Princesses go postal in Port of Spain; St Kitts routed 10-0
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868)Trinidad and Tobago could lose its reputation as a tourism destination if the national senior women’s team keep this up.
The “Soca Princesses” certainly did not give their St Kitts and Nevis guests much time to enjoy the scenery at the Hasely Crawford Stadium as the host team opened its 2014 Caribbean Cup account with an emphatic 10-0 rout in Port of Spain.
The game was over as a contest after just 12 minutes with Trinidad and Tobago five goals ahead after doubles from strikers Tasha St Louis and Kennya “YaYa” Cordner. But football is not a sympathetic sport and St Kitts was forced to stick around for another 78 minutes.
All things considered, the tourists were lucky the final score did not get close to the 23-0 that the Trinidad and Tobago national under-17 team put past the British Virgin Islands, two years ago.
“We started off really fast but dropped off our intensity after 30 minutes,” said United States-based attacker and 2013 Women’s Player of the Year, Kennya Cordner. “In CONCACAF, we will have to keep up our intensity all the way through.”
The inaugural women’s Caribbean Cup trophy is at stake now. But Cordner and company are fixated with the ultimate prize, which is a place at the Canada 2015 Women’s World Cup.
No Caribbean team has ever qualified for a senior World Cup. But an additional space for CONCACAF, due to Canada’s role as host, has motivated the region’s female players.
Tonight, Trinidad and Tobago sent a warning shot to its other rivals as the two island republic climbed atop Group B ahead of Martinique who defeated Antigua and Barbuda 2-0 in the earlier match at Port of Spain.
Elsewhere in Group A, Jamaica romped to a 4-1 win over Puerto Rico on Tuesday while Haiti trounced Bermuda 5-0.
Group A action continues tomorrow at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva where Bermuda tackles Jamaica at 5 pm and Haiti challenges Puerto Rico at 7.15 pm.
And Trinidad and Tobago will feature again at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Friday when the host team plays Antigua and Barbuda at 7.15 pm after a 5 pm clash between Martinique and St Kitts and Nevis.
God knows what might be going through the mind of the Antiguan ladies who looked on from the sidelines tonight as the Princesses ruthlessly sliced open the Kittian backline.
Veteran St Louis had a hattrick by halftime while Cordner and Janine Francois both notched doubles and captain Maylee Attin-Johnson, Mariah Shade and substitute Dernelle Mascall contributed a goal each to ensure a positive start to the competition and a smooth transition within the technical staff.
Thirty-three year old Ben Waldrum ran the bench last night in place of his dad, Randy Waldrum, who is expected in Trinidad tomorrow. The younger Waldrum, who has a UEFA B coaching license, is no more qualified than former head coach Marlon Charles and certainly less experienced.
But no one would have been thinking about the technical area as the women ran riot.
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