Lawrence blames individual errors

“I felt (it) was a very close game,” said Lawrence, during the postgame media conference. “There were hardly any differences between both teams, especially in the first half. I think the altitude affected the tempo of the game. You could see both teams were struggling with it.

“But our individual errors (were) probably what cost us, losing possession, giving the ball away unnecessarily, which left ourselves exposed, and the US took advantage of it.” Midfielder Khaleem Hyland’s lapse in possession proved costly as the US capitalise to open the scoring, while captain Kenwyne Jones was guilty of a wayward pass on a counter which was pounced upon by the Americans, who got the ball to Pulisic to finish from close range.

According to Lawrence, “Everybody knows Christian Pulisic is a very good player. We were very aware of it. For both goals, we gave him the time to get in the (penalty) box and finish. But he’s a fantastic player.” Lawrence utilised a 3-4-2-1 formation during the game, with Sheldon Bateau, Daneil Cyrus and Mekeil Williams in the back, with Hyland, Kevan George, Joevin Jones and Carlos Edwards playing in front of them. Nathan Lewis and Kevin Molino played behind lone striker and captain Kenwyne Jones.

“The idea was that we needed to be safe in the back because the US play with two strikers, so I thought (of) playing with three centre-backs,” was his take on the back three system.

On the use of Lewis, the San Juan Jabloteh winger, Lawrence noted, “Over the period since he came over here, he’s showed good energy, good commitment and he’s done well. He played in the CFU Championships in Trinidad and I think he deserved (a chance). And he didn’t let me down.” Joevin Jones, who had a sub-par game on the left, was withdrawn in the 67th minute for striker Shahdon Winchester - TT ’s first substitution of the match. Lawrence explained that the decision was made to freshen up the team as Joevin arrived last to camp from the Seattle Sounders “so I think it would have been unfair to ask Joevin to play 90 minutes.” Asked about any positive aspects he took for Tuesday’s qualifier away to Costa Rica, Lawrence responded, “We understood what we wanted to do, up to a certain point.” Kenwyne Jones’ header, from his namesake Joevin’s cross in the 33rd, struck the bar while Lewis had a goal ruled for offside in the 54th.

“We were unlucky, Kenwyne hit the bar from a cross,” said Lawrence.

“I thought Nathan’s (offside) goal was very close, it could have gone either way.”