Trinidad and Tobago supporters were at the edge of their seats up to the very last second, as the national Under-20 footballers ground out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Cuba at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium on Friday night, which swept them into the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the FIFA World Youth Championship.
After coming away 3-2 victors over the Cubans two weeks ago, Friday's important draw shot T&T into the final round of CONCACAF qualifying from January 12-16 at Home Depot Centre in the Carson, California. That final qualifying series will see T&T engaging the United States, Costa Rica and Panama in a tournament which will see the top two finishers among the four Group A finalists advancing to the 2005 FIFA event in the Netherlands from June 10-July 2.
The other half of the draw will see Mexico, Canada, Jamaica and Honduras contesting Group B from January 26-30 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where the top two finishers also qualify for the World Championship.
As usual, the Americans were doing their preparatory work. And in the crowd at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, was United States national assistant coach Keith Fulk, who was doing a scouting job on the "Soca Warriors," who his team will face in the first game of the final round series on January 12, 2005.
National coach Anton Corneal had mixed feelings about Fulk's presence but said he still had a few surprises and five overseas-based footballers who the Americans had not seen. Corneal described his side's performance as courageous and felt that his lads knew they needed to step up against a very talented Cuban team and did so magnificently. He said the good scoreline was as a result of 70 per cent fight and 30 per cent ability.
"I expected a tough game," Corneal admitted. "In Cuba, they (the Cubanos) were very good and we needed to step up. I think we did very good," he said, while adding that his players would have to set up another notch for their next match against the Americans.
However, Corneal hardly had his mind on Fulk, as Friday's match drew to a heart-stopping climax. Cuba had taken a 3-2 lead on 74 minutes through substitute Ariel Gonzales, who swept a low pass into the penalty box from team-mate Adonia Solis, past T&T custodian Thorne Holder to balance the tie 5-5 on aggregate. But under the urging of the vocal local crowd, the home team responded quickly when the power of Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive midfielder Atulla Guerra's long-range shot forced an uncharacteristic mistake from solid Cuban keeper Yunaikel Romero. Steady throughout the match, Romero allowed the ball to slip through his grasp, giving T&T a 79th minute equaliser.
As the match wound down, either team could have won. The Cubans looked a skilled bunch and easily knitted short passes between themselves. The Warriors also looked potent going forward and Malick Secondary Comprehensive dribbler Hayden Tinto almost won it when his deflected shot crashed off the Cuban crossbar late in the game, while at the other end, a shaxky T&T defence, where only captain Radhanfar Abu Bakr stood out, was struggling to contain the Cubans, particularly substitute Solis on the right. Goalkeeper Holder twice had to race off his line, picking up a couple of knocks, to sweep the ball away from his penalty area , as the Cubans threw caution to the wind in search of victory.
The game had earlier gotten off to a riveting start when Abu Bakr struck the Cuban crossbar with a powerful free-kick in the opening seconds of the match. Abu Bakr had an outstanding game, winning everything at the back, and somehow having the stamina to bolt upfield to support his team's attacks with regularity through 90 minutes.
It took just six minutes before T&T took a 1-0 lead when Tinto turned outside the penalty area and drilled a low shot past the Cuban custodian Romero.
But, in the 23rd minute, the Cubans caught the T&T defence napping from a free-kick, and a short pass into the penalty box was swept into the T&T goal by Cuban striker Yordani Oropesa, who levelled the scores at 1-1. And in the 37th the visitors led 2-1 when a low shot from Mario Guerrero beat Holder in the T&T goal.
Pacey striker Shane Caldron, St Anthony's College forward Christopher Sam and Tinto, all caused the Cubans problems as the young Warriors chopped away at the Cuban back line. But the equaliser only came in the 69th minute when a spell of heavy pressure on the Cuban defence forced several corners. From one of these, defender Karlon Murray met the crossball with a perfect header from inside the six metre box which levelled the scores the scores at 2-2.
That began the storming finish which saw three goals coming in the final 15 minutes of the match. Near the end, everyone from T&T weas begging Dominican referee Ibrahim Brohim to sound the final whistle, before finally giving the national starlets a standing ovation for their fighting performance.