Desert ‘Showdown at High Noon’

They have come agonisingly close once before in 1973 when inept refereeing deprived the country of an historic achievement when coincidentally the destination was also Germany, then split into East and West.

Today a rejuvenated Warriors team, led by the experienced Dwight Yorke and coached by internationally respected Dutchman Leo Beenhakker, meet Bahrain in a showdown at high noon (7 pm Bahrain time) in a desert setting with the possibility of a tense shoot-out.

It is the second match of a two-leg play-off to determine which will become the smallest nation to join 31 other top teams in the quadrennial football fest that grips the attention of more than one billion people for an entire month .

The first leg of the play-off on Saturday ended in a 1-1 draw at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo which means that Trinidad and Tobago must win or draw at least 2-2 in regulation time to qualify for Germany.

If the scores are locked goalless or 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes, extra time will be played and if the deadlock persists, penalties will be taken to find a winner. The Trinidad and Tobago team arrived in Bahrain on Sunday night with more than 150 supporters including a steelband and a drum group (Angostura Woodbrook Playerz and the Laventille Rhythmn Section).

They have been practising daily in weather interestingly similar to Trinidad and Tobago— warm and sunny in the day and refreshingly cool in the nighttime. Yesterday coach Beenhakker, who has been responsible for a dramatic turnaround in the team’s fortunes taking them to the brink of World Cup qualification said that he is prepared to make some changes in the line-up to ensure success.Speaking at a media conference with his opposite number Luka Peruzovovic, Beenhakker said the changes would not represent panic in the Trinidad and Tobago camp but a response to a changed situation.

"The team that played on Saturday is the best team we have. But with the draw in Port-of-Spain the situation has changed with us needing to win," said the silver-haired 63-year-old who took the Netherlands to the Italy World Cup Finals in 1990.

Beenhakker has praised the work of Aurtis Whitley in the midfield but a calf injury has put his selection in jeopardy fueling speculation that speedy striker Avery John will partner Stern John in the attack today.

Another player coming into the equation is MLS striker Cornell John who could be called off the bench by Beenhakker to get a run at the Bahraini defence devoid of their stalwart Al Marzooqi in the backline after he received his second yellow card on Saturday.

Yesterday Beenhakker also defended John from sharp criticism that he did not do enough in the first leg of the play-off.

"John has scored a lot of goals for Trinidad and Tobago in important matches and he has become a victim when we do badly. As a whole we did not play well.

Football is teamwork and the game is all about ball possession. If we do not keep the ball John won’t get it up front," Beenhakker said.

He reiterated that he holds Bahrain football in great respect and has always thought that victory in the play-offs for Trinidad and Tobago will be no walk in the park.

"We have never underestimated our opponents and have them in total respect, before, during and after the match," Beenhakker said yesterday. At the same media conference yesterday the Croatian Bahraini team coach Luka Peruzovic tried to discount the significance of two of his main players missing from the line-up.

Apart from Al Marzooqi, key striker Mohammad Bin Salmeen also collected his second yellow card in the Port-of-Spain match and will have to sit out today’s crucial encounter.

However Peruzovic, who is yet to win a match in charge of Bahrain, admitted that it was difficult to replace Bin Salmeen but that there were players who were prepared to work hard to achieve a good result.

"We have to stay calm and work hard and the result will follow. The replacements will be with players of quality," said Peruzovic sporting his trademark pony tail.

A stadium which holds between 28,000 and 40,000 fans ,according to whom you speak, is expected to be filled well before kick-off, swathed in red, the national Bahraini colour as admittance will be free. Trinidad and Tobago, playing in white will be hoping to spoil the hometown party and deliver on a dream well before bedtime in the Caribbean.