St Augustine FC forward Laurelle Theodore scored a second-half brace as T&T recorded a 4-0 win against Barbados in its first ever full international fixture at the Girls' Under-15 level in the opening match of the Concacaf Under-15 Championship, on Wednesday.
Playing at the Ed Bush Sports Complex, Cayman Islands, the Rajesh Latchoo-coached T&T girls enjoyed a confident start to their international career at the youngest level. Theodore scored three minutes apart in the 51st and 54th minutes, after Point Fortin Civic defender and Trincity Nationals midfielder Nia Honore opened with foals in the 16th and 28th minutes, respectively.
Latchoo, speaking after the inaugural win said he was pleased with the result particularly after he and his team overcame a series of obstacles in the run up.
"We entered the tournament with some challenges as the full squad was not able to assemble in the Cayman Islands but these girls have sacrificed and have worked hard over the past few months so they came here wanting to succeed. They demonstrated that on the field," Latchoo said.
"We started well with the goals in the first half and I'm really pleased with the way the girls took on the responsibility and completed their first win on the international stage".
T&T will face Bermuda today from 5.30 pm at the same venue. Latchoo said he expects a tougher challenge.
"We are taking it one game at a time. I expect Bermuda to be a tougher opponent but our girls will stay focused and go after another positive result," he added.
Three other matches were played on Wednesday. Cayman Islands eased past the British Virgin Islands, 5-0, while Bahamas defeated Curacao 3-0.
Honduras won the other match, 1-0, against Bermuda.
The current championship is not a qualification series but a tournament launched by Concacaf to aid the development of women's football in the region.