Edwards injured as TT win

Trinidad and Tobago beat the Dominican Republic 2-0 yesterday in their first qualifying match for the 2006 World Cup at the Estadio Olimpico Juan Pablo Duarte,  Santo Domingo. The Trinidad and Tobago footballers were made to fight hard on a bumpy surface for their victory with goals in the 67th minute from Scottish Rangers defender Marvin Andrews and in the 90th minute from prolific Birmingham City, England striker Stern John. The result put coach Bertille St Clair’s team in a fairly comfortable position going into the return leg next Sunday at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.

The only disappointment for skipper Angus Eve was the injury to Carlos Edwards who had to be taken off in the 51st minute after going down in a tackle following an effort at goal. Edwards was taken to  hospital with a damaged left knee and was expected to undergo further examinations last night but has already been ruled out of the return leg. Commenting on the performance, St Clair said there was still areas of the team’s performance to be concerned with. “The victory was a victory but I am still concerned with the effort from some of the guys and it means that we still have some fine tuning to do. Our midfield and wing backs have not been performing and we still have these areas to work on. It’s about who want it most. There will be guys with skill but then there will be others who want it more and will be more aggressive,” St Clair said yesterday.
 
Skipper Eve who provided the left side corner for Andrews’ headed goal, said the team was up for a gruelling encounter. “In World Cup qualifiers you never really play pretty football and when you play away from home you are always satisfied with a point. We actually did better by coming away with two goals and three points,” he said. “We were up against a team that made it difficult for us with five at the back and four in the middle and it was difficult in breaking them down on what was a hard pitch as well. But credit for the guys, we stuck in and we came out with a result which is the most important thing at this stage,” Eve said. John, meantime was still in good spirits despite after realising after the match that he and other teammates had lost money and some personal belongings from the dressing room while the match was in progress.

“This match was a difficult one for us. I think it’s the most set of running the team had to do in a while. But say what, we went out there and got the result which is the only thing that matters at this stage. I was glad to make a contribution by scoring because before that I missed a couple easy chances too. Hopefully the team can just continue its gelling process from here,” John said. The match attracted approximately 1,500 fans including FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner, with a group of about 25 flag waving TT supporters making their presence felt with loud cheers throughout the encounter. The footballers return home tomorrow around 3pm.