Disappointed but grateful is how Brian Haynes, coach of the country’s Under-20 football team, feels after his team battled back from two goals down to beat St Vincent and the Grenadines 3-2 in their opening match of the Concacaf U-20 World Cup Qualifiers at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Friday night.
In the end, Haynes said he feels that they owe T&T football and its fans for Friday’s performance.
Carrying huge expectations of a comfortable victory in the first match in front of an appreciative crowd, the junior Soca Warriors were dealt a severe blow as early as the third minute of play when Kirtney Franklyn scored from the penalty spot, and Steven Pierre headed in the second item midway in the first half.
It was Michael Chaves who got the winner for the T&T lads in time added on, following goals from defender Cody Cooper and Larry Noel that knotted up the scores at 2-2.
“As far as I am concerned we’ve been doing one thing for the past weeks and all of a sudden tonight they decided they’re going to play these long balls, and we’re playing against a team that had a strategy, they’re not as fit as they’re supposed to be, so they decided they’re going to sit back behind the ball and make us play in between them.
“And all we had to do was keep the ball and play, but look, they got their goal, they got their opportunity and it came not from unbelievable soccer it came from a breakthrough, a foul, and a penalty. The other one, a set-play that we were asleep on and they finished their chance,” coach Brian Haynes said at the post-match press conference.
“Now, give them credit, but what disappointed me was that we played into their hands, we kept playing the balls long when we could have put it down and play. I tried to talk to them at halftime about it and when it didn’t happen, I had to make the change with players who understood what they needed to do and that turned the game around.”
T&T lost instrumental play-maker Lindell Sween in the match due to injury and Haynes assured that all is being done to have him for today’s encounter against Dominica, who lost heavily to Canada 8-0 in their opening match on Friday.
Haynes applauded a never-say-die attitude by the players that led to the winner in the end.
“I’ve been part of T&T football for a long time now and a lot of time we’ve lost games like that or we’ve tied games like that, and it was good to see the team had the know-how to fight back and to win a game like that, so I give credit to them, not myself, because they did exactly what they needed to do to get the three points.
“I think we owe T&T football for what we did tonight (Friday). I think it could have been much better. I am a coach and I don’t want perfection but I want them to work as hard as they have to from start to finish. I think they showed it in the end but it could have been more consistent,” said Haynes
“We needed to win without giving any goals up, so we’re done giving up any more goals now with the two, so we need to go win this game now. And no disrespect to Dominica, I know they had a red card in the game and all that stuff but they are a team, and people play for their country and we’re going to respect that, and we’re going to put the work in to get a result and make Canada realise that they have a game coming up next week Tuesday.”
Grou D results
T&T 3 (Cody Cooper 36th, Larry Noel 64th, Michael Chaves 90th+5) vs St Vincent and the Grenadines 2 (Kirtney Franklyn 3rd penalty, Steven Pierre 28th)
Canada 8 vs Dominica 0
Today’s matches
St Vincent and the Grenadines vs Canada, 4 pm
Dominica vs T&T, 7 pm
