T&T's senior women's team has made a giant step toward sealing a spot in the semifinals of the Concacaf Women's Championship and captain Maylee Attin Johnson believes a greater effort will be needed to be assured of that feat when the "Women Soca Warriors" come up against rock-bottom Guatemala in Washington, tomorrow night.Coach Randy Waldrum's team entered the tournament fully aware of its potential to reach the knockout stage and ultimately become the first Caribbean nation to qualify for the Fifa Women's World Cup. The team moved much closer to the target following a 1-0 win over Haiti on Friday.
The win did not come easy as the T&T team was forced to defend its narrow lead with 10 players on the pitch after starting goalkeeper and standout player for T&T in its 1-0 loss to USA two days prior, Kimika Forbes, was red carded on the hour mark.Kennya "Yaya" Cordner scored T&T's goal in the 37th minute after connecting a header to a perfectly timed long-ranged cross from Ahkeela Mollon.It, however, was one of very few genuine goal-scoring opportunities created by T&T and although she was relieved that the team won, Attin Johnson was not about to sugar-coat her feelings.
"It was one of the worst performances we have had as a team," she said after the match."However, we continue to play with grit, determination and heart. Once we continue doing so, we will qualify. We have a great coaching staff that will prepare us for the next game. We have some injuries but we have trust in every player that once called upon they will step up and take advantage of the opportunity."
After T&T's win over Haiti on Friday, the USA followed up with a more convincing 5-0 win over Guatemala. At the end of the day's action, USA sat atop the Group A standings with six points from two wins, while T&T and Haiti sat in second with three points and a goal differential of zero. The latter two teams won and lost one match by a one-nil score-line.Guatemala has not yet claimed a point.Tomorrow, the odds will once again be in USA's favour to win against Haiti. If USA wins against Haiti, T&T will advance with at least a draw. If Haiti wins against the US, those two teams will advance. If the US wins and T&T loses, the standings will come down to goal difference as three teams will be on three points and the USA on nine.
Head-to-head will only determine which team advances if two teams are on the same number of points after three matches.T&T, however, will be leaving nothing to chance. "The camp is very positive at the moment. We know we have what it takes to come out victorious again so we are continuing to stay mentally focused and physically prepared for the Guatemala game," said King.King again proved to be one of the most vital players for T&T as she consistently broke down Haitian attacks with tackles and also confidently played the ball out of defence with composure."It was a great feeling getting those three points and a relief of pressure off our shoulders. We are now one game away from making it to the knockout stage and creating history. I think heart and determination were the key factors for tonight's win.
Especially playing a man down, we really had to come together as a team and fight for one another."Forbes will be suspended for the match, while four other players enter the match on cautions.
Attin Johnson received a yellow card against the US, while King, Mollon and Janine Francois were booked against Haiti. Therefore, if any of the receive another caution against Guatemala, they will be suspended for T&T's semifinal match, should the team advance.According to the tournament rules, yellow cards will not be carried into the semifinal round.