T&T leave Egypt with a point

The result meant that Leston Paul and his teammates achieved what T&T could not back in 1991 in Portugal and they leave Egypt with T&T’s second point in any type of World Cup football event, equaling what Dwight Yorke and the “Soca Warriors” did at Germany 2006.

At that tournament, T&T were 2-0 losers to Paraguay in their final match. But this time, Zoran Vranes’ troops did what they needed to ensure that T&T didn’t go home empty handedly. They also came better than the 4-0 defeat inflicted by the South Americans in a warm up encounter in Venezuela couple months ago.

The 50 odd T&T fans at the venue waved flags and celebrated the point afterwards, singing to the tune of Maximus Dan’s “Fighter” and some Egyptians also joined in, singing “Thank You… Trinidad.”

TTFF Special Adviser Jack Warner witnessed the draw from the VIP box and after acknowledging the fans, said he felt the team got its just reward for their showing in Egypt.

“My heart is not good in matches like these because I had to wait anxiously until the referee blew the final whistle to celebrate this point. This is another historical moment for Trinidad and Tobago and it signals the start of an era in which we shall show the region and the rest of the world that we can compete against the best in football,” Warner said.

The game was not of the best quality but Vranes didn’t take anything away from his team’s performance.

“It was always going to be difficult to play against a team like Paraguay and also the surface made it difficult for both teams but okay… we didn’t play our best tonight but I am thankful for the result and I think the players deserved some applause for their efforts,” Vranes told TTFF Media.

“If you look back at our performances in all three matches you will see some areas which we can definitely say we improved on and then some others where we have more work to do. But the experience for these boys has been a great one and hopefully they can turn out to be the future of football in Trinidad and Tobago in some years to follow.

I think there is a lot of potential. I would not say they are the team for 2014 but of course there are some of them who can be pushed forward along with the other experienced senior players to make a very good team for 2015,” Vranes added.

Paul said he felt better this time around leaving with the point having also skipped the Under 17s at the 2007 World Cup which was thrashed 5-0 in their final game and left without a point.

“It  feels good this time because we put in a lot of effort for this tournament. We competed okay and I think the point was a good reward. Right now we want to enjoy this but we know there is a lot of football to come so we will need to get focused again and look to see what the future brings for us,” Paul added.

The FIFA end of match stats showed both teams with 50 percent possession and the 7.500 fans at the venue after seeing Spain get past Venezuela 3-0 in the first game, then witnessed two teams battle it out leaving nothing for chance.

T&T had to wait until midway through the first half for their first attempt when Khaleem Hyland's shot went just wide. Four minutes later, Robert Primus headed just over from a free-kick as their confidence grew. This rise in self-belief was confirmed when Jake Thomson tried to beat the keeper from a full 40 yards, but it again went wide.

Aldo Paniagua's shot from just inside the box forced Glenroy Samuel  into a great save. Hernan Perez also had a shot from the edge of the box, but it whistled past the left hand post.

Paraguay goalie Joel Silva almost put his side into trouble when he came rushing off his line to collect a loose ball, but failed to reckon with the pace of Juma Clarence, who got their first only to knock his cheeky lob over the bar. Celso Ortiz forced Samuel into another save in the final minute, which the he gathered at the second attempt

The T&T team will return home on Saturday evening at 5:30pm after an overnight stay in London on Friday.

Paraguay claim second, T&T a point
FIFA.com

A goalless draw between Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago in Cairo was enough to see the South Americans qualify for the last 16 as the second-placed team in Group A, while Trinidad and Tobago deservedly picked up their first point of the competition in their final game.

With his team already qualified from the last matchday, Adrian Coria made no fewer than six changes to his starting line-up from the team that defeated Egypt, which was reflected in the cohesion of his team's performance.

For all Paraguay's pressure and possession in the first half, they did not create many chances. Indeed, their best opportunity of the half came in the opening ten minutes, when Aldo Paniagua's shot from just inside the box forced Joel Silva into a great save. Hernan Perez also had a shot from the edge of the box, but it whistled past the left hand post.

Trinidad and Tobago had to wait until midway through the first half for their first attempt when Khaleem Hyland's shot went just wide. Four minutes later, Robert Primus headed just over from a free-kick as their confidence grew. This rise in self-belief was confirmed when Jake Thomson tried to beat the keeper from a full 40 yards, but it again went wide.

As the half drew to a close, Paniagua, Paraguay's matchwinner against Egypt, was at the heart of two good opportunities for the South Americans. Firstly, he saw a right foot shot flash across the face of goal and then set-up Luis Paez, who headed his cross over the bar.

Paraguay had most of the ball after the break, but both sides lacked fluency and as a result failed to create many clear-cut chances. A long-range drive from Celso Ortiz forced Glenroy Samuel into a scrambling stop. Ortiz had another crack from distance, which whistled just wide.

Silva almost put his side into trouble when he came rushing off his line to collect a loose ball, but failed to reckon with the pace of Juma Clarence, who got their first only to knock his cheeky lob over the bar. Celso Ortiz forced Samuel into another save in the final minute, which the United Petrolin goalkeeper gathered at the second attempt.

The supporters at the Al Salam Stadium did have some goals to cheer, but they were Egypt's in the hosts' 4-2 victory over Italy, which gave Paraguay second spot in Group A, setting up a clash with Group C's second place team in Cairo on Monday 5 October.

TEAMS

Trinidad & Tobago:
1. Glenroy SAMUEL, 3. Curtis GONZALES, 5. Akeem ADAMS, 6. Leston PAUL (capt.), 9. Jamal GAY (Jean Luc ROCHFORD 82'), 11. Khaleem HYLAND, 12. Robert PRIMUS, 13. Juma CLARENCE, 15. Uriah BENTICK (Mekeil WILLIAMS 78'), 18. Jake THOMSON, 19. Daniel CYRUS (Sheldon BATEAU -66')

Substitutes:
20. Andre MARCHAN, 21. Jesse FULLERTON, 2. Aubrey DAVID, 4. Sheldon BATEAU, 7. Kevin MOLINO, 8. Sean DE SILVA, 10. Qian GROSVENOR, 14. Jean Luc ROCHFORD, 16. Marcus JOSEPH, 17. Mekeil WILLIAMS

Coach: Zoran VRANES (SRB)

Paraguay:
1. Joel SILVA (capt.), 2. Ivan PIRIS, 4. Cesar BENITEZ, 5. Francisco SILVA, 7. Celso ORTIZ, 8. Hernan PEREZ, 9. Robin RAMIREZ (Federico SANTANDER 79'), 13. Aldo PANIAGUA, 15. Derlis ORUE, 18. Lorenzo MELGAREJO, 19. Luis PAEZ (Luis CABALLERO 62')

Substitutes:
12. Gerardo ORTIZ, 21. Ruben ESCOBAR, 6. Rodrigo BURGOS, 10. Gustavo CRISTALDO, 11. Federico SANTANDER, 14. Rolando GARCIA, 16. Jorge MOREIRA, 17. Nicolas MARTINEZ, 20. Luis CABALLERO, 3.  Ronald HUTH

Coach: Adrian CORIA (ARG)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Eddy MAILLET (SEY)
Assistant Referee 1: Evarist MENKOUANDE (CMR)
Assistant Referee 2: Bechir HASSANI (TUN)
Fourth official: Peter O LEARY (NZL)
Match Commissioner: Harry BEEN (NED)

CAUTIONS

Trinidad and Tobago:
3. Curtis GONZALES (6')
9. Jamal GAY (18')
5. Akeem ADAMS (29')
15. Uriah BENTICK (75')

Paraguay:
13. Aldo PANIAGUA (21')
15. Derlis ORUE (55')

STATISTICS