Oval plan backfires on TT

TRINIDAD AND Tobago’s plan to schedule yesterday’s CONCACAF World Cup Final Round Qualification campaign at the Queen’s Park Oval, in Port-of-Spain — on a sloping surface unlike the flat fields used by the Americans —  backfired badly. In fact, the United States footballers took the TT squad to school, figuratively of course, as they opened the Final Round with a comfortable 2-1 win, in front of a large crowd estimated at 20,000.

In the process, the Americans earned their seventh win in nine World Cup qualifiers against the Soca warriors, and extended their present unbeaten run in all international matches to 14. And 20-year-old striker Ed Johnson set a new mark as the first American player to score in his first four qualifiers —  versus El Salvador, Panama, Jamaica and now TT. On the other side of the coin, the national team could take heart from the performances of defender Anton Pierre and substitute midfielder Densil Theobald, who dispelled any notions that foreign-based players deserve a starting spot ahead of those currently in the local leagues.

In humid conditions, TT had the first goalscoring opportunity in the seventh minute, when Dwight Yorke met a right-side Carlos Edwards’ freekick but headed straight to US goalkeeper Kasey Keller. Any hopes of a TT opening goal faded thereafter as the Americans, marshalled by captain and midfielder Landon Donovan and featuring fellow midfielders Eddie Lewis, DaMarcus Beasley and Pablo Mastroeni, as well as strikers Brian McBride and Johnson, toyed with the aging TT midfielder pair of Yorke and Anthony Rougier, and stoppers Pierre, Marvin Andrews and Brent Sancho. In the 13th, Lewis capitalised on a Sancho mistake on the right and sent a cross to Beasley but left-back Marlon Rojas cleared the ball out for a corner. And seven minutes later, midfielder Leslie Fitzpatrick headed away a Donovan’s corner to the path of Mastroeni whose 30-metre blast was tipped overbar by an airborne Shaka Hislop.

Hislop, who was re-assigned the captaincy role, could do nothing to stop the Americans’ first goal on the half-hour mark. McBride sent defender Steven Cherundolo clear on the right and his diagonal ball was headed home by an airborne Johnson. Edwards, who had a mixed game on the right, sent a centre to Stern John in the 34th, but the TT striker, who found himself in an offside position five times in the match, headed straight at Keller. Fullback Eddie Pope headed a Lewis’ corner inches overbar in the 50th while a minute later, a series of moves involving Cherundolo, McBride and Johnson led to a chance by Donovan, but his left-footed drive was blocked by Hislop.

Fitzpatrick and Angus Eve, who replaced an out-of-sorts Rougier at the half, featured in a one-two but Fitzpatrick’s low blast was denied by Keller, while Kenwyne Jones sent his follow-up overbar. From the resultant clearance, in the 53rd, the US netted their second item, with Johnson on the right finding Donovan, who squared to Lewis on the left to blast home beyond Hislop’s dive. John and Jones were tightly marked throughout by stoppers Pope and Cory Gibbs, but Jones muffed a 64th minute effort while substitute Cornell Glen had his 73rd minute left-footer blocked by Keller. John got TT’s consolation in the 87th, tapping home from inside the six-yard box from an Eve right-side cross, a move which began by a through ball from Theobald. But, by then, the damage was already done.

Teams -
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: Shaka Hislop (capt); Marvin Andrews, Anton Pierre, Brent Sancho, Marlon Rojas; Anthony Rougier (Angus Eve 46th), Leslie Fitzpatrick (Cornell Glen 70th), Carlos Edwards (Densil Theobald 74th), Dwight Yorke; Kenwyne Jones, Stern John.

UNITED STATES: Kasey Keller; Cory Gibbs, Carlos Bocanegra, Eddie Pope, Steven Cherundolo; Pablo Mastroeni (Clinton Dempsey 64th), DaMarcus Beasley, Edward Lewis (Christopher Albright 81st), Landon Donovan (capt); Brian McBride, Edward Johnson (Greg Berhalter 87th).