T&T under-17 footballers got a brace from substitute Kanye Glasgow enroute to demolishing Sint Maarten 8-0 to keep alive their chances of progressing to the next round of the Concacaf Under-17 World Cup Qualifiers from Group A at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo on Monday.
Despite the low turnout by the regular supporters, there was still a loud desire for the Randolph Boyce-coached T&T team to run amok on their harmless opponents, who were thrashed 3-0 by Saint Martin in their first game, before being devoured by a powerful Mexican outfit 10-0 on Thursday.
Still, the energy produced by the home team had left much to be desired.
Haunted by their low confidence to convert the chances that they created, captain Jeremiah Daniel and company appeared willing to endure the trend, with Adasa Richardson, the usually prolific J’Meke Watkins and Christian Pitts all guilty of easy missed chances in the early moments.
However, Watkins made amends in the 13th minute when he outpaced his marker in the centre of the park before going past the advancing Sudesh Singh in the Sint Maarten goal and then struck the ball low into the empty goal for a 1-0 lead.
Jasai Theophilus then used his speed to explore down the right flank, but when he delivered a pinpoint cross to Watkins, the Tobagonian striker failed to get his header on target in the 22nd minute. Sighs of worry consumed the Mucurapo facility, particularly as the Sint Maarten lads gave little to no resistance.
In the 24th minute Watkins again cantered through on a perfectly weighted pass from Richardson into the Sint Maarten penalty area, and with the goal at his mercy, he hit the ball agonisingly wide of the target, with Singh already beaten.
Pitt, in the 40th minute, then made up for previous mistakes when he stabbed home a right-side centre from Richardson for a 2–0 advantage. Before the teams could go to the break, Sint Maarten’s Raynicio Drenthe squandered a golden opportunity to cut the T&T lead.
Skipper Daniel, under pressure from Henry Jack, released to goalkeeper Levi Williams, who hit the ball to an unmarked Drenthe, only for the latter to hit the ball wide of the open T&T goal in the 45+1 minute.
Boyce remained on the coach’s bench for all of the first session, before his words at the break proved to be the changing point for the T&T team. Glasgow, who came in as a replacement for Watkins, led a resurgence that was not evident in their first two matches but led to six second half goals of which Glasgow helped himself to a double.
In the 52nd minute Glasgow made it 3-0 when he dashed into the Sint Maarten penalty area to rob a tardy defender, Rainier Merien, of the ball and then hit it low into the empty net. The goal seemed to have opened the floodgates, and three minutes later Donovan Drayton raced in on top of the Sint Maarten goal area to fire home a leftside centre from Glasgow.
Sint Maarten found it tough against a relentless T&T attack, which was appreciated by the home fans. And with the confidence of the players evident, Jeremai Nanton played the role of architect for goal number five, switching the point of attack from the right to the wide left where Glasgow operated. After collecting Nanton’s pass, Glasgow calmly slotted the ball past the goalie for his second of the afternoon in the 66th minute.
Later in the 79th minute, Nanton, who caused problems for the Sint Maarten defenders, was the provider for his team’s sixth item. The lanky midfielder stormed down the right flank and pulled the ball back for the oncoming Richardson to hit hard past the Sint Maarten custodian. Afterwards, Finn De Freitas and Nanton completed the 8-0 rout with goals in the 84th and 90+1 minutes.
It was a performance long awaited for by the crowd, but now they will have a final meeting with Mexicans on Thursday to confirm their status at the end of the group stage of the qualifiers.
The top team in the group advances to the next round. The win placed the T&T lads in the second position with six points and a better goal difference than Barbados, who defeated them 1-0 in the opener.
TEAMS
Sint Maarten
18 Sudesh Singh, 2 kaden Magioire, 3 Rainier Merien, 4 Daan Van Ottele, 5 Quile Adolphin, 8 Raynicio Drenthe, 9 Jamaly Fontenelle, 10 Sean-jay Cecilia, 13 Christopher Freeman, 14 Jahier Marlin, 19 Ervinio Kiegberg
Subs
1 Solanio Cornet, 21 Aiden James, 6 Jaymi Brooks, 7 Cemali George, 11 Shervin Valerie, 12 Kedien Soleana, 15 Deion Pantophlet, 16 Henry Jack, 16 Joseph Johnson, 20 Ruiz Tadimoeijo
T&T TEAM
21 Levi Williams, 3 Sebastian James, 4 Antonio Hills, 6 Jeremiah Daniel, 7 Jasai Theophilus, 8 Donovan Drayton, 9 J’Meke Watkins, 11 Adasa Richardson, 15 Christian Pitt, 16 Kenai Richardson, 19 Antuan Louison
Subs
1 Mikhail Clement, 18 Necose Moore, 2 Reagan Rowe, 5 Jaylon Roberts, 10 Finn De Freitas, 12 Daniel Lewis, 13 Adriel Faure, 14 Kanye Glasgow, 17 Jeremai Nanton
