D Touches Match Report TT vs USA...History has been written!

[Touches]

Dear Forumites,

October 15th 2008, will go down in the archives that TT beat USA 2-1 in a WCQ for the first time. We did not look good, but we got the job done and I am truly grateful that the "blight" has finally been shaken off.

It was more than just three points earned, it was a mental victory, we have shown that we can beat the USA and I hope that this win will inspire better performances against them in the future.

Girl Warrior and I arrived in the woodbrook area around 6:15 pm and parked in the Lady Hochoy home...$20 for piece of mind and we entered through the Fitzblackman drive entrance. I was also armed with a KFC Dinner Special and I got some resistance from a gate attendant saying no boxes and food allowed. I tell him "Boss doh be so, KFC is the national team sponsor" and I managed to come thru with meh 3 piece intact.

In retrospect that is the best entrance to come through...no crowd, no line up and I entered the stadium using a kinda side gate with little or no traffic. The TSTT booth was there, with the hosts asking people questions, Spalk was in the crowd mic in hand trying to get comments. The TSTT girls were handing out thundersticks and some big green BMobile #1 fingers and T shirts.

After having our new electronic ticket scanned, the organizers make you proceed to the right and up the steps...not bad, however all the crowd is herded in one area and people talking, sticking and being confused just creates a small traffic jam at times on the stair case.

Additionally the vendors on the first level have increased...it is now a food court, complete with warmers, soup pots, ring burners, tables etc. However they are placed in the aisle, causing traffic friction. The situation is a bit unbearable nearer the toilet areas and I cannot understand why the existing vending booths were not utilised properly.

Anyway, I managed to get two seats and then I decided to help out swima save a block of seats for some partners who were a bit tardy. Lets just say it is not an easy exercise and people use all kinda technique to squeeze in.  I took in the vibes....not much atmosphere..... even though the crowd was building steadily.

Looked at the two warm ups and saw the contrast between the two teams. USA looking very synchronized and professional. TT looking slow, without urgency and sloppy.

The teams went back in the tunnel and it is here I left swima to "handle the scenes" as I returned to my original seat.

It was here, I got the first pain in my waist, a griping bowel feeling, and I started to cuss Pacho. The team line up is announced and the first name....who is given a loud round of applause is Aklie Edwards.

I ent go lie I say dis is shit....Imagine the man who Donovan and dem identify in the last game as the weak link and the man they attack...starting this match. Then he call Spann...I steupsss...look more shit.
Is only then I realise all the names call and the man ent say Avery John. I formulate the formation in meh head and I say this "fawking Corbeaux Brand, this mudder C#$t Afro better know what he doing"

So I call quite USA and talk to injunchile who watching it via espn..he say doh worry have faith we go make it.

I ent go lie, I was real real vex before that game kick off.

Anyway I bend meh head, I say a prayers for the fellas, I say let them do their best and let us come away with the victory.

The WN crew had the flag proudly displayed, I saw Patriot being interviewed by Synergy TV and the US and TT anthems were played by the Woodbrook playboyz. It is funny but this crowd actually sung the anthem loud and clear.

I watch the line up again...I steups and then I say another quick prayer and we were under way.

Bam USA attacks and we scruffling and then...Birchall wins the ball.

We settle we knock it around in the back and then...my fears were realised.

The two "subs"...were the two pullstones....left and right testicle...playing left and right wingback respectively.

I ent go lie the griping feeling take meh again and as Yorke started to give to ball to everyone to get a touch, the long ball to edwards, the flick to scotland, the touch to latapy. Left and right just start to swing and long out people stones in the back.

The testicle with the ras...the hairy one, first touch of the ball, was a back heel kinda flick that was just poor. An errant pass, two mistraps later and giving away throw ins under no pressure, I say why they ent leave he in Wrexham dread! The fella get blow past every time and went to ground only to swipe breeze...but it was beasley and adu doing him dat so I ease him up a lil bit.

The smoother testicle with the number 3 on he back was just shakey right tru. He mistrap, he playing hospital ball, he losing his marker...After 5 minutes the whole crowd calling for him to get sub.

