T&T, Ecuador clash in first leg playoff.
By Amon Saba Saakana (Guardian).
T&T’s road to the 2015 Fifa Women’s World Cup will reach its penultimate hurdle today when the Women Soca Warriors face off away from home at Ecuador in the first leg on a Concacaf/Comnebol playoff.
The match will kick off at 2 pm (4 pm TT time) at the Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa, Quito, which sits at 9,127 feet above sea level and is likely to be filled to capacity.
A win would be ideal and a draw, a positive result. But even a loss today may not be detrimental to T&T’s chances, especially if coach Randy Waldrum’s team leaves Ecuador with a goal.
A goal for the Women Warriors may be crucial to the final outcome of the two-leg fixture, as the playoffs would be decided by the away goal rule if both teams are tied on aggregate following the December 2 return leg in T&T, unless both teams finish with the same number of home and away goals. In the latter case, the return leg would go down to a penalty shootout.
Both Ecuador and T&T will compete for their first ever spot at a Fifa Women’s World Cup. Twenty-two out of 24 spots have already been booked for the tournament to be hosted in Canada. The Netherlands and Italy are also to play a two-legged playoff for the final spot.
As indicated by Waldrum, T&T has seen an overall improvement in the fitness and recuperation of individual players, following their hectic schedule at the Concacaf Women’s Championship, in the USA, last month, where they finished fourth. He said apart from a few minor knocks, the team seemed to be in a much healthier state than it was heading into the Concacaf Championship.
“Jan (Janine Francois) didn’t play much in Concacaf and neither did Baby (Karyn Forbes) and neither did Ayanna (Russell) and those kids seem to be back now. So, our team’s depth is going to be better now, I think than what we had in Concacaf,” he said.
Waldrum, his coaching and medical team have spent six days in training in Mexico City, Mexico, an almost ideal location for the purpose of preparing for Quito’s high altitude conditions. The home team, too, has done its homework.
According to a Quito-based newspaper, El Comercio, Ecuador’s technical director/head coach Vanessa Arauz has observed three identifiable threats in the T&T team including captain Maylee Attin Johnson, forward Kennya Cordner and winger Ahkeela Mollon.
She noted T&T’s prowess at set plays and has cautioned the home team against conceding needless corners and free-kick opportunities.
Nevertheless she said the Ecuador players were confident and ready for the challenge and will be satisfied if her leaves for the T&T leg with at least a two or three goal advantage.
Forward Giannina Lattanzio, who is likely to start, scored three goals for Ecuador during the qualifying round-robin and is among the players to watch, as well as another forward in 22-year-old captain Erika Paola Vasquez.
Those two are among a very young Ecuador team, comprising mostly players in there late teens and early twenties. The latest Fifa women’s national team rankings issued less than a week ago saw this country soar to 46th spot, a considerable improvement from its previous standing at 79th.
It reflected an positive year in women’s football. The move saw T&T improve by 33 spots, overtaking Ecuador (now 49th, up from its previous ranking of 76). Waldrum said there was a sense of excitement and anxiety in the T&T camp adding that his players are also ready for the fixture.
“The players are really excited. You can start to see them liven up a little bit today (yesterday). As we got into Quito, they could sense that the game is near. And, the focus seems to be really good.
They’re just anxious to get to the game.” He said some of the players experienced an unusual hype by gatherers upon their entry to Ecuador. “I sense there’s a lot of excitement here in Ecuador.”
Squads
T&T
Goalkeepers: Kimika Forbes, Tinesha Palmer.
Defenders: Ayanna Russell, Rhea Belgrave, Arin King, Liana Hinds, Brianna Ryce, Khadisha Debessette, Lauren Hutchinson, Patrice Superville.
Midfielders: Khadidra Debbessette, Maylee Attin Johnson, Janine Francois, Karyn Forbes, Candice Edwards, Tasha St Louis, Ahkeela Mollon, Dernelle Mascall.
Forwards: Mariah Shade, Iyesha Olliverre, Kennya Cordner, Anique Walker, Jasmine Sampson.
Coach: Randy Waldrum.
Ecuador
Goalkeepers: Shirley Viviana Berruz Aguilar, Andrea Carolina Vera Coral, Irene Lisset Tobar Mera.
Defenders: Ligia Elena Moreira Burgos, Tamara Arelis, Angulo Cuero, Katherine Solange Ortiz Simisterra, Nancy Lorena Aguilar Murillo, Merly Cristina Zambrano Mendoza, Lliana Katherine Bowen Bravo.
Midfielders: Mayra Fabiola Olvera Reyes, Angie Paola Ponce Baque, Ingrid Roxana Rodriguez Alvarado, Adriana Margarita Barre Cusme, Kerlly Lizeth Real Carranza, Medelein Estefania Riera Bajana.
Forwards: Andrea Denisse Pesantes Tenorio, Erika Paola Vasquez Valencia, Giannina Maria Lattanzio Florez, Ambar Gillians Toerres Laz, Carina Elizabeth Caicedo Caicedo, Monica Quinteros Cabeza, Kelly Jahaira Vera Delgado.
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T&T women face off against Ecuador in away leg playoff.
By Ian Prescott (Express).
Ready To Rumble
Trinidad and Tobago head-coach Randy Waldrum expects an almost sell-out crowd, when Trinidad and Tobago women’s football team face Ecuador today in the first-leg of an inter-continential playoff for a spot in the 2015 FIFA Women World Cup. Both are aspiring to qualify for a first World Cup appearance.
Kick off time is at 3 p.m. T&T time, playing at 9,300 feet above sea level, at the Eastadio Olympico Atahualpa in Quito, Ecuador. A three-member German team of officials will take charge. When the teams meet again in the return leg on December 2 in Port of Spain, they will be vying for the final spot into next year’s 24-team Women’s World Cup in Canada.
Yesterday, coach Waldrum felt a buzz in Ecuador, where organisers have established ticket prices at a low US $2, to ensure a big crowd. “It’s going to be a potential for a packed house,” Waldrum said. “When we arrived in Guayaquil, almost 11 o’clock at night, there were mobs of people applauding us and cheering us on. And two or three television stations at the airport to greet us.”
Waldrum admits the occasion is exciting for his players as well, but he felt they were ready, having for the first time gotten the resources to prepare properly for a tournament. He also announced that several players are in better physical condition than two weeks ago at the CONCACAF Women’s Championships, where they finished fourth to secure the playoff spot.
“It’s the first time our players have seen this... going in as a visiting side and seeing so much hype surrounding it,” Waldrum added. “We are playing in the big Olympic stadium, so I get the feeling it could be a huge crowd and a lot of excitement here-- which I think helps. Our kids get excited about that too.”
Waldrum commended the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (and Government) for providing the team with all necessary resources to be ready for the match. The women footballers now have a doctor, nutritionist and also a strength conditioning coach, among the support staff. They have also had a week in Mexico preparing in high altitude, prior to flying to Ecuador.
“We’ve been able to prepare much more properly than we have before,” Waldrum said. “The TTFA allowing us to go down to Mexico to acclimate... I think that’s huge. It would have been very difficult to come here with this altitude had we not done that.
“Most of out players are healthy,” added Waldrum. “We are getting healthier. We are not completely there. We are in much better shape, health-wise, than we were going into CONCACAF (Women’s Championships, last month).”
