Haynes: We needed more firepower

So said ex-national skipper Ulric "Buggy" Haynes, Brian Williams as well as administrator Richard Braithwaite yesterday. The Trinidad and Tobago footballers played to a disappointing 1-1 draw with the Bahrainis in the first game of a two-match qualifying series and will now face the same opponents in the return leg on Wednesday in Bahrain.

According to Haynes, the players have got to go out there with heart and soul, but more so an all-out attack if they are to secure a place in the World Cup.

It means adding a bit more firepower in the team’s offence.

Haynes expressed the view that we should have added another striker in the team’s offence since we needed a victory in the match. In addition he said the team lacked the enthusiasm from start to finish.

"The Bahrainis were quicker to the ball than us and our team’s three key players Russell Latapy, Dwight Yorke and Stern John were all tightly marked, as expected," Haynes said.

Strangely Haynes had been calling for coach Leo Beenhakker to adjust his strategy for the Bahrain encounter since he felt the outcome was equally important to the Bahrainis also in their quest for qualification.

He applauded the Bahraini coach for implementing a style that literally shut-out the Warriors attacks, and their ability to move forward effectively enough to secure a well-deserved goal, one that is counted as two on the road.

The dreadful result means that the Warriors will have to score at least once, if they are to play on the world’s biggest stage.

A goal would cancel out the goal that the Bahrainis scored here on Saturday, and therefore a similar one-all draw would send the match into extra-time and then penalty kicks ( for those who are unaware of what happens now).

Mathematically, a 2-2 tie will give the Warriors the advantage over the Bahrainis, since an away goal counts as two.

Trinidad and Tobago must first attempt to finish on top with a victory however it comes.

A 1-0 win however looks a more realistic target for the Warriors but they face an uphill task if they are to do so.

The Former "Strike Squad" defender Brian Williams believes the players made the same mistakes they did in earlier matches. He said they again started too slowly in attack as well as in defence.

Because of the need for a win in the first leg match on Saturday, Williams said "the Warriors should have taken the game to Bahrain from the start."

This Williams said means beefing up the striking attack by adding two or three more players in the offence, and securing the team’s defence when necessary.

From a coach’s point of view Williams feels that national coach Dutchman Leo Beenhakker should have utilised a different strategy for the Bahrainis who themselves needed to avoid a defeat.

He added that the Bahrain coach got what he wanted from the match as he did his homework.

Meanwhile, CONCACAF Director of Development and a member of the FIFA Technical Committee Richard Braithwaite, said all is not lost despite the disappointing performance and the result that followed.

He claimed that our destiny is still in our hands, and added that we will get the required result from Bahrain on Wednesday.

Braithwaite also admitted that the Bahrainis did their homework and were able to stifle the attack of the local team.