But Ince start to cuss dem...and then the two testicles were given a "jock strap" in the form of Dwight Yorke.

Spann and Edwards....Thank you for bucking up and playing to instructions. Thank you for getting confidence as the game progressed and thank you for your effort on the field.  Thank you for listening to your captain and playing to your limitations and I appreciate the efforts shown yesterday....WELL DONE FELLAS!

After 20 minutes the instruction was to pass Yorke the ball...alyuh doh beat, doh try no counter, doh play nuttin down the line, doh over lap, doh support no play,doh even hoof it long...just play it to Yorke and everything go be alright.

After a while a man behind me understood the predicament...and started to cheer and clap each time they passed the ball back to Ince or Yorke. As he say..."Is either backwards or shit"...I rather backwards yes.

Anyways the game continues and TT is actually getting the better of the exchanges. There were some on this forum who stated that Yorke and Birchall were a liability in the midfield but this pairing was absolutely PERFECT. Birchall was simply the Man of the Match hands down with his excellent ball winning ability. Covering the space, shutting down channels, putting in the tackles and running back after losing the ball and defending for dear life. Every mistake made by a team mate was cleaned up and corrected by him.

Scotland gets off a near post shot, save by the keeper. Cross by Carlos nobody there, flicks by Latapy, intercepted and so it went. Keon Daniel and Aklie Edwards were having a woeful time on the flank and the defending there was poor. Daniel however showed he was a threat going forward but with no support up top, nuttin behind supporting either he was continuously forced to screen and beat 2-3 men and cut inside.

TT's best chance came after a corner was scrambled and the loose ball was gathered up by the keeper. The next best chance came from another corner and Keyno thomas in the 18 blazed his shot overbar.

Sometime in between we have a corner and we down to 10 men...lawrence off the field changing his boots and we at a loss as to what to do.

Then the announcer says...Cuba 1, Guatemala nil...So I jump up and start to clap and ting...people watching me like I ahow. I sit down and say to mehself...these 4king waggonists jest ent have a clue yes.

Then i get the griping pain again...thomas down and off for treatment...I see hislop warming up and I say oh gosh...look pressure.

All the while I just saying in my head come on fellas don't concede...lets get thru the first 10...then the next 10 and then the 30 min. Finally we reach half time 0-0 and USA did not have any clear cut opportunities.
We were shakey in the back and there was plenty danger but we were holding firm     

I say another prayer at the half...I was thank full we didn't concede and then I went downstairs to use the toilet and get some more refreshment.

After coming back upstairs the game was already underway a good 5 minutes and USa was on the attack. I scanned the field for some changes but didn't see any of note. I start to calculate...2 subs left...Latapy ent sure to last whole game...Scotland neither...Where Roberts or Glenn to run at them?

We start to do the wave, people start to clap and then we remained silent looking on at the action.

All the while Edwards and Spann leaving their marker wide and USA looking better on the flanks...more crosses started coming in. The USA start to play one two and dummy and knock. But Birchall and Yorke remaining steady in the middle.

Then the goal came....started by none other than Birchall...who wins a crunching tackle, breaks up a play and surges forward, he passes to Carlos who plays it far post. latapy collects and then I just see the ball bounce and reach in the net.

UTTER PANDEMONIUM IN THE STADIUM....GOALLLLLLLLLLL

Hear nah, what a joy and feeling that was. I couldn't believe it...out of nothing we score and I look at the clock.ABout 30minutes left and I say to mehself I taking that 1-0. Lewwe holdout.

But then the inner voice of reality start to talk to meh..."Dem fellas does just know how to 4k up a good ting."

I ent know if that thought I had transmitted unto the field...but right after that Spann jockeying the USA winger. He goes to ground and makes good contact..all ball...I say yes nice tackle and then while on the ground he puts up his hand and ball playing on. The fwd gorn and he still on the ground appealing, Hislop try to track back, lawrence in space and the cross comes and somebody tap it in past Ince.

Silence and Shock in the stadium, but I calm...I expected it, the signs were there...I see 20 min to go...I tell  mehself...I taking that 1-1 yes. But if Pacho make the right sub we could score...we have enough time, this USA side ent saying nuttin.

I say another prayer.

