T&T lose Jamaican 'war'

[Karl]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><DIV class=bigheadline><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><DIV class=bigheadline>T&amp;T lose Jamaican 'war'
</DIV><DIV class=subheadline>U-20s win Manny Ramjohn battle
</DIV><DIV class=byline>Lasana Liburd </DIV>
<DIV class=dateline>Saturday, December 9th 2006</DIV>
</TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Trinidad and Tobago Under-20 footballer Matthew Bartholomew, right, is in a race for the ball with Nicholas Beckett of Jamaica during their CFU playoff for the World Under-20 Championships at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium on Thursday night. T&amp;T won 1-0, but Jamaica progressed 2-1 on aggregate.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><DIV class=texte>

Trinidad and Tobago national under-20 team captain Radanfah Abu Bakr strained his neck to look around Jamaica's defensive wall and almost willed his stoppage time free kick into the back of the opposing net.

The ball squirmed from the grasp of Jamaica goalkeeper Dwayne Kerr and rolled goalward before the tall custodian regained his bearings and dove backwards to turn the sphere around the post for a corner kick.

On Thursday night, Kerr's recovery may have been the difference between the English-speaking Caribbean's most dominant football teams as Jamaica held on for a 2-1 goal aggregate win over the young "Soca Warriors" at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.

"I thought (my free kick) was in and we were back on level terms," said Abu Bakr, after the match. "I was sure we would go on to win from that point."

Trinidad and Tobago won the match 1-0 but lost the war. Jamaica , who managed a 2-0 triumph in the first leg meeting at Harbour View, now advance to next January's CONCACAF Under-20 finals in Mexico . </DIV><DIV class=texte>

The fate of the home team is less certain.

Coach Brian Williams recommended that the core of the squad be kept together to form a base for next year's 2008 Olympic qualifying tournament and the 2010 World Cup campaign.

Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&amp;TFF) general secretary Richard Groden might see that as a reasonable request considering his threat to replace disgruntled senior players with youth for the South Africa campaign. But the local organising body has not been in sync with its coaches in recent times.

Williams felt the desperation of Thursday's playoff battle against Jamaica might have been avoided with better preparation and, yesterday, team captain Abu Bakr agreed.

"We are a better bunch of players than our performances showed," said the business management student at London 's Kingston University . "We should have surely gone further but I don't think it is the fault of the players or the coaches. It was the time we had."

If Abu Bakr and Williams were merely seeking to excuse their inadequacies, the T&amp;TFF left a door open by selecting coaches with barely six weeks to spare before the opening qualifying round.

The entire technical staff comprised of Williams (head coach), Frank Rodriguez (manager), Hutson Charles (assistant coach), Ross Russell (goalkeeper coach), Wayne Lawson (physio/ trainer) and Osmond O'Brien (equipment manager). None, a T&amp;TFF source alleged, received a letter of appointment or reimbursement for time or travel over the past three months.

On Thursday, the young Warriors spent two hours in traffic en route to the Marabella ground from camp at Woodbrook's Caribbean Villas-one of several inconveniences faced in their short time together. But it did not seem to in

[Karl]

RE: T&T lose Jamaican 'war'

Is the T'adians claiming if they were properly prepared they would defeat a properly prepared Jamaican U-20 team?

...or, that they would have defeated that under-prepared Jamaica U-20 team?

[Karl]

RE: T&T lose Jamaican 'war'

saturday 9th December, 2006

T&amp;T Under-20s fall short

Jamaica advances to Concacaf final round


By Jovan Ravello

The T&amp;T Under-20 team won the second leg of its Caribbean Football Union (CFU) play-off at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, on Thursday evening but failed to advance, losing 2-1 on aggregate.

Mindful of the task ahead, T&amp;T’s approach to the match in a highly electric atmosphere was much more businesslike than its previous two home outings, as it sought to undo the damage of the 2-0 loss to the Jamaicans at the Harbour View Stadium in Jamaica last Sunday.

The midfield created a slew of early half-chances on either end of the pitch.

T&amp;T senior coach Wim Rijsbergen and his assistants, Jan Van Diesen and Anton Corneal, technical director Lincoln “Tiger” Phillips and Vibe CT 105 W Connection owner David John Williams were among the 500 or so spectators watching the match in inclement weather.

T&amp;T had a good chance to go ahead in the 25th minute, but with Jamaican ’keeper Dwayne Kerr beaten, Troy Smith cleared Radanfah Abu Bakr’s header off the line.

But in the 33rd minute, Javed Mohammed brought the ball out of the back, slipped it to Aaron Downing, whose pass to Matthew Bartholomew was headed past Kerr and into a vacant net.

James Thomas sought to get the Jamaicans back in the match with a crafty solo effort. His shot, however, following Smith’s throw, was well wide of Adrian Foncette’s right upright.

T&amp;T responded in the next minute when Keon Daniel eluded his marker, only to see his shot go wide.

The teams didn’t let up despite a heavy shower which made conditions more difficult for control.

Downing almost scored T&amp;T’s vital second goal on the stroke of half time, but his header from a well weighted Mohammed cross failed to trouble Kerr.

In the 48th minute, Keammar Daley should have restored Jamaica’s two goal advantage after combining well with substitute Draion Mc Nain just inside the area, but he failed to direct his shot properly.

The Jamaicans exerted consistent pressure and the young Soca Warriors were having a hard time, but in the 55th Bartholomew finally broke free of the Jamaica defence and with Hyland in attack, but Hyland was closed down.

While the Jamaica supporters continued to spur their team on there were only pockets of T&amp;T response, mainly on the decisions of Guyanese referee Roy Douglas Mc Arthur.

T&amp;T had a good shout for a penalty when Daniel was bodied to the ground in the 66th minute, but he was waved to his feet by the referee.

Four miutes later, Daniel was again in the thick of it and had his first touch at the end of Christon Thomas cross been better, his chip may have found the right side of the post. It was not to be.

The home team began to resort to a long ball strategy which played right into the hands of the fit Jamaicans, but there was