Wild with joy

Thanks to lanky defender Dennis Lawrence’s perfect header at the start of the second half, the Warriors have ensured their tickets to Germany. But the wait has been long.

In 1973, the hand of a referee robbed Trinidad and Tobago of a place in the 1974 World Cup Finals in West Germany. The referee disallowed four goals against host nation Haiti and the Trinidad and Tobago team went under 1-0. Haiti went to the World Cup.

The people of this country still remember the river of tears which flowed after our loss 1-0 to the United States at the National Stadium on November 19, 1989. The Strike Squad, as the national team was then called, needed just a draw to advance to the finals in Italy, but one US goal killed our dreams.

Sixteen years later, the Warriors kept the faith and with the support of the entire nation, ensured that there would be no disappointment this time round. It was also a great moment for Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy, the survivors of the 1989 Strike Squad.

This was their last chance to be on a World Cup stage, and they deserved to win. But this journey was not easy. When the campaign started on Ash Wednesday this year, we suffered a 2-1 loss to the United States at the Queen’s Park Oval. We suffered a 5-1 thrashing to Guatemala away from home and managed a goalless draw with Costa Rica at home under then coach Bertille St Clair.

The TTFF took drastic action and replaced St Clair with Dutchman Leo Beenhakker, who took Holland to the World Cup when he was coach. He gained instant success with a 2-0 victory at home against Panama. Although there were stumbles along the way, Beenhakker was able to secure important victories against Panama in Panama, Guatemala at home, and finally the world’s number five team, Mexico, 2-1 last month.

Despite the lacklustre performance against Bahrain at the stadium last Saturday, the Warriors never gave up and went to Manama in search of glory.

The odds might have been against the Warriors yesterday — no home support and playing away from home. But Beenhakker summed it up well in the pre-match interview when he said that cricketers gain success against their rivals away from home, so why couldn’t TT footballers do the same?

The Bahrain team suffered the same fate as the TT team 16 years ago. They lost at home 1-0 when they needed a draw. They also played in red, while their opponents played in white.

Yesterday’s victory will no doubt lift the spirits of the country which has been plagued with 330 murders and kidnappings this year. The victory gives the people of this country something of which to be proud. It should also encourage the youths of this nation to reflect and be inspired to do something positive with their lives.

Now that the Warriors have achieved their dream, it is now left to the Government and the corporate citizens to rally around our footballers as they prepare for the world stage — Germany 2006.

Hats off to the Warriors for becoming the second Caribbean team to reach the World Cup stage. The country has every reason to be wild with joy!