Then a funny thing happened...yes...we actually rallied behind our team and started the warrior chant. We clapped and encouraged the team and we started the attack. birchall driving fwd, everybody saying shoot. Edwards beating on the line with no support. Some long balls to Scotland.

Then all of a sudden corner, confusion....PENALTY!!!!!!!

Well the crowd start to jump up, cameramen running by the goal post and I just say to mehself...THIS IS IT.

I tell mehself...yorke will slot it center.

So said so done...and it was bachannal in the stadium again.

I cyar remember it was about 10 min left. But I say another prayer for the fellas to hold on.

Then USA start to run at us again, start all kinda knock and we start to panic. Daniel want to beat in the back and loss the ball, Hislop Miskicking, Edwards tackling wild....then there was the heart attack moment with a few minutes left...I see a cross ball come in and a header went goalwards....the stadium went silent and I swear the ball roll in the net.

Meh chest start to hurt but...I see Ince cussin and the ball WIDE!!!!

Phew.

So Hyland come on for Latas and I find he ent do nuttin  really, and I only looking at the clock.

Then Carlos takes the ballin the corner and wastes time. Ince wasting time, Yorke playing possession...den at the 90 the 4th offical sign saying 3 minutes.

The announcer bawl 2 minutes...and then he say Cuba 2, Guatemala nil....more noise and we jumping up.

Then he come back Cuba 2, Guatemala 1.

Then I only watching clock....As we hoof it out the back I watch the clock and the ref.

then TWEEET TWEEET and the signal and we start to jam.

I then said my last and final prayer...Thank You!

DJ start to crank tunes, everybody jump up, we start to hug up and the victory was ours....it was even sweeter knowing Guatemala get licks from CUba.

Well the jamming start and everybody start to wine in the stadium.

I hug up everybody, all the forumites I see, It was great.

Then the USA team and the TT team just ran into the tunnel and that was that.

I was expecting the fellas to do a lap  of honour or at least give us a wave but small ting.

3 Points and our foot is in the door towards the Hex.

It was not the best display by the warriors, but we got the job done. I still have to big up Spann and Edwards for playing their role, Carlos for stepping up especially in the second half where he made a defensive run to dispossess a TT player. Latas for the Goal, Yorke for the goal...in fact the entire team...but a special thank you goes out to Me Mum......That is a Warrior!

Time to put the icing on the cake.

See you on the 19th!

[weary1969]

All yuh 2 idle round here

[RGarcia]

Touches whatz tha one!!

[Disgruntled_Trini]

Jes make sure and emphasize on the frankomen amount ah sh!t that Spann play.

[weary1969]

He have 2 leave some ah dat frankoment 4 A Edwards

[Daft Trini]

And A. Edwards.... I count he give way de ball 5 times, made 3 passes forward, and de rest was back passes or getting bun by his opponent....

[weary1969]

Dat  fella A Edwards neva hear forward ever backward never lawdddddddddd he can pass d ball backward. Start ah d game no pressure he give way d ball

[kounty]

Dat  fella A Edwards neva hear forward ever backward never lawdddddddddd he can pass d ball backward. Start ah d game no pressure he give way d ball

breeeee-eeee-ahhhh-eeeee-eeeeee-ahhh 
but honestly i ent find he do too awful, and we goin and need back ups the way cyd and avery peltin blade...
spann too look promisin' going forward, but lawd farder need to work on the defense....we need to be lil positive sometimes

[Yogi]

I new to d forum   Congrats to the team but I still feelin' uneasy. We still have alot of work to do but definitely we need to get rid of Maturana and Corneal. The fact we relying on men in their 30's (and 40's!!) to pull us through says alot about the state of football in this country when it comes to development. We also should not lose focus, that USA team was their reserve team, in the hex it will be a different story. We have alot of work to do and not much time to do it. I do not want to take away from the euphoria of the win (it's always nice to beat the USA) but we must remain real. Jus' my 2 cents.

[Brownsugar]

TOUCHES!!!.....steups....yuh know we waiting since last night....we really couldn't care less that yuh tired or whatever else is the reason....

Also, welcome Yogi.....I just revelling in it man!!!...ah goh worry bout de state of affairs later....

