Saintfiet blames injury, ‘almost goals’

The result leaves TT needing Haiti to beat Suriname today and then beat Haiti by a bigger margin on Sunday. In what was an ineffective and timid display playing at home against a team ranked 150th in the world, TT failed to really trouble the visitors from open play.

But the Belgium-born Saintfiet, in the post-match press conference, said he felt TT had the better of the exchanges in the first 70 minutes and rued their missed chances.

“In the first 70 minutes we didn’t make the opening goal. I think the public was very positive, there was a good atmosphere, everyone could feel we were hunting for that goal.

We had a lot of corners and had a lot of almost shots or almost goals.

If we had scored the opening goal I’m sure that we would have won won the match,” he said.

Saintfiet noted he was forced to change plans even before the game started with his main striker Cornell Glen suffering a hamstring injury in the pre-game warm-up.

“We started already in a setback with our ideal formation which we worked on. My first 11 could not start the game. But still I think we were stronger. We gave ball possession on purpose to be stronger on the counter-attack.,” he explained.

With regards to the absence of Glen, whose career has been hampered by injury since sustaining a damaged knee against Paraguay during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Saintfiet said, “So we had to make a change of strategy, we had to bring Akeem Roach in, and I had no striker any more on the bench.” The TT coach explained that forward Trevin Caesar was not permitted to be added to the matchday squad to replace Glen even though he got injured 20 minutes before kick-off. The former Bangladesh coach also acknowledged his substitutions on the evening failed to have the desired effect he envisioned. Hashim Arcia was hooked in the 60th for forward Shahdon Winchester while Akeem Roach was taken off for midfielder Andre Boucaud in the 78th and left winger Tyrone Charles was subbed for Curtis Gonzales in the 91st.

“Later in the match I think we had too little power, energy in the replacements who came in. Sure I was limited because I had six (substitutes) instead of seven but the boys who came in didn’t bring what they brought in other games in Nicaragaua. If you bring a fresh player in you expect that they fight and battle and fly over the pitch because they are less tired than the (others), I think that was our weakness today,” he added.

Saintfiet was also not happy with the TT defending with sloppy errors in midfield, losing the ball cheaply as well as conceding goals despite the opposition not getting many chances. He admitted the decision to play his defenders Carlyle Mitchell and Radanfah Abu Bakr as forwards in the closing stages was a desperation time move and not a change in strategy after previously stating he dropped former skipper Kenwyne Jones to play a more fast-paced fluid style.

Suriname coach Robert Godeken, speaking through a translator, said he expected more quality from their hosts on the field.

Godeken stated, “we were expecting more of this team, regarding the players who have played for (TT ). It looked like Trinidad (and Tobago) were playing a little bit easy. But we were expecting more from Trinidad and Tobago.”