Stern keeps TT in the hunt

TRINIDAD AND Tobago footballers remained in strong contention to secure a qualification spot at the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup in USA and Mexico. The Soca Warriors beat a tough Guadeloupe unit 1-0 on Friday night at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya, Tunapuna to stake their claim.

In front of a packed house at the newly-named stadium, on the Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence compound, TT needed an 88th minute penalty from acting captain Stern John to gain full points. And the Soca Warriors can seal an automatic berth at the Gold Cup, scheduled from July 12-27, with victory against Cuba today, at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella from 5 pm. Cuba cruised past Antigua/Barbuda 2-0 in the first match of Friday’s doubleheader, the first match to be contested in at the stadium, renamed minutes earlier after the late national Under-20 captain. TT’s win was made even tougher due to two factors —- the injuries to regular skipper, defender Marvin “Dog” Andrews (hamstring) and winger Evans Wise (leg) as well as the spectacular work between the uprights by Guadeloupe’s goalkeeper Fabrice Mercury.

Mercury produced a series of outstanding saves to deny the TT attack, especially when they went for broke late in the second half. “He was the reason why it was not a 4-0 (scoreline). He was the Man-of-the-Match in a losing cause as far as I was concerned,”said Hannibal Najjar, national senior team coach after the match. Andrews was replaced in the line-up by Dwayne Demmin, younger brother of right-back Craig Demmin, while Wise’s spot on the left went to Tobagonian Hayden Fitzwilliams who seemed overawed on his full international debut. Guadeloupe’s forward Olivier Toute-Fauconnie intercepted a lazy back-pass from defensive midfielder Anton Pierre but saw his shot cannon of the leg of Dennis Lawrence in the 13th minute but for the duration of the match, they retreated into a defensive mode, with their back-line severly tested with a series of TT raids.

Mercury saved two thunderous drives from John, in the 14th from a long-ball from Brent Rahim and in the 23rd from a Pierre free-kick, while John’s chip from a Carlos Edwards pass was tipped overbar in the 37th. The French-speaking Islanders got a major setback in the 61st when Toute-Fauconnie was sent off by Barbadian referee Barney Callender for dissent but TT struggled to make full use of their man-advantage. To the shock of many, national Under-23 striker Devon Mitchell was included in the 53rd minute at the expense of Pierre but it was only when the consistent Jason Scotland replaced Fitzwilliams in the 63rd did the TT attack look potent.

Scotland forced Mercury into action in the 68th and 76th —- the latter a 30-metre bullet which saw an airborne Mercury punch away —- while Mitchell, collecting a lay-off from Scotland, also saw his 25-metre drive saved in the 78th. But Scotland’s constant goal-bound attempts paid off when, two minutes from full-time, he was pulled down by defender Pascal Chimbonda inside the penalty box and John converted the penalty with ease. The Cubans prevailed in a lacklustre matchup against the Antiguans with a double from substitute Lester More, in the 65th and 74th minutes. More got his first item with a close-range shot past Antiguan goalie Janiel Simon after a lay-off from fellow striker Maykel Galindo and, nine minutes later, he sealed victory for the Cubans with a left-footed drive from a Resiandry Fernandez’s corner. The Antigua and Guadeloupe squads will each be playing for pride when they square off at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium today from 3 pm.