Cyrus, Rupert double up as TT win

In the earlier match of Wednesday’s doubleheader, following the gala opening ceremony, St Kitts/Nevis handed Anguilla a 11-0 thrashing to jump ahead of the pack in Group "E".

While St Kitts/Nevis took care of their mediocre opponents with conviction, the same cannot be said of the hosts, who seemed pre-occupied with individual glory instead of team cohesiveness against the Dutch-speaking squad, who hardly threatened to score on the night.

Cyrus, fellow striker Franz Husbands, wingers Chad De Freitas and Brandon Rupert, as well as pint-sized playmaker Sean De Silva, muffed an array of goalscoring changes in the opening half-hour, either shooting wide of the mark or straight to Antilles’ goalkeeper Jurzndy Tielman.

With the estimated 2,000 supporters getting restless by the minute, and a makeshift rhythm section by members of the St Dominic’s Children Home, TT eventually found the target in the 42nd minute, when Cyrus headed a long ball by right-back Sheldon Bateau over the reach of Tielman.

Rupert doubled the lead in stoppage time, taking the ball from the boot of Cyrus and rifling his 15-metre left-footer home.

In the second half, the TT youngsters seemed more assertive, with De Freitas and Rupert moving up to the forward line to good effect, while the more static Cyrus and Husbands dropping into the midfield.

In the 59th, Cyrus sent Rupert clear inside the penalty box and, with the Antilles’ defence in disarray, squared back to Cyrus who blasted his left-footer beyond Tielman’s reach.

The speed of Rupert and De Freitas constantly tormented their opponents, with Tielman suffering a match-ending injury in the 72nd after blocking a right-footed rocket from De Freitas.

The TT attacking duo will complete the win in the 82nd, with De Freitas going down the right by-line before squaring to an unmarked Rupert who shot home past substitute goalie Urling Zimmerman.

Antilles’ captain Gersinio Constansia, who was head and shoulders over his teammates, blemished his night a minute later when he was sent of by referee Dianne James of Guyana for throwing an elbow at De Freitas, while the quick-footed attacker almost sealed a good half by drilling his right-footer against the crossbar in the 87th.

TT coach Ken Elie, while acknowledging the fact that "we had no serious injuries", stated: "I think now that the players have experienced their first match in national colours (and) it will go a long way in setting the tone now for what we (the technical staff) have to do with them." Elie admitted that there is room for improvement as the tournament continues, especially in "the area of goalscoring, we could have finished more collectively."

He was also wary of the number of cramps sustained by his players during the second half.

"Cramps could be a sign of a number of things," he said. "One of them will be nervous energy that could have been extended in the warm-up (while) some of them may have taken the warm-up lightly.

"And we were pressing them to play with a very high intensity level," he continued.

"So, to ask these players to play like that for their first match, although it is a little heavy, it is required, because it’s a mindset we have to get those players into."