[weary1969]

Nobody here yogi buy a ticket 4 SA we might start 2 top up d savings but we know is a long hard road 2 SA. What wrong wit fellas in dey 30's d problem is dat we eh have no replacement 4 d fellas in dey 30's.

[KND2]

Since Touches sticking I go have to write a lil thing.

This is the most full I see the stadium in a long time.

It might Help if the TTFF could buy red Thunder Sticks instead of White ones, America wearing white.

Starting from the back

Ince, not much to do definetly a step up from Phillips

Spann, we should not have brought him back; obviously not playing at a high level, looked out of place.
We have a whole squad in training and we dont have a replacement man who could play right back come on man. Coach need to have better succession planning and put faith in the players who he working with.
Spann best bet is to leave wales and come back to W connection, whatever he doing over there is a waste of time.

Center defense

Lawrence, Thomas and Hislop, all played very well, no clearing mistakes good positional play and good when we had possesion of the ball.

Left back

Edwards good fight sometimes gets caught out of position. Good enough backup for avery John and can push to take over that position as soon as he learn to make better decisions with the ball.

Midfield

Brichall, Man of the match, only player who has the required work rate to play midfield at this level. Made some good choices on when to dribble and when to pass.

Yorke Good position and passes but is is obvious that we are killing the man. The legs just not there.

Latapy, Moments of brilliance but again too stationary, we killing this man too.

Edwards ; the role the coach has given him does not suit his abilities. He playing a kind of wing forward kind of like C Ronaldo, but with half the speed and one quarter the skill. He had a good game and his zess is back. Carlos need to stop trying to dribble by men and play the pass and move game. his speed will be better used. He need to stay more wide and try to get crosses in.

Daniel played decent but have some more work to do to develop, I glad he getting a run it will help us in the long run.

Scotland played good , very mobile, may be a good strike partner for KJ when he returns.

Sad to say but the Major Problem with Trinidad Football is Yorke and Latapy.
The have a lock on eveyone mentally and without your mind you cannot win.

Look at the players on the field especially the young ones like Daniel many a time he over passing to Yorke even when it is more dangerous when he should be taking the initiative to do what he can do.

Look at the fans in the stands the only reason so much people show up to watch the game is because Yorke and Latapy playing, So wham then other players not good enough for you to spend your money to see?

Look at the coaching staff Anton, Maturana, Etc what is the first thing they do when things get tough, Call Yorke and Latapy, Look at all the men we have on the squad is 18 men went Guatemala you mean to tell me me that from number  12 -18 you could not find a man who could play right back. Of all the men who been training locally who did not make the final guatemala squad you could not find a man to play right back, we need to call back a man from quite wales on short notice

Look at Jack Warner the special advisior, as soon as we see the HEX money start to jump up all kind of thing start to happen, Man get offer to be special coach; all kind of man who was on black list not on black list any more.

Yorke and Latapy should be in and around the team, I will play them sparinly based on the tactics maybe coming off the bench. Yorke more than latapy. Latapy want to coach let him coach he knows what is required.
There comes a time when you need to stop showing people what to do and let them learn by doing. If you keep doing it the people you trying to teach will never learn.

Leave we heros to be heros and stop unretiring them over and over to come and save the day.

We have to learn to win a game without Latapy having to produce 10 seconds of brilliance and if we cannot find a man like Theoblad, or Trent Noel or Highland or Guerra who can sit in midfield and make 20-30 yard passes with good judgement and good accuracy then what is the point.

It is a sad state of affiars if back in 1989 2 of we best players was Yorke and Latapy, here we are in 2008 and 2 of we even more best players is Yorke and Latapy.


America had a C squad on the field, more and more men comming through, where we men?

The past is the past what is we plan for the future!

There is a reason Keane does play Yorke versus Arsenal and he dont make the squad for the Hull game.
There is a reason why Latapy doing more coaching than playing in Falkirk.

Put faith in the future and dont be afraid to fail.

[capodetutticapi]

carlos and daniel played well,carlos was definitly outstandin last nite.it was real sweet that de goals scored were by the 2 leaders.

[weary1969]

We saw d future v Bermuda it was bleakkkkkkkkkkkkkk. Succession planning and Latas and Yorke not mutually exclusive dey can both happen. D peeps who only come 2 c Latas and Yorke eh d diehards which is d vast of d TNT public dat is how we iz get ovah it. U have 2 b a real fan 2 pay 2 c A Edwards

[JDB]

carlos and daniel played well,carlos was definitly outstandin last nite.it was real sweet that de goals scored were by the 2 leaders.

Yeah I watch the game and the first thing occur to me is that it seems that Carlos could only play when Yorke and Latas playing. That is teh effect them men does have on our players but Carlos shows no leadership in their absence when, based on his career and experience, he should.

[weary1969]

Despite what peeps blieve leadership doh happen by vaps some investment in leadership trainin 4 Carlos etal go b nice

[Johpants]

KND2 you have some valid points there but Weary right up with you.

I definitely don't agree with you were A. Edwards is concerned I thought he was awful. At first I thought it was nerves and that he would settle down and his confidence would build as the game progressed and it did somewhat in the second half but his passing forward and judgement left a lot to be desired. I don't know if the back passing was the coach's instructions but to me he looked out of his depth psychologically.

As for only spending money to see Yorke and Latapy play; I ain't shame to say that this is the first game of the campaign that I have been to. I said that I was not going to give Jack my money until he un-blacklist the blacklisted players and paid them their money. However, after the performance on Saturday and the importance of last night's game I thought that the team needed and deserved the home support more than I needed to hang on to my JW grudge. I wouldn't lie to say that seeing the 'lil magician' play live again was not a plus but it really wasn't a major factor. The whole point of this is just to say that there may very well be many reasons people came out in the numbers they did last night not only your take on it. And in any case, what's wrong with coming to see DY and RL play. Hardly anybody goes to the PFL games and look at the numbers that came out to see the English stars. Dwight and Russel are our stars and I have no problem with the public viewing and treating them as such. I understand your point that anyone who dons the red, white and black deserves our investment in them whether it be time or money but when you have jokey administration you will get jokey supporters and when you have jokey parents and a jokey society you will have jokey offspring and citizens.

[Controversial]

the defense played well, edwards, birchall, yorke, latas, daniel all played well, akile doesn;t know what to do with the ball and spann filled the role on the right.

scotland was clueless, i would pick roberts, glenn over him anyday, otherwise we played a decent game, shouldnt have given up the goal but we played well.

[Brownsugar]

scotland was clueless,

Was that it or is it that he wasn't given room to do anything by the US?  To me, almost every time he got the ball, at least 2 US players were on him like white on rice....

[Disgruntled_Trini]

I sat down in the covered stands right inline with the right back, non other than Spann.

He was woefully out his depth and form. If this is how he plays in Wales then that football is real sh!t.

The man touch heavy, when he get the ball is a series of composed bad passes and the tall dark man who play wide left for the US take it to him every time.

Birchall play like a boss. There are times when I feel we could play with 11 Me Mums on the field. He plays with real hear, grit and determination and there is definite purpose in his play.

[weary1969]

Finally Pastor Touches nuff prayers was said u were very kind 2 A Edwards and Spann

[TRINIMITCH]

Finally Pastor Touches nuff prayers was said u were very kind 2 A Edwards and Spann

 
ah feel they is family he real take it easy on dem 

[Midknight]

Yeah, KND, I hear you. They say imitation is the best form of flattery.

Positives
Lawrence -Thomas is the real deal (for the time being at least). T&T look shell shocked when Thomas had to come off, but I find Makan Hislop came on and handle himself okay. Apart from one glaring play where he misjudge a free header and GIVE the ball to the US striker (luckily LAwrence was covering) he played an okay game. Some people blame Lawrence for going to ground too early on the US goal, but i think he just got faked out by a bad touch on the part of Beasley (?). If Beasley had hit the shot like he had planned to, Tallest would have deflected it. Instead, the bad touch set him up for a run past the central defense and he was then able to pass it off to the overlapping player

Daniel - I glad to see somebody sit down with this youth and tell him the starboy thing can't work. He put in a similar shift to Wolfe on Saturday and did a good job of trying to shield Akile Edwards or coming back and helping on the defence. We didn't see him as sparkling as usual up front, but it was to be expected. His ball possession remains second only to a Latas, and if he gets out of T&T before the end of the hex, it might actually be better by the time the campaign is over.

