TT youths go for broke vs Cuba

TRINIDAD and Tobago Under-17 and Under-20 football teams will be going for broke when they meet Cuba in the second leg of their respective CONCACAF Caribbean Zone Second Round qualifiers against Cuba at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella. The double-header will be staged today with the Under-17s squaring off at 5 pm followed by the Under-20s two hours later. Following their first leg matchups in Havana on November 26, the Cuban Under-17s hold a 3-1 advantage over their hosts while the TT lads have a 3-2 edge in the Under-20s. An aggregate victory for the national Under-17s will see them advancing to the CONCACAF Final Round Group A next April for a spot in the 2005 World Under-17 Championship in Peru. The TT Under-20s, if they get the better of the Cubans, will join hosts United States, Panama and Costa Rica in Group A of the Final Round next month for a berth in the World Youth Championships in the Netherlands.

However, the Under-20s were forced to replace the US-based Tobagonian pair of Makan Hislop (University of South Carolina) and Kevin Crooks (Young Harris College) due to school commitments. Hislop’s spot will be taken by South West Drillers’ defender Akile Edwards while Crooks will be replaced by Arima/Morvant Fire’s forward Cordell Samuel. But Under-20 team coach Anton Corneal is adamant that the team will hold off the Cuban challenge tonight. “I think everybody is in good spirits and I think they know exactly what the task is ahead of them,” said the former national midfielder. “It’s just a matter of time left before the game for us to step up and put things in place.” National Under-17 coach Nigel Grovesnor stated, “we practised (on Wednesday and yesterday) and the mood is very, very nice. We’re all hyped up and ready to go.” Also giving their views on today’s Under-17 game were captain Javed Mohammed and fellow midfielders Stefan De Las and Shastri Spencer.

“Right now, we’re confident that we can do it (at) home by three clear goals,” said Mohammed. “Once we come out positive and get a good start, we’re good to go.” Mohammed added, “the game in Cuba, we came out a bit slow and the tempo of the game changed. But now we have our home support so that’ll be a good thing.” De Las, who had a recent training stint at English Premiership team Birmingham, stressed: “we just have to play positive football, keep (our) defence strong and put away our chances.” “We have to be prepared for everything,” added the lanky midfielder. “We play to win so that’s how we have to do it.” Spencer, the team’s playmaker, admitted that during the first leg clash, “it was hard coming down to the end because we relaxed.” “We thought we had the game (secured) but we feel we have them where we want right now,” added Spencer. As far as today’s game is concerned, he noted, “I feel they’ll come to play defensive because of the lead they have over us.”

TT teams: UNDER-20S: Thorne Holder, Colin Belgrave (goalkeepers); Karlon Murray, Radanfah Abu Bakr (capt), Sean Bateau, Akile Edwards, Marcelle Francois, Joel James (defenders); Devon Maxwell, Kendall Jagdeosingh, Kezi Lara, Atullah Guerra, Gabriel Lashley, Keon Daniel (midfielders); Hayden Tinto, Shane Calderon, Cordell Samuel, Christopher Sam (strikers).
UNDER-17S: (from) Kevin Mussio, Nigel Thomas (goalkeepers); Jerome Williams, Khaleem Hyland, Brendon Boucaud, Marvin James, Jevon Morton, Ronald Joseph (defenders); Shastri Spencer, Javed Mohammed (capt), Nyron Orr, Stefan De Las, Kurt Williams, Michael Brown, Silas Spann, Qian Grovesnor (midfielders); Matthew Bartholomew, Kyle McIvor, Carlon Hughes, Lester Peltier (strikers).