Boosted by its 4-1 come-from-behind win over French Guiana on Wednesday, T&T Soca Warriors will hope to make a giant step towards qualifying for the next stage of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Cup when they meet host St Kitts/Nevis in tonight's feature Group Five match at Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, from 8 pm. Both teams have three points after St Kitts/Nevis blanked Anguilla 2-0 on Wednesday.
The Warriors surprisingly fell behind in the 16th minute, before hitting back with goals from Vietnam- based midfielder Hughton Hector (25th), Jamal Gay (34th), Keon Daniel (71st), and Willis Plaza (86th). T&T's victory was marred by the ejection of coach Hutson "Barber" Charles by Cuban referee Marcos Brea for questioning his failure to blow for a challenge on Theobald in the 86th minute. In his absence tonight, the team will be coached by Derek King. Despite his ejection, an upbeat Charles said the team produced the kind of football that gave it the right start for the tournament. "We came into this match under some pressure because we know a lot of eyes were on us.
We had a shaky start, but I was pleased with the way we regrouped and bounced back. We had some clear-cut chances, and even though we failed to put them away, the guys kept going at French Guyana." In tonight's first match from 6 pm, Anguilla faces French Guiana while the group will conclude on Sunday, with the eight-time champions Soca Warriors meeting Anguilla from 6 pm, followed by St Kitts/Nevis versus French Guyana. At the end of the series, the top team will join Group One winner Haiti and runner-up Puerto Rico as well as Martinique and Suriname, the first- and second-placed teams from Group Three and Group Four winner, Dominican Republic in the second round.
The Group Five runner-up also has a chance to advance but will need to finish with a better record than Barbados in Group Four. The Bajans were second to Dominican Republic with six points and a plusone goal difference. The other first round series, Group Two will open on October 21 with Guyana against St Vincent & the Grenadines, and host St Lucia against Curacao at Warner Park in Gros Islet, St Lucia. The second round will comprise three groups of four teams with Grenada, Guadeloupe and Cuba seeded in one of the groups. The top two teams from each second-round group will advance to the finals on December 3-16 in Antigua & Barbuda with the host nation and two-time defending champion Jamaica. Four teams will qualify for next year's Concacaf Gold Cup.
WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
T&T 4 (Hughton Hector 25th, Jamal Gay 34th, Keon Daniel 72nd, Willis Plaza 87th) vs French Guyana 1 (Jean-Claude Ducan-Darcheville 16th)
St Kitts/Nevis 2 (Romaine Sawyers 15th, Atiba Harris 20th) vs Anguilla 0
T&T
1. Jan-Michael Williams 5. Carlyle Mitchell 3. Joevin Jones 12. Robert Primus 20. Seon Power 17. Daneil Cyrus 7. Hughtun Hector (2. Clyde Leon, 88') 19. Keon Daniel 18. Densill Theobald 11. Kevon Carter (14. Willis Plaza, 79') 15.
Jamal Gay (10. Richard Roy, 69'). Subs that did not play –Marvin Phillips, Curtis Gonzales, Kareem Moses, Devorn Jorsling
French Guiana
1. Rudy Merille 2. Michael Rimane (5.Serge Lesperance, 67') 4. Rhdy Evens 10. Lesly Malouda 3. Marvin Torvic 7. Albert Ataiso 9. Darcheuoville Ducan 6. Ludovic Balal 12. Samuel Sophie 15.Nekie Adipi (11.Gary Pigree, 75') 16. Cary Marigard Subs that did not play – Choune Ho-Meou, Francois Sampain, Miguel Haabo, Stephan Clet, Jean Petot-Homme
