TT U-23 footballers whip Bajans

DEFENDER Lyndon Diaz scored a double while Josh Johnson added the other as Trinidad and Tobago Under-23 football team whipped  their Barbadian counterparts 3-1 in a warm-up match at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.

Both teams used  Wednesday night’s match as practice for their forthcoming opening 2004 CONCACAF Under-23 Olympic qualifying  rounds. Trinidad and Tobago are due to face Bahamas on September 5 and 7, while the Bajans will open against Guyana. Johnson, who specialises at the right-wing position with national champs CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh, put Trinidad and Tobago in front after 18 minutes, when he tapped home from close range following a right-side centre by clubmate Nigel Daniel. But the Bajans were able to find the equaliser seven minutes later, when Ramon Bigall blasted a penalty past national goalkeeper Daurance Williams after striker Neil Harvey was pulled down by Trinidad and Tobago defender Corey Rivers. Diaz restored Trinidad and Tobago’s lead in the 72nd, heading past Bajan keeper Jason Boxhill from a left-side corner by captain Silvio Spann. And the burly Diaz rifled  home his second from 12 metres out in the 86th minutes to kill off the Bajans.