national team steps onto the field again against Guatemala at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain.
But it will take more than a flurry of catchy jingles and loud-mouthed appeals to our sense of loyalty to shake off the effects of what could only be described as a deplorable showing against the United States on Wednesday night.
Despite the 1-0 loss, Trinidad and Tobago are by no means out of the qualifying race for next year's World Cup football finals in Germany. There are still four more games to go, and with just three points separating the local side from fourth-placed Costa Rica and the Guatemalans, anything is possible. However on the evidence of that performance in East Hartford, coach Leo Beenhakker has his work cut out to keep hopes alive before the
last of the qualifying games at home to Mexico on October 12th.
Something has gone desperately wrong since they played a disciplined and determined game against the Mexicans in Monterrey almost two months ago before conceding two late goals. In the interim, there was a poor showing and early elimination from the Gold Cup, yet nothing could have prepared anyone for an encounter that proved more of an embarrassment than an advertisement for the beautiful game.
Conceding the early goal was not the worst aspect of the night, although Brian McBride's second-minute strike was enough to earn the Americans the three points that virtually assures them of a fifth consecutive place in the World Cup finals. No, it was the almost complete absence of any of the fundamentals that you would expect from even a half-asleep Sunday morning side that suggests this entire campaign should already be dismissed as another lost cause.
Of course there will be all sorts of allegedly rational explanations for what transpired on the night, while the enthusiastic flag-waving apologists will be quick to point out that just one goal separated the two teams, so what is all the fuss about, especially as Trinidad and Tobago were much more in the game in the second half, even though they were down to ten men.
Believe that if you want. No amount of cokey-eyed analysis is going to change the fact that a team of professional footballers, several of them with years of experience at the highest level, could hardly string a few passes together. Not even the most rabid fanatic can avoid the stark reality that the defence didn't so much leak as it gushed wide open like a burst WASA main. Are Carlos Edwards and Brent Rahim such essential members of the team that their absence renders the midfield totally ineffective, barely able to control the ball and giving away possession as if they were promised precious Green Cards to do so?
A few excellent saves by Kelvin Jack might seem to have prevented a complete annihilation, however the reality is that it was over-confidence and gallerying, plain and simple, by the American forwards that prevented a scoreline close to double figures. For McBride, Landon Donovan and company it was like speeding down the Manzanilla stretch, racing effortlessly past stationary coconut trees dressed in red and black. The goalkeeper himself was unable to escape the generous Trini mood of the night, making one clearance right into the path of a striker who then chose the more difficult option of blasting his shot wide.
Stern John may be just a simple side-footer away from regaining his scoring touch, but at the moment he is about as intimidating as a teddy bear. Dwight Yorke must be wondering if all the travelling from Sydney is worth it given the disjointed, pedestrian effort put out by his team. At least he is racking up a considerable amount of frequent flyer miles, so it should not be a total loss.
Is a turnaround possible before the game against Guatemala? Of course it is.
If Yorke can change from a brooding, disinterested prima donna who could care less about representing his country to the committed, agitated leader we saw Wednesday night, then anything can happen.
Can an upturn in form be sustained and even improved upon further in the following games against Costa Rica, Panama and finally, Mexico? It doesn't seem so, simply because this team, even when playing at its best, remains extremely vulnerable at the back. It's hard to storm someone else's fortress when you're pinned behind your own crumbling walls.
Beenhakker has an outstanding track record and it would only be expected if he is already planning the strategy to take on Guatemala. But it doesn't help any coach trying to work out his opponents when he has to worry about the obvious failings of his own squad. More than anything else, the Dutchman has to get this crop of talented but inconsistent individuals to play as a team. That should be obvious, especially in the fluid, fast-paced game of football. Achieving that unity, however, is often easier said than done.
Instead of ducking behind paper-thin excuses, everyone associated with the national football team should acknowledge that what went on two days ago was utter rubbish and try to ensure that things don't get any worse if the lingering images of a fast-fading dream are not to vanish altogether in less than a fortnight.
