Bertille St Clair, the man who coached T&T in the opening rounds of the current World Cup campaign, yesterday said he is hoping the team will beat Costa Rica tomorrow and go on to qualify for Germany next year.
Admitting that he did not see much of Saturday’s qualifier in which the Warriors defeated Guatemala 3-2 with a spirited performance, St Clair broke his silence and said he was happy with the progress of the team.
“I did not see the match because I was out of the country, but from what I heard the team played well and I hope they continue to do well.”
St Clair was sacked as coach of the team after a 5-1 defeat to Guatemala in the first round, but was allowed to coach the team in its goalless home draw with Costa Rica at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
The Warriors also came in for praise from former national captain, Clayton Morris, who led the team to within one point of reaching the finals in Italy in 1990.
Morris, now coach of United Petrotrin, said he was delighted at the way in which the team fought back to achieve victory.
“As a team, we kept our spirits high at all times despite falling behind twice. The team showed a lot of character.”
He said the team made two defensive blunders from which Guatemala benefitted.
“But you could see the difference. They really wanted to win.”
Morris said he was hoping that the same attitude will prevail in the other games.
“If we could re-kindle the same defensive effort that we showed against Panama and in the second-half against the USA and combine it with the attacking performance we had against Guatemala, we would be hard to beat.
“I believe if these efforts are brought together we could surely go all the way.”
Having played against Costa Rica on their home turf, the former Trintoc stand-out said the Warriors must be focussed from the first whistle.
“The first 10 to 15 minutes will be very difficult.
“However if we manage to get through that period, we will get a positive result.
“But if the Costa Ricans get an early goal, we could find ourselves in a lot of trouble.”
Latapy’s return to the team also came in for high remarks from his former teammate and captain.
“Latapy will be an important player to any team, no matter his age.
“What he has done is brought a lot of confidence into the players and he also showed the younger midfielders how to play with the ball at your feet and how to be effective.”
Morris also feels that giving the captain’s arm band to Yorke has done the former Manchester United and Aston Villa striker a world of good.
“Yorke has handled the responsibility as team leader perfectly. His true colours has shown since he was named captain. It has done a lot for him and helped boost the team.”
The Warriors (seven points) will face Costa Rica (10 points) tomorrow in San Jose in a match that can further enhance their chances of automatic qualification for Germany.
A win or even a draw will leave the Warriors needing to pick up at least four points from two matches against Panama and Mexico while hoping for Costa Rica and Guatemala to stumble.