Brazilians hold TT to 1-1 draw

TRINIDAD AND Tobago senior footballers flattered to deceive at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, on Tuesday night, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by a Brazil All-Star team in a clash entitled “Soca vs Samba.”

It was the first match in charge for re-appointed national head coach Bertille St Clair but, on the evidence of Tuesday’s performance, it will need a dramatic change of fortunes, even a miracle, for the “Journey to Germany 2006” dream to be realised. If truth be told, only the four foreign-based pros —- striker Stern John, right-winger Carlos Edwards, stopper Marvin “Dog” Andrews and goalkeeper Clayton Ince, stood out.
The others, either past their peak or beyond theirs, struggled against a Brazilian unit fielding an assortment of players in the twilight of their careers. While Trinidad and Tobago took the lead through John’s sheer determination in the 20th minute, the visitors dictated the pace for most of the match, which was played in front of a good crowd in the region of 15,000. St Clair and captain Angus Eve underlined the inability of the newer players to rise to the occasion but the overall display simply highlighted the dearth of talent at the T&T Pro League level.
Moving at a slow, methodical pace and finding each other with a series of pin-point passes, the Brazilians settled down first, and came close to scoring after only seven minutes.

After a midfield interchange, Jorginho moved into the centre of the field, found Adriano on the left whose sliding left-footer was cleared off the line by burly defender Anton Pierre. John, the TT target man, was found in the box by Edwards and, from an acute angle, saw his 14th minute shot blocked by the Brazilian defender and captain Ricardo Rocha. But John will get the better of Rocha six minutes later.

Collecting a long-ball from the right by Andrews, John shook off Rocha’s challenge, had his initial shot blocked by goalie Sebastiao Wagner but tapped in the rebound, to the delight of the crowd. The goal woke up the TT lads, who tried desperately to penetrate the sturdy backline of Rocha, Marcelo Gonzalves and Alexandre Torres.

An opportunity was presented in the 35th when Eve sent fellow midfielder Kerry Baptiste on the right and the national Under-23 player squared to an unmarked Cornell Glen in the six-yard box. There was no logical way that Glen could miss but he did, scooping the ball overbar with Wagner well beaten.

A minute later, Glen sent John clear on goal but his right-footer flew inches wide of the mark. Using their experience and know-how to good effect, the Brazilians seized control in the second half.

Striker Antonio Careca sent his curling right-footer wide from a neat buildup from the middle, while, in the 71st, John collected a through ball from Baptiste but sent his shot overbar. With fans making their way towards the exit however, the visitors got a deserved equaliser two minutes from the end. After he was brought down outside the penalty box by substitute left-back Nigel Daniel, Adriano redeemed himself and his freekick was headed home by Rocha.

Teams -Trinidad and Tobago: Clayton Ince; Marvin Andrews, Anton Pierre, Ansil Elcock (Nigel Daniel 56th), Cory Rivers; Angus Eve (capt), Michael Celestine (Cyd Gray 88th), Carlos Edwards (Silvio Spann 71st), Kerry Baptiste; Cornell Glen (Ashton Legerton 59th), Stern John.
Brazil: Sebastiao Wagner; Marcelo Gonzalves, Alexandre Torres (Fagner 82nd), Ricardo Rocha (capt), Edinho; Charles Guerrairo (Haroldo 46th), Jorginho, Adriano, Valber; Bebeto (Joelton 71st), Antonio Careca.