T&T U-17s go down 7-1 in second friendly to Brazil
Published: 31 Jul 2010
guardian
T&T’s National Under-17 Women’s footballers will resume preparations for the Fifa Under 17 Women’s World Cup in Trinidad next week after falling in their second and final warm up with Brazil 7-1 in Teresopolis yesterday. The Even Pellerud coached team could not maintain the kind of form which saw them produce a creditable showing in last Sunday’s 1-1 draw with the Brazilians. Instead, the hosts also preparing for the upcoming Women’s World Cup were not prepared to let the visiting Caribbean girls get the better of them this time around. The host was rampant from the onset, rushing to a 3-0 lead before Brianna Ryce pulled a goal back for T&T going into the half time break.
The “Samba Girls” who were crowned champions of South America earlier this year, went on to score four unanswered goals in the second half. Pellerud, though disappointed with the scoreline, said that there was sufficient evidence from the tour to suggest that T&T were making progress ahead of their September 5, opener against Chile at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. “We know it was never going to be an easy second match and Brazil came at us from the word go. They made it difficult for our players especially in the first half but then we settled down and go a goal before the half time,” Pellerud said. Pellerud was not in charge of the team for Friday's game though, as he was out of town on a scouting assignment of the Chile National U-17 team which is T&T's opening match opponent.
Assistant coach Richard Hood was at the helm for the encounter. “But this type of challenge is exactly what we needed because it makes the players and the team on a whole realise that we are not quite there yet in terms of our readiness for the tournament and that we still have to keep on working hard as a team and ensure we never let our guards down. Overall I must admit I was pleased with the performance in the first game and while I would have preferred better scoreline in the second half, we will not leave Brazil feeling disgusted or disenchanted. There are a lot we can take away on a positive note from Brazil and now we will look forward to continuing our build up for September,” Pellerud added. Meantime, the 2010 Local Organising Committee in their continued efforts to bring the Women’s World Cup to local fans, will be present at the Gulf City Shopping Mall with the tournament’s Mascot “Trinity” and promotional giveaways from 11am this morning.
