The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the patrons who showed up at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Tuesday night to offer its support to the National Senior Men’s Team as well as those who supported in spirit while viewing the game on the television screens at their homes or the various sports bars throughout.
Team head coach Stephen Hart and skipper Kenwyne Jones both called on the public to support the event in the lead up to the World Cup qualifier and the TTFA put measures in place to ensure the event would be a memorable and safe one for all who were in attendance. FIFA Match Commissioner Patrick Beckles expressed relative satisfaction with the organization and staging of the event. The TTFA, under the leadership of President David John-Williams, also wishes to thank all existing partners, matchday staff, members of the protective services and the Media for its support, and of course the members of the National Senior Team for its winning performance.
“We definitely are grateful for the support showed by all the fans who showed up in their numbers to express their love and support for the team,” Hart told TTFA Media . “And we want this to continue. This is just our second game of home. We have another big one in September and hopefully beyond that, there will be more games for you to back the team. Even when we are not playing but rather preparing for our challenges we will appreciate the support of our fans,” Hart added.
Skipper Jones echoed similar sentiments, saying “It was a good feeling for all of the players to see the fans show up regardless of whether it was Mexico, USA or St Vincent. At the end of the day, we need the support throughout and it is always good to feel that your people are one hundred percent behind you.
“After the first game in St Vincent, we had to check ourselves. We maybe had some excuses for not putting in the performance in St Vincent that we needed but then coming back at home on a better surface in front of the home crowd and obviously getting back to the basics that we are accustomed to, obviously the performance would be better. Even in St Vincent, the type of football we played in the first half could have yielded us the amount of goals we had tonight.
Tonight we were patient and very precise in some of our passing and we pulled off the goals. We came out and gave the fans what they wanted. They would not have seen a goal fest like that for a long time. Some of the football we played tonight was absolutely beautiful.
“Like I said in previous interviews, we have our goal in mind and we are going to keep our feet on the ground and continue to work hard and try to achieve the goals that we set out for ourselves. We have one game at home and one game away and when the time comes we are going to focus on that. Its is important that we do that because we have not been to the hex in a while and with the potential of the group, I can see us possibly qualifying for the World Cup,” Jones said.
The TTFA will now look ahead to the preparations of the Senior Team for its next World Cup qualifier in Port of Spain against Guatemala on September 2nd and against the United States at Everbank field, Jacksonville, Florida. The Local Organization Committee, under the chairmanship of TTFA Vice President Ewing Davis will also review the operations of Tuesday’s match and plan ahead to upcoming International Matches.
The National Futsal Team will also play Honduras in a CONCACAF playoff in May while the National Men’s Under 20 Team is preparing for upcoming Caribbean Under 20 qualifier and the Women’s youth teams also have upcoming competitions. The Senior Men’s Team will also meet Uruguay in an international friendly on May 27th.
Post-Game Reactions after the 6-0 win - Kenwyne Jones