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There were several positives in sport in T&T over the past week. The West Indies convincingly won a Test match with T&T’s Brian Lara recording his 29th Test century; Ria Ramnarine brought home a world boxing title, becoming the first local woman to do so; the national volleyball team moved on in a bid to qualify for the World Championships; and the national football team, the Warriors, got back on the winning track with two victories over Bermuda.


It is the latter, though, which will occupy the minds of sporting fans in T&T over the next few days, as qualifiers for the World Cup in Germany continue on the weekend.

On Saturday, the Warriors head for the Hasely Crawford Stadium and a date with Panama, the fourth of ten matches that stand between them and a place in Germany.

The results so far will probably reflect that the local squad has been less than impressive, having lost to both America and Guatemala, and earning a solitary point in a drawn encounter against Costa Rica at home.

But an examination will show that the local lads were more than able to hold their own against Costa Rica and certainly dominated the last 20 minutes of the game against America.

In both those games, the team showed tremendous courage and good skills and left fans with the feeling that if its members pull together, T&T could very well be one of the three teams from the six-member group heading off to the finals next year.

Since the last game, much has happened to suggest that the administrators and technical crew recognise the importance of the squad coming away with victory against the Panamanians.

The T&T Football Federation has attempted to integrate Government, corporate T&T and the media with team members and the technical crew, probably in recognition that an united effort is absolutely necessary to get to Germany.

A new coach, Leo Beenhakker, who has had a distinguished track record, has been invited to take over, and immediately the Dutchman has made it clear that while it may be difficult, it is not impossible for T&T to get to Germany.

Beenhakker, in all fairness to him, has not been attempting to win the friendly games which have been played under his direction. Instead, he has opted to look at the players and see who can make up the winning combination he seeks for Saturday’s game.

There appears to be a tremendous amount of confidence in his ability, as several of the overseas-based professionals have already testified to his worth, including the country’s most celebrated player, Dwight Yorke, the team captain.

The former Manchester United star has called on the population for support for his team.

This will be the last chance he has of taking T&T to the World Cup.

Yorke was only 2 years old in 1973 when T&T was robbed of a place in the finals in Haiti. In 1989, he was there as a member of the Strike Squad when T&T gave it away against the USA.

On Saturday he will take the field once more, chasing after that elusive dream.

It is a chase in which all T&T should be involved. Red is the colour on Saturday. The Hasely Crawford Stadium is the place to be, backing the Warriors all the way to Germany.