Trinidad and Tobago's senior women will begin their CONCACAF Final round quest to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics when they take on Guatemala in the first game of a double header at the BBVA Compass Stadium from 5pm (7pm TT time) today.
For skipperTrinidad and Tobago's senior women will begin their CONCACAF Final round quest to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics when they take on Guatemala in the first game of a double header at the BBVA Compass Stadium from 5pm (7pm TT time) today.
For skipper Maylee Attin-Johnson and her teammates, the affair is a crucial one as three points will be critical in their aim to advance to the semi-final stage as one of the top two teams from the group with Canada billed as favourites. They face Guyana in the evening's other match at 7:30pm.
T&T have spent just over a week acclimatizing to the cold conditions in Houston as head coach Richard Hood and his staff put the players through an intense training camp in Houston. The camp included one game which T&T won 2-0 over the Challenge Under 18 Women's team on Sunday.
"We know how important this first game is because the winner could potentially end up as one of the two teams to advance from the group. We will take each game on merit but starting with three points is definitely our first aim," Hood said after conducting a session at the Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash sporting complex.
"The spirit is very good and I think they are very focused on the task at hand," Hood said.
The teams were only allowed a walk through on the match field yesterday but all trained on adjacent fields at the Houston Dynamo/Dash training centre during the morning. At the start time of T&T's session at midday, the Guatemalans were completing the final 20 minutes of their session on a field visible and located less than 30 feet from T&T's pitch.
On Guatemala, Hood said he would be banking on T&T's pace and athleticism to get the better of the Central Americans who T&T defeated 2-1 in the 2015 CONCACAF World Cup qualifying final round through goals by Kennya Cordner and Maylee Attin-Johnson. The current team will also bank on the experience of the likes of Arin King, Ahkeela Mollon, Kimika and Karyn Forbes, Khadidra Debesette, Janine Francois, Tasha St Louis, Mariah Shade and Attin-Johnson.
"We expect the Guatemalans to play a strong possession game. I don't know much about their current team except for reports that I have received and from what I have been told by the players," Hood said.
T&T will face Canada on Sunday and Guyana two days later. The top two teams in the group will advance to the semi-finals with the two finalists qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympics. Maylee Attin-Johnson and her teammates, the affair is a crucial one as three points will be critical in their aim to advance to the semi-final stage as one of the top two teams from the group with Canada billed as favourites. They face Guyana in the evening's other match at 7:30pm.
T&T have spent just over a week acclimatizing to the cold conditions in Houston as head coach Richard Hood and his staff put the players through an intense training camp in Houston. The camp included one game which T&T won 2-0 over the Challenge Under 18 Women's team on Sunday.
"We know how important this first game is because the winner could potentially end up as one of the two teams to advance from the group. We will take each game on merit but starting with three points is definitely our first aim," Hood said after conducting a session at the Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash sporting complex.
"The spirit is very good and I think they are very focused on the task at hand," Hood said.
The teams were only allowed a walk through on the match field yesterday but all trained on adjacent fields at the Houston Dynamo/Dash training centre during the morning. At the start time of T&T's session at midday, the Guatemalans were completing the final 20 minutes of their session on a field visible and located less than 30 feet from T&T's pitch.
On Guatemala, Hood said he would be banking on T&T's pace and athleticism to get the better of the Central Americans who T&T defeated 2-1 in the 2015 CONCACAF World Cup qualifying final round through goals by Kennya Cordner and Maylee Attin-Johnson. The current team will also bank on the experience of the likes of Arin King, Ahkeela Mollon, Kimika and Karyn Forbes, Khadidra Debesette, Janine Francois, Tasha St Louis, Mariah Shade and Attin-Johnson.
"We expect the Guatemalans to play a strong possession game. I don't know much about their current team except for reports that I have received and from what I have been told by the players," Hood said.
T&T will face Canada on Sunday and Guyana two days later. The top two teams in the group will advance to the semi-finals with the two finalists qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympics.