Lacklustre play in finale as TT edge Suriname 1-0

A 65th minute goal from striker Cornell Glen was enough to give Trinidad and Tobago a 1-0 triumph over Suriname in their final Group “D” fixture of the inaugural Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Digicel Cup. The match which suffered from lacklustre play and indifferent officiating by Barbadian referee Mark Forde, was contested in front of a crowd numbering 3,000 at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Arima on Sunday night. After defender Clifton Tjin Liep Shie was adjudged to have fouled Glen on the edge of the 18-yard box, Kerwyn “Hardest” Jemmott whipped his freekick to the path of Nigel Pierre. Pierre’s muffed his effort but Glen blasted the loose ball to the roof of the net, beyond a stunned goalkeeper Harold Blokland.

Trinidad and Tobago, already assured of the top spot in the four-team group, replaced regular starters Glen, right-back Cyd Gray and stopper Keyeno Thomas with Conrad Smith, Stephen Cruickshank and David Atiba Charles. But the two teams struggled to find any rhythm in the first half. Goalkeeper Daurance Williams, who got the nod instead of Jan-Michael Williams, was forced to stop a thunderous freekick from Orlando Grootfaam in the seventh minute while Jemmott powered his left-footer overbar from 20 metres out in the 19th.

Smith saw his left-footed drive tipped overbar by Blokland in the 22nd while, from the subsequent corner by Leslie “Tiger” Fitzpatrick, an unmarked Charles forced a save from Suriname’s goalie. TT’s keeper Williams was called into action twice in the space of eight minutes, in the 31st he parried a drive from Clifton Sandvliet after the striker blew past defenders Avery John and Anton Pierre on the left. And in the 39th, Williams parried a Sandvliet’s freekick overbar. Glen’s goal eventually settled the game, even though Jemmott missed a chance to double the lead in the 75th. After receiving a diagonal right-side cross from Densil Theobald, Jemmott dribbled past Tjin Liep Shie but sent his right-footer straight at the path of Blokland.

Teams—
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: 1.Daurance Williams; 6.Derek King (capt), 4.David Atiba Charles, 15.Anton Pierre, 19.Stephen Cruickshank (16.Cyd Gray 67th), 2.Avery John; 11.Densil Theobald, 10.Kerwyn Jemmott, 7.Leslie Fitzpatrick; 9.Conrad Smith (13.Cornell Glen 61st), 18.Nigel Pierre (8.Michael Celestine 82nd).
SURINAME: 1.Harold Blokland; 4.Marlon Felter (capt), 3.Mick Amelo, 15.Clifton Tjin Liep Shie, 2.Sergio Aroepa; 5.Ulrich Linger, 7.Orlando Grootfaam, 13.Rinaldo Lupson (12.Dwight Panka 71st), 8.Jerrel Caupain (6.Riff Doelpakir 82nd); 10.Clifton Sandvliet, 16.Donovan Eersteling (17.Gino Brandon 65th).