TT U-20s hold off Cubans 3-2

IN HIS first match for Trinidad and Tobago, striker Hayden Tinto scored twice on Friday to give the TT lads a 3-2 win over Cuba in their Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Second Round first leg Under-20 match at the Estadio Pedro Marrero, Havana. Substitutes Tinto and Tobagonian playmaker Keon Daniel were the goalscorers for TT who need only a draw in the second leg, here in Trinidad on December 9, to advance to the final stage.

Mario Gil put the Cubans ahead after only six minutes of play, with a low shot past TT goalkeeper Thorne Holder, before Daniel equalised on the hour-mark with a powerful left-footer. Then Tinto put TT in the ascendency, scoring twice in the space of ten minutes. In the 65th  the Malick Secondary attacker collected a right-side centre from another substitute Kevin Crooks and shot home from close range and in the 75th, he collected a through ball from Daniel and drilled a shot into the net. Adonis Ramos pulled one back for the hosts in stoppage time but the Anton Corneal-coached TT held out for the victory. “I thought the performance and the result were exceptional for the boys,” said Corneal. “I was delighted to see how they went out there and really give it their all, they played to plan and got the result for doing that.”