TT look to kick-start W/Cup campaign

WITH ONE point from three matches, Trinidad and Tobago will be looking to kick-start their campaign in the CONCACAF World Cup Final Round qualifying campaign when they oppose Panama at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo from 6.30 pm today. Following their third round 0-0 clash against Costa Rica on March 30, at the aforementioned venue, Bertille St Clair was sacked as coach with Dutch-born Leo Beenhakker taking over the reins as head of the team’s “Journey to Germany” campaign. And there will be a lot of pressure on Beenhakker to get things right today as the TT lads will oppose Mexico at Monterrey, Mexico on Wednesday. Victory by any opposing team in Mexico is a tough task, therefore Trinidad and Tobago will be seeking nothing less than three points tonight.

Both teams were expected to hold hour-long training sessions at the Mucurapo venue last evening, under sloppy conditions caused by persistent rain over the last few days. According to sources close to the TT team, midfielder Brent Rahim will be expected to be included in the final 18 today after recovering from a knee injury that he suffered during last Friday’s 1-0 win over Bermuda in a friendly international at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella. But another Brent, dreadlocked defender Sancho, will definitely miss both today’s and Wednesday’s encounters due to a strained hamstring sustained during Friday’s contest. Besides the injury concerns, Beenhakker will be certain to use veteran Stern John in the starting line-up, despite sub-par performances in the two friendlies against Panama. And the pressure will be on the 28-year-old to deliver the goods this evening.

Teams -
TT: Clayton Ince, Kelvin Jack (goalkeepers); Dennis Lawrence, Marlon Rojas, Marvin Andrews, Anton Pierre, Avery John, David Atiba Charles, Glenton Wolfe (defenders); Carlos Edwards, Chris Birchall, Leslie Fitzpatrick, Otis Seaton (Aurtis Whitley), Brent Rahim, Densil Theobald, Dwight Yorke (midfielders); Gary Glasgow, Kenwyne Jones, Stern John, Hector Sam (strikers).
PANAMA: Donaldo Gonzalez, Jaime Penedo (goalkeepers); Carlos Rivera, Luis Moreno, Jose Torres, Joel Jimenez, Joel Solanilla (defenders); Ricardo Phillips, Amilcar Henriquez, Julio Medina, Gustavo Avila, Alberto Blanco, Gabriel Gomez, Neftali Diaz (midfielders); Jose Garces, Roberto Tejada, Blas Perez (strikers).