T&T go under to Germans in closing U-17 fixture

Going into the affair with pride only at stake, T&T in fact helped the Germans avoid Brazil in the next phase as they finished on seven points, one ahead of second place Ghana. T&T finished the Group at the bottom without a point, conceding 14 goals and scoring one through Stephan Campbell in the opening 4-1 loss to Ghana.

The evening was another long one for skipper Leston Paul and his teammates, not to mention the long journey back home when the team departs for Seoul on Monday where it will stay for two days, in accordance with FIFA travel arrangements before arriving in Port of Spain on Thursday morning via New York. Certainly the list of lessons would also have been a long one at the end of the current Under 17 campaign.

“It’s really all about learning lessons and we have to admit it at this stage. We said it was the third game which we would have given everything but it showed the difference in level again. We were already four goals down so when Germany took the speed out of the game it gave us a chance to play but that was not a true reflection,” Corneal told TTFF Media post game.

“As I told the players, I want them all to write about their experience and go over it. I hope that when it’s time to prepare again we all go into it with more enthusiasm  because they know what type of gap we are talking about closing This whole lesson was a tough one for all of us to learn as a footballing nation but I hope we are all better players after going through this.”

T&T had goalie Jessie Fullerton starting for the first time while defender Sheldon Bateau and striker Marcus Joseph also made their first starts of the tournament. And inside one minute Fullerton had to save when Bateau panicked at the back allowing Henning Sauerbier to get a shot off.

Bateau’s crunching tackle put Gemany’s big striker Richard Sukuta-Pasu out of the game with an ankle gash  but his replacement Alexander Esswein was maybe more effective when he came on, netting two of the goals.

The Germans grabbed a 5th minute lead when Fabian Broghammer made inroads on the left before shooting past a hapless Fullerton. Before ten minutes fully elapsed, Fullerton also had to deny the same player as the Germans came out pressing for the go ahead goal.

And then after the T&T ‘keeper denied Esswein, the resulting corner saw the same player see his header helped over the line by defender Akeem Adams for a 2-0 advantage on 31 minutes. Aaron Maund’s over bar effort was the closest for T&T in the opening period.

T&T continued to concede as Esswein was again on the scoresheet in the 37th minute, connecting with neat pass from Broghammer. The livewire forward could have made his hat trick seconds later, but Fullerton managed to parry away his powerful shot from 20 metres.

Captain Patrick Funk scored Germany's fourth goal of the night on 39 minutes when he perfectly guided home Sascha Bigalke's ball from the left. Interestingly the possession percentage was 50 apiece at the break but the Germans were already making sure of the three points. Skipper Leston Paul and his midfield struggled again to match their opposite numbers as the Europeans, who qualified for the Finals in a playoff win over Holland, controlled the proceedings and were clinical in every department of the game.

T&T’s game got some polish on it after the resumption with Joseph’s free kick just missing the crossbar as Corneal’s team jostled and managed more time in and around the opposition penalty area. Stephen Knox ran hard while midfielder Sean De Silva worked hard to make an impression when he came on after the break but T&T did not enjoy too much open chances on goal.

Maund went close again in the 69th with a shot which flew inches past the far post and Joseph forced the best out of goalkeeper Rene Vollath in the 77th minute with his left foot shot after Bateau made a run goalwards.

The Germans added a fifth item three minutes into added on time through Kevin Wolze. T&T picked up five cautions and ended the game with  higher possession 54-46 percent according to the official FIFA match stats.

“It wasn’t the way we wanted to end it but it shows that we have more work to do and I think we accept that. Just being here was an experience for all of us and I hope we can look back and not see it as wasted. We want to keep qualifying for World Cups but we want to perform highly as well,” was how skipper Paul felt after Japanese Yuichi Nishimura blew the whistle to end T&T’s campaign on the field in Korea.

Trinidad & Tobago: - 1.Jesse Fullerton, 4.Sheldon Bateau, 5.Akeem Adams, 12.Robert Primus (3.Ryan O'Neil 84th), 17.Daneil Cyrus, 15.Chike Sullivan (8.Sean DeSilva 53rd), 18.Micah Lewis, 6.Leston Paul (capt), 16.Marcus Joseph, 9.Aaron Maund (2.Aubrey David 82nd), 10.Stephen Knox.

Germany: - 12.Rene Vollath, 2.Kai Evers, 4.Nils Teixeira (18.Mario Erb 63rd), 13.Mehmet Ekici, 7.Henning Sauerbier, 8.Patrick Funk (capt), 15.Tony Jantschke, 14.Matthias Haas, 20.Sascha Bigalke (6.Kevin Wolze (46th), 9.Richard Sukuta-Pasu (17.Alexander Esswein 24th), 19.Fabian Broghammer.

Cautions: - Sheldon BATEAU (TRI) 21', Marcus JOSEPH (TRI) 25', Nils TEIXEIRA (GER) 51', Leston PAUL (TRI) 56', Akeem ADAMS (TRI) 69', Ryan O NEIL (TRI) 92'

Goals Scored: - Fabian BROGHAMMER (GER) 5', Alexander ESSWEIN (GER) 31', Alexander ESSWEIN (GER) 37', Patrick FUNK (GER) 39', Kevin WOLZE (GER) 93'