The result of Tuesday’s second meeting between this country’s National Under 17 team and Mexico was another 2-0 victory for the visitors at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva. But it was also another encouraging performance by the junior “Soca Warriors” and head coach Anton Corneal felt there was sufficient evidence to suggest that the young team was making reasonable progress ahead of the final CONCACAF qualifying round towards the FIFA Under 17 World Championship in Korea.
“For the majority of the game we had a lot of good spells. We had good possession for long periods,” Corneal said after the match.
“We made blunders in dead ball situations and they were really defense blunders …we allowed players to come in front of us. We physically matched them and I think at times we outplayed them but again I told the boys we have nothing to show for it,” he continued.
“It is going to take more effort than what we are seeing. It is reaching a stage now where we are seven weeks away and hoping to keep stepping up and nothing to show for it.”
Those words would have been said to make regular captain Jesse Fullerton and his teammates mindful of the fact that nothing will come easy for them over the next few weeks. The Fort Lauderdale-based goalie also got a taste of testing tims as he sat on the bench and looked on at second string Glenroy Samuel getting a chance to keep guard between the uprights.
On much more even surface than the first encounter at Fatima Grounds,, T&T started the game alert and with zest against the sharp Mexicans. There was nothing to suggest that the hosts did not belong on the same field with the defending Under 17 World champions.
Chances were few in the opening stages but Mexico punished T&T for a lapse at the back from an incoming free kick and Raul Lopez made sure from inside the box. There was little Samuel could have done to prevent the boys in green and white from going 1-0 up on 19 minutes.
As the game progressed, Corneal brought on first match starter Chad De Freitas in place of Daneil Cyrus. And moments before the break, the midfielder directed his effort over bar in one of the few on goal attempts for the home team.
Five minutes into the second half though, Stephen Knox brought the best out of Mexican custodian Alfredo Medina. The striker collected firmly atop the box and showed excellent technique in shifting his body into position and firing goalwards, forcing Medina to push over bar.
Within a couple minutes after the 55 minute mark,Samuel had to do some work to keep the score at 1-0. First he had to stop Christian Hernandez’s header and then was sufficiently alert to hold on to Heriberto Hernandez’s snap shot.
T&T never struggled to mount attacks and should have at least brought more testing times for Medina. In the 61st minute Daniel Joseph dragged his effort wide of the far left post when a better directed effort could have had the ‘keeper in danger.
On 70 minutes, T&T pushed forward but De Freitas’ delivery from the right touch line had too much on it, by passing the couple T&T shirts supporting on the inside.
In the 74th minute, Mexico almost made good on one of their trademark counters. Substitute Edgarivan Rodriguez collected under no pressure on the break, just as the T&T defense was caught unclear of the play, but fortunately for Corneal’s boys, the Mexican sent the ball wide of the right post.
Four substitutions were made by T&T in the closing 12 minutes with Franz Husbands, midfielder Sean De Silva, Kevin Molino and Isaiah Ferguson all coming on, but to little avail and Mexico would finish the game off nine minutes from time. Rodriguez would deliver a left side corner and Jose Preciado, with no pressure on him, headed the ball past Samuel from the six yard box. The result stood at the end of full time but Mexican head coach Jesus Ramirez, who guided Mexico to the title in Peru 2005, said he was grateful for a stern challenge from T&T which was also looked at by scouts from Costa Rica and the United States in the two warm ups here.
Speaking with the aid of a translator, he said: “It was a very good game and it gave me chance to see m players under different conditions. I got to see how they can adapt.
“I like Trinidad’s style of play. I like how they are practicing a lot of offense in their game and they were able to give us a good test,” said Ramirez. But he did warn T&T to be well prepared to face Costa Rica in the qualifiers.
“Costa Rica has a good team. The style of the two teams will be very different so you have to be very well prepared for them.”
Corneal knows that well and is expected to witness one of their upcoming friendlies and hopes to have the T&T team go on a training camp in the United States for two games, one against a professional team and a university outfit.
He doesn’t want to peak before time though.
“I thought we did well in midfield, we closed them down defensively and we actually spread the ball from side to side,” he said in reference to the second loss.
“In the second half we had some shots on goal and kept them backing in defense
This was a much better performance but a lot could do with the field. We adjusted well. It was really a good game to look at if not with the result we want and somewhere along the line we have to break that pattern.
“We are seven weeks away. We are game ready a little bit but it is frightening. We are seven weeks away and we are pretty much still building on it…our fitness…our defensive play… and we have not done a lot on set plays and closer to the tournament we will do that,” he assured.