We’ve entered 2013 with high expectations looming for Trinidad and Tobago football. The senior team’s participation at the 2013 Concacaf Gold Cup in July and the build-up to that tournament; the Under-17’s Fifa World Cup qualification attempt in April and the efforts of the TTFF to move the local game to another level are just some of what we’ll be looking forward to with keen eyes.
But today we look back at some of the more significant moments at the national level for 2012. There were those that brought us moments of joy that had gone missing for some time and there were others that could be described as steps towards sustainable levels of growth and success.
1—Ataullah Guerra’s