T&T's plans to end their World Cup campaign on a high note were muted on Tuesday night when they were surprisingly held to a 2-2 draw by Bermuda in the final match of the World Cup Qualifiers at the Hasely Crawford Stadium inn Mucurapo, Port-of-Spain.
It was another goal-scoring challenge for coach Dwight Yorke and his charges, despite enjoying superior possession and the upper hand for most of the match.
An expected low turn-out of fans occupied the Mucurapo facility, which had been reported to be close to full capacity just four days prior.
The disappointment of losing out on possibly the best chance at a second World Cup qualifying berth was clearly evident in the stands. Nevertheless, coach Yorke and his squad were determined to finish their campaign on a high. Yorke, who had previously stated the sport had been unfair to his campaign, faced an immediate hurdle yesterday with four key players out due to injury–Tyrese Spicer, defender Josiah Trimmingham, new striker Roald Mitchell, and Justin Garcia.
For the first time, Yorke fielded an aggressive, all-out-attacking line-up, with only Deron Payne, Andre Rampersad, Kobi Henry, and Noah Powder employed in dedicated defensive roles. Despite this, a relatively slow start allowed Marvin Phillip, playing his final match in T&T colours, to fend off early attempts from Bermuda's Enrique Russell and Aunde Todd within the first eight minutes. Thereafter, a dominant display of possession football and created chances had the sparse crowd off their seats.
It took just nine minutes for the crowd to erupt for the opening goal. Noah Powder delivered a freekick perfectly for Henry to meet with his head, guiding it past goalkeeper Milai Perrot for the 1-0 lead. Driven by the smooth-passing game, the men in red, white, and black were unlucky not to have doubled their lead nine minutes later. This time, Real Gill used his pace up the left flank to centre the ball for the onrushing Kevin Molino to connect first-time; however, Perrot went full stretch to fist the powerful shot wide.
Bermuda sought redemption after losing all their previous matches in the qualifiers, but their forward movements were consistently thwarted by a solid T&T defensive structure. Molino, who had returned to the squad after calling it quits under former coach Angus Eve, was playing his best football, despite knowing the game marked his final international appearance. He was part of a dynamic attacking quintet, including Ryan Telfer, Real Gill, Nathaniel James, and Steffen Yeates, that terrorised the Bermudan defenders all night long.
Payne came close to increasing T&T's advantage when released down the right flank in the 25th minute. His cheeky turn put him one-on-one with Perrot, but he couldn't squeeze the ball past the in-form keeper. Five minutes later, Gill and James combined again down the left flank before the latter picked out Molino with a well-floated ball at the edge of the Bermuda goal area. Molino hit it first-time, but Perrot once again denied him, fisting the ball away to safety.
Despite T&T's dominance, Yorke's persisting problem of goalscoring remained. Gill was given two opportunities to double the lead before the break, but his attempts from within the Bermuda danger area could not find a way past Perrot.
T&T defeated Bermuda 3-0 in the first meeting between the teams, but the visitors stunned the crowd with a quick equaliser after the teams returned from the break. Ne-jai Tucker squeezed the ball past Phillip in the 60th minute, against the run of play. And before the T&T defence could properly find its bearings, a lanky Bermudan defender silenced the crowd when he headed home from a right-side corner in the 65th minute, putting Bermuda ahead 2-1.
Yorke, visibly animated on the touchline, got an almost immediate response from his players. Molino, the architect, threaded the ball through for James to gallop onto, resulting in a one-on-one with Perrot. James placed the ball beyond Perrot's reach, into the goal for the 2-2 equaliser in the 66th minute.
The fluctuating affair continued, but the Bermudans were determined to hold on to their first point of the qualifiers. They successfully did so, receiving the draw despite all efforts by the T&T attackers in the final minutes.
After the game, both Phillip and Molino were given departing gifts for their significant contributions to T&T football.
T&T TEAM
1 Marvin Phillip, 2 Deron Payne, 3 Kobi Henry, 4 Jerrin Jackie, 7 Steffen Yeates, 9 Nathaniel James, 10 Kevin Molino, 12 Ryan Telfer, 18 Andre Rampersad, 20 Real Gill, 23 Noah Powder
Subs
21 Jabari Brice, 22 Denzil Smith, 5 Lindell Sween, 6 Andre Raymond, 8 Daniel Phillips, 11 Levi Garcia, 13 Daniel David, 14 Wayne Frederick II, 15 Dante Sealy, 16 Isaiah Garcia, 19 Kaile Auvray
BERMUDA
22 Milai Perrot (gk), 5 Ne-Jai Tucker, 7 Lajuan Simmons, 8 Aunde Todd, 9 Enrique Russell, 10 Zeiko Lewis, 11 Djair Parfitt, 13 Keziah Martin, 15 Daniel Cook, 16 Dante Leverock (cpt), 17 Harry Twite
Subs
1 Dale Eve (GK), 12 Detre Bell, 23 Coleridge Fubler, 2 Logan Jimenez, 3 Eusebio Blankendal, 4 Roger Lee, 6 Riley Robinson, 14 Jace Donawa, 18 Brighton Morrison, 19 Reggie Lambe, 20 Rahzir Smith-Jones, 21 Donavan Thompson