Birchall - As usual Mem Mum worked his socks off on that field, and it is official, where he has improved since Beenie days is in his tackling. He rarely goes down and doesn't win the ball. A real white J cloth for real. HE was also instrumental on three different attacks making barrelling counter attacking  runs through the midfield, one that manage to liberate Carlos for the play on the goal. The only thing is that after the goal he was obviously bun. You can't fault him. but the problem is once he couldn't deliver the pressuring anymore, like the whole central mid and defense forget how to tackle.

Carlos - IMO Man of the match. He pull REAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL stones in the first half but he kept trying despite everything. You could see the confidence wasn't there but he never let the shoulders drop. After the 5th cross to the ghost of Denzil Theobald at the far post, I and all wanted to sub him, but Rolls Royce didn't give up. He also did a very good job of protecting a very Shaky Spann on defence.
Around the 65th minute, ME mum run allow him and Latas to go forward, and more importantly, allow him to get the ball around the box instead of out by the byline for once. The problem is that Carlos can't cross if you change he name to Jesus Christ and that since Beenie days. His strength was always being able to take on his man and then hit the little flicks, chips and lobs. When he on the byeline he's too far away for the flicks, and since the injury he has no confidence to take on two and three men. This time, Latas see him open as a bird and usher him into the box with just one man to beat...and he twist him up like that Hiqui fella from Mexico and hit the most sublime chip you will ever see from a T&T player not named Russell or Dwight...
After the goal, like he start believeing he name Neo and start mannersing men. With Birchall bun, and a US player going through the midfield like a hot knife through butter, he leave his post at the byeline sprint down to the top of the box, bat and then muscle the guy off the ball easy like squeezy, take it away, drible two onrushing us midfielders and then lay it of for Hyland or daniel on the left all in one fluid motion. You start to realise what was going on when he get that cross in from hyland in the box and overun the ball, and Carlos pull of one of the best controls I've seen from a T&T player since he do the same thing in the Sweden (or was it Mexico game...unfortunately by the time he settle the shot, a defender had come over and deflect it out for a corner)

Royce is back people - with the same weaknessess he had before - but oh gorm it good to see him looking so confident on a field again.

Latas
Latas best play was not the goal. LAtas best play was that nice defense splitter he hit for Scotty just before the half and someohow Scotty manage to pull the trigger way too early and hit wide. Other than that, the magician was anonymous most of the first half and I was bawling to sub him.
But I guess that he called the magician because he alone has the magic dust. People Latas volley was sweet. Technique wise, anybody who see the one Van Bommel score against Norway earlier in the day would know that LAtapy is a world class player if they wasn't sure before. But that was NOT supposed to score.
It still have people who would swear to you up to this day that Zidane hit that ball off the crossbar in the world cup final on purpose because he knew that was the only way he could beat Buffon. And I sure Big Mag would swear to you that LAtas knew that Guzan head would end up right in front the ball after he dive a second too late. Such is the way of magic - we shall not comprehend it.
Suffice it to say, that should be Latas last match for T&T, the same way the Paraguay match should have been his last if he had score that volley then. Just to frame the moment....

Hyland - put in a very good shift in the short time he was on the field, most notably the cross he put in for Carlos. Also showed some good body screening capacity.

Reality:
Fellas. Above all the euphoria, this is not the best game T&T ever play. As a matter of fact, I don't even think is the best game we play in this campaign. The US played most of the game at a training pace and you could tell these young fellas they send there not accustom playing with each other. Is one set of jogging knock the ball around, give it to T&T, (when Birchall ent hustle them out of it), jog back, wait for T&T to give it back to them, rewind and start over again.
Nevertheless, they manage to spring we offside trap twice for two surefire goal (one actually score), and both times the linesman get it wrong.

