Senior women oppose Canadians today

TRINIDAD AND Tobago senior women’s football team, preparing for the 2004 CONCACAF Olympic qualifiers in Costa Rica, will oppose the visiting Canada Under-19 squad in the first of two friendly matches today.

The teams will face off at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Tunapuna from 5 pm. TT’s long-standing coach Jamaal Shabazz was optimistic of his team’s chances against the Canadians, who are on a week-long training stint in Trinidad. “All the girls are excited going into (today’s) match. It’s the kind of warm-up matches we want,” he stated. “The match will be a revelation for us.”

Commenting on Thursday’s match between the Canadians and the TT U-19s at the Tunapuna venue, which the visitors won 3-1, Shabazz said: “It wasn’t a great match for us but we put together bits and pieces of possession and we were able to get some penetration.” “Of course we gave up some soft goals but it was a new experience, playing under the high-pressure tactics of the Canadians,” he added. “We still have a long way to go if we are to play at that level but it is a start for us.”

Trinidad and Tobago team - Nicole Mitchell-Thomas, Jana Walters (goalkeepers); Kathy-Ann Nixon (capt), Terri-Lisa John, Terri-Lisa Abdool, Nadia James, Dawn-Marie Alfred (defenders); Nyasha Reyes, Sedonna Agard, Tasha St Louis, Jinelle James, Leslie-Ann James, Janelle Noel, Rae-Ann Elder (midfielders); Natalie Des Vignes, Regina McGhee, Maylee Attin-Johnson, Tanekar Alexander (strikers).