Trinidad and Tobagos under 17 footballers totally dominated proceedings to swamp Bahamas 14-1 in their second Caribbean Football Union preliminary match at the Dwight Yorke Stadium on Friday.
But the result, following a 8-1 toppling of St Lucia on Wednesday, was still not yet enough to send captain Javed Mohammed and his teammates into the CFU finals as Barbados have also scored two wins, therefore setting up a virtual final from 6pm at the same venue on Sunday. The Bajans topped St Lucia 3-0 in the first game on Friday. The winner on Sunday will advance to the next stage while a draw would push T&T through on a superior goal difference.
Striker Lester Peltier, of St Pierre Composite led all scorers with four strikes in the 8th, 65th, 74th and 83rd minutes. He as ably supported by Mayaro Composite striker partner Carlon Hughes who netted in the 22nd, 25th and 42nd minutes as T&T dominated throughout. T&T led 6-0 at the half with defender Brendon Boucaud (St Anthonys College) adding his name to the scoresheet in he 19th minute while Roxborough Composite midfielder Nyron Orr opened the scoring after four minutes. The onslaught continued after the break as Kyle McIvor who netted a hattrick against St Lucia notched a double in the 70th and 87th minutes while exciting playmaker Shastri Spencer (St Augustine SC) scored in the 57th and St Marys Colleges Qian Grosvenor struck in the 79th minute and Kerron Ross rounded the scoring off in the final minute. Bahamas pulled back a late consolation item.
Coach Nigel Grosvenor said while he was happy with the results so far, the focus remains on finishing with three successive wins and so the team will not be taking the Bajans lightly. The guys are playing well at the moment. To be honest, they were nervous going into the first game and even though we won 8-1, we were not totally satisfied with the way things went. I wasnt too hard on the players but then for the second game, all the butterflies went and we came through well. People might say that Bahamas is not a good team but the fact is that once you play the correct football, you will always come out on top and we did it impressively. We did not fall to their level, Grosvenor told TTFF Media on Saturday.
The big game is tomorrow against Barbados because the winners will advance and we are extremely mindful of that. We have already put the past two games past us and while both teams have seen each other play, we think they will adjust more to try and get the better of us. But we will maintain our same approach and try to exploit their weaknesses because the boys want this one badly, Grosvenor added. T&T takes the pitch at 6pm while St Lucia takes on Bahamas from 4pm at the Dwight Yorke Stadium.
RESULTS:
TnT 14 (Nyron Orr 4th, Lester Peltier 8th, 65th, 74th, 83rd, Brendon Boucaud 19th, Carlon Hughes 22nd, 25th, 42nd, Shastri Spencer 57th, Kyle McIvor 70th, 87th, Qian Grovesnor 79th, Kerron Ross 90th) vs Bahamas 1 (Cameron Hepple).
Barbados 3 (Dwayne Mars 61st, Mario Harte 75th, Lorenzo Joseph 90th) vs St Lucia 0.