Haiti edge TT 1-0 in CFU Youth

By virtue of winning the group, the Haitians will meet Mexico for the title at the Mucurapo venue at 4 pm, while TT will meet Jamaica for the third-placed prize.

Yesterday’s double-header was originally carded for the Larry Gomes Stadium, Arima but was switched to the Mucurapo venue yesterday morning, with patrons allowed to watch the matches free of charge.

Haiti, who have been in impressive form throughout the competition, silenced the estimated 4,000 crowd with a tenth minute goal from Alcine Samuel.

Haitian captain Joseph Peterson twisted and turned past his marker Brenton Balbosa (reinstated as a defensive midfielder as coach Anton Corneal played with three defenders) and found Normil Valdo on the right, with the winger’s crossing to Samuel who weaved past Robert Primus before slamming his right footer past goalkeeper Jesse Fullerton.

Trinidad and Tobago missed two chances at tying the scores, both from freekicks — in the 20th, Ryan O’Neil’s 30-metre blast went wide off the mark while, five minutes later, Jean-Luc Rochford’s effort on the right found Stephen Knox, via Daniel Joseph, but Knox’s right footer went straight to goalie Dorhans Shelson.

Haiti’s ball control and speed befuddled the TT team, who constantly relied on long balls to the strike duo of Knox and Joseph, but the duo were well marshalled by the Haitian defenders Jean Baptiste Shiroc and Jean Jacques Bitielo.

Chad De Freitas, who replaced Rochford at the half, tested Shelson with a low-right footed effort in the 49th, after he was sent free from playmaker Kevin Molino, while a deep freekick from Sheldon Bateau in the 53rd was missed completely by O’Neil, with an unmarked Akeem Adams skying his left-footer high from close range.

Four minutes later, Fullerton and, particularly Primus, were in no-man’s land when Valdo’s right footer cannoned against the crossbar, as the midfielder was picked out inside the box by St Victor Ulterguens while the lanky O’Neil headed overbar from a Primus freekick in the 61st.

The Haitians went into overdrive, and had the TT defenders retreating and on the ground (literally-speaking) with a series of fakes, dribbles and fantastic interchanging of play, as they were allowed acres of space on both flanks. In the 76th, a throw-in on the left by Valdo found Ulterguens, who skipped past Primus and unleashed a left-footer which was tipped overbar by Fullerton.

The result was never in doubt, and the Haitians merely kept possession of the ball, within the TT half, until the final whistle.

Earlier on in the day, Suriname completed their tournament with a comfortable 3-0 win over Barbados, with goals from Teghan Pools (30th), Ivanildo Chobin (62nd) and Giovanni Drenthe (83rd).

Meanwhile, Mexico won Group “B” after edging Jamaica 2-1 at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, while Panama and Canada battled to a 1-1 draw in the other fixture.

Teams: TRINIDAD and TOBAGO — Jesse Fullerton (capt); Robert Primus, Ryan O’Neil, Sheldon Bateau; Brenton Balbosa, Chike Sullivan, Jean Luc Rochford (Chad De Freitas 46th), Akeem Adams (Marcus Joseph 84th), Kevin Molino (Sean De Silva 82nd); Stephen Knox, Daniel Joseph.

HAITI - Dorhans Shelson; Pierre Elusma, Jean Baptiste Shiroc, Jean Jacques Bitielo (Romulus Peter 80th); Saint Cyr Widner, Saintilien Geferee, Alcine Samuel (Joachim Dieunel 71st), Normil Valdo, Joseph Peterson (capt); St Victor Ulterguens, Jules Sandy (Saint Louis Wiselet 77th).