Costa Rica		Trinidad & Tobago
		Mickey Trotman (40')

International Friendly

Date	Venue	Location	Attendance
2000-01-26	Estadío Ricardo Saprissa	San José, Costa Rica	0

T&T slip 2-1 in Costa Rica

AFTER posting a nine-game unbeaten streak in 1999, Trinidad and Tobago are yet to find their winning form this year. On Wednesday night, the men in red, white and black lost their second game in just over a week when they were downed 2-1 by Costa Rica at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium in San José. That means that Bertille St Clair's side have now lost three of their last four games. The slide began when they lost their final game of 1999 to Honduras 2-0. Since then their best result was a goalless draw with Canada earlier this month although their 1-0 loss to Morocco last week was reported as their best performance of the year. On Wednesday, St Clair's side took the early lead in the game and might have earned a draw had the home side not benefited from a dubious call by the match officials. Another consolation for the defeated squad was the fine showing of veteran T&T goalkeeper Ross Russell. The veteran T&T goalkeeper staked a claim for a spot on the squad for the forthcoming Football Confederation Gold Cup series with a brilliant game. Russell was the difference between the two teams in the first half as Costa Rica, pushing forward in numbers, had much the better of the exchanges. The Defence Force custodian's best save of the half came in the 20th minute when he snuffed out a bullet from Hernan Medford. A moment later, with Russell beaten, the T&T defence also contributed to keeping the scoreline blank by clearing a shot off the line. The Central Americans' commitment to out-and-out attack left holes in their defence. And in the 40th minute, T&T took advantage when Arnold Dwarika broke exploited an opening a hole at the back to deliver a pinpoint accurate pass on to the foot of Mickey Trotman. The United States-based striker, now one of the key contenders to fill the vacancy created by the injury England-based striker Stern John, controlled the ball quickly before calmly slotting past goalkeeper Hermidio Barrantes. The visitors went in 1-0 up at the interval but Costa Rican coach Marvín Rodríguez re-organised his team for the second half, plugging up the holes. He sent Wílmer López forward to serve the speedy Hernán Medford and Jafet Soto with passes up front. Wálter Centeno took López's place at the back to cover the open spaces that had haunted them in the first half. The move paid dividends after only 10 minutes. Medford weaved his way through the T&T defence before setting up an offside Lopez. As the defence checked, perhaps expecting to hear a whistle, López converted. To the chagrin of the surprised visitors, the referee pointed to the centre spot. The goal gave the home side new impetus and they continued to pour forward in attack. It finally tilted the balance of the game in their favour. Over and over, they peppered Russell's goal with powerful shots but the agile custodian showed himself more than equal to the task. But even he could do nothing when, in the 79th minute, Medford got up to his tricks again. Weaving his way once more through the T&T defence, he found Soto unmarked in front of goal and the striker had little to do to make the score 2-1. T&T's next assignment is expected to be another friendly against Peru a matter of days before the departure for the Gold Cup next week. Costa Rica 2 (Wilmer Lopez 55th, Jafet Soto 79th) v T&T 1 (Mickey Trotman 40th)

LINEUP
	Ross Russell
	Shurland David
	Ansil Elcock
	Derek King
	Arnold Dwarika
	Stokely Mason
	Brent Rahim
	Anthony Rougier (capt.)
	Clint Marcelle
	62' Travis Mulraine
	Jerren Nixon
	72' Hector Sam
	Mickey Trotman
	85' Kerwin Jemmott
SUBSTITUTES
	Kerwin Jemmott
	Travis Mulraine
	Hector Sam
COACH
	Bertille St. Clair
SUBSTITUTIONS
62'	Travis Mulraine for Clint Marcelle
72'	Hector Sam for Jerren Nixon
85'	Kerwin Jemmott for Mickey Trotman