T&T Under-15 Soca Princesses were edged out 1-0 by Chile via a last minute goal in their opening match of the football tournament at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games at the Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore, yesterday before a crowd of 2, 493 spectators.
After a tentative start by both teams, the match intensified midway through the opening half with the first chance falling to Chile's Romina Orellana who tested T&T goalkeeper, Lebrisca Phillip with a dipping shot. The South Americans could have taken the lead when Montserrat Grau took advantage of a defensive error, but the Chile captain failed to put her shot on target.
Francisca Armijo had a golden chance just before the break when she sneaked into the area unmarked but with only Phillip to beat, she shot just over. At the other end of the field, T&T's anky forward Marlique Asson rippled the side-netting and then grazed the near post with another effort. Chile came forward hard after restart with both Armijo and Javiera Roa both going close to scoring.
Their efforts eventually paid off when substitute Melisa Rodriguez, who replaced Gabriela Aguayo in the 52nd minute metted a last-minute strike to secure the win. T&T will next play Equatorial Guinea on Sunday after which the top two teams from the group will advance to the semifinals on August 21. The cellar-placed team in each group will meet for fifth spot on August 23 and, while the third-place playoff and final takes place a day later. In Group A, Turkey beat Iran 4-2 while Papau New Guinea is the other team in the group.