T&T played with little or no intensity for most of the game. Apart from 2 individuals (birchall and carlos) there was NONE in the first half and the first 15-20 minutes of the second half. we put on a spurt for the goal and then promptly went AWOL until the americans equalise. It was like if men standing up and watching the scoreboard. We manage to get lucky and get a corner and Altidore do a piece of shit and gift we a penalty. After Yorke score it, is like than we realise we had a match to play, but the usual end of game jitters (see Jack vs Bahrain, and Ruiz big miss in the stadium in 05) nearly mash we up. The us get three free headers in the box on their last attack, and if that was mcbride or donovan up top...we woulda be saying "what if" all now.

Spann and Akile Edwards.
Spann was looking rustier than the Titanic and I still don't understand what the logic of calling him back on such short notice was, let alone persisting in playing him as a right back when his understanding/Capacity for defensive duties remain close to 0. I understand we didn't want to lose Carlos attaking going forward, but there had to be a better solution.
Poor Akile Edwards like the US coach write down he name and number last time, and just tell the youngsters to target him. He give man enough heart attack on the left and contribute almost nothing going forward. A couple times he do the Theobald square pass special on a  counter and had men cussing, and he was one of the main reasons Daniel wasn't more involved in the attack.
I don't know what the deal with Blade was, but he needed to start,  I don't care what nobody say...

Yorke
Dwight was is and always will be a boss, but the 45 minutes against the DR start to show from since Thomas get send off. If Birchall wasn't so industrious, we defence woulda be exposed like a bess thing on a Punch centre spread...Keane will not be amused

Scotty/Maturana
I not knocking Scotty per se - the only thing I vex with him for is not letting himself get closer to the goal on the shot before the half. We should have been 1-0 up. The fact is
1) Scotty isn't very functional as a lone striker playing as deep as we did.

Either Mats get it wrong playing him up top, or he get it wrong asking us to sit as deep as we did. I suspect is the second one because in the second half we played a lot higher up.

Finally, we need to go out there and take care of business against Cuba. They showed that they are no pushovers against Guatemala, and we don't have a guaranteed win or even a guaranteed draw (which is all we need) against them in November. Remember we playing them on the 19th.

edit : I write this before Touches post his match report, so nobody doh accuse me of plagiarism

[christiano]

Good win for us.

Scotland i thought work very hard. It was the best game i have seen him play though the support was not there for him at times.

The two wing backs were the two players that were appearing to be weak. Spann was  clueless whole game. Really out of sorts.

Dwight can play for a long time again at least two years , once a guy like Wolfe is there to ease the burden of work.

Carlos played well. Dennis was great as usual.  Keon i thoght was not given the ball at times when he was in good positions.

Birchall was the pick of the team. He was like a train in a sub station . He played foward back and straight accross to clean up any thing . Great game Bichy.

There was a run back that Carlos made that showed the committment that to me has fired him up since we went down to 10 men in Guatemala.

I think that experience in Guatemala has done Carlos a wealth of good and it will be the single event that will cause him to turn the corner and regain the form of a EPL player.

Great support by our fans yesterday. I hope we dont get complacent going into the last game. We need to finish in style and start preparing for the hex.



  

[TRINIMITCH]

We must also not forget to thank our 12th and 13th players on the field, the two referees assistant for there two wrong US offside calls they made one in the first half and the other in the second. Finally decisions going in our favor.

[NYtriniwhiteboy..]

well everyone spoke about the players, but i have to commend the crowd. FINALLY the crowd was actually supporting. After the USA goal the crowd started to clap the fellas, chant, anything to show the players that they were still behind them. That was impressive...also didnt get cuss by noone for the big flag so seems like pple finally gettin into it.

[Big Magician]

A Tale of 2 Testicles... tops

ah taking bets... Spann will become the first choice right back if we get to the Hex

[Reaper2004]

Touches you is a classic yes WHEYZ!!!

[weary1969]

Touches is priceless

[trini supporter]

Congrats to the boys on a job well done . Edwards, Birchall , Yorke and daniels to me had excellent games. Scotty was a work horse he had some nice plays with latas. The only player i was dissapointed with is Spann  he looked out of sorts and made some suicidal passes, he need to get some more playing time for he club before he get a recall for the 19th.