Trinidad and Tobago’s Under 23 men’s team got their 2012 Olympic qualifying campaign off to a winning start when they topped Grenada 1-0 in their opening Group B encounter at the Windsor Park, Dominica on Tuesday.
The win came courtesy a goal by Joe Public midfielder Jayson Joseph in the 23rd minute of play after T&T held control of proceedings for much of the opening moments.
T&T captain Sheldon Bateau had his team’s first try on goal in the 2nd minute when his free kick sailed over bar.
Midfielder Marcus Joseph threatened on a few occasions while Sean De Silva also had a couple good tries on goal.
Orlando City midfielder Kevin Molino was not in the squad after missing his flight and a decision was taken by team management to leave him out of this round of competition, according to team manger Norris Ferguson. Chike Sullivan was also injured and Uriah Bentick was his replacement in the squad.
“It’s a good win to start off the tournament with. We know this was going to be an important match for us and now it’s onto taking care of the next two matches in this round,” Ferguson told TTFF Media.
T&T will meet Curacao in their second match on Thursday. The hosts were scheduled to meet Curacao in the second game on Tuesday.
Eve: Good allround display in first win.
He made his international debut back in April 1994, going on to represent the country in 117 matches after that.
One would therefore expect Angus Eve to go into his first game in charge of a national team with a fair amount of composure and little nerves.
A bit of confidence yes but Eve said the usual first game jitters were definitely around prior to Trinidad and Tobago’s 1-0 win over Grenada in their opening CFU Olympic first round qualifier at Windsor Park, Dominica.
“I was a bit apprehensive at first yes with this being my first game in charge of the national team because there were also a few newcomers to international football in my team.
But they did well… they put the ball down and passed it around well from the early parts and I honestly think the end result is not a true reflection of how the game went,” Eve told TTFF Media.
“We should have scored at least six times.”
Commenting on the Grenadians who had beaten T&T 3-2 in another Olympic qualifier in 2008, Eve said they were typical of all Grenadian sides.
“They were exactly what we expected which was big, strong and aggressive with a bit of quality in between. But we were able to cope with them well and in the end our goalkeeper had maybe one shot to save in the match.”
Touching some more on the team’s composition, Eve explained: “Because of the injury to Chike and with Molino not making it over, we didn’t have that cutting edge and composure in and around the box because they are two number ten type players which we would use for that kind of play.
It meant we had to change things up a bit but the guys held their own and credit to them.”
National Under 20 captain Sheldon Bateau also led the team on Tuesday with Eve saying he was the right man for the role.
“Sheldon has been with this group for a long time and he has been given the armband before. Daneil Cyrus had to go off to Kansas and we wish him well there, so in light of that, Sheldon was the other one with that level of maturity and he has a good head on his shoulders. He has showed that he’s a leader out there on the field,” Eve added.
T&T will play Curacao in their second match on Thursday at Windsor Park, Dominica.
SWO Game Report (Below)
Teams
Trinidad and Tobago: 1.Andre Marchan, 2.Aubrey David, 3.Mekeil Williams, 4.Sheldon Bateau (capt), 5.Aquil Selby, 6.Leslie Russell, 11.Sean De Silva (15.Kareem Moses 88th), 14.Marcus Joseph, 12.Jayson Joseph, 13.Jeromie Williams (17.Kaydion Gabriel 63rd), 9.Trevin Caesar (16.Cameron Roget 86th).
Unused Subs: 7.Phillip Borde, 8.Uriah Bentik, 18.Zane Coker.
Coach: Angus Eve.
Grenada: Shemel Louison, Raymond Alleyne, David Cyrus, Nicko Williams (Yellow 88), Rohan George, Rimmel Daniel, Moron Phillip (Kevin Edwards 70th), Rickel Augustine, Davier Walcott (Denron Daniel 24th - Alec Jones 84th), Clive Murray, Elliott Charles.
Unused Subs: Jason Belfon, Irvine Smith, Aswald Phillips, Carl Raeburn.
Coach: Alister De Bellotte.
Venue: Windsor Park Stadium, Roseau.
Referee: Kevin Morrison (Jamaica).
Attendance: 3000.
GP W D L F A D PTS
Curaçao U23 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3
Trinidad & Tobago 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
Grenada U23 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0
Dominica U23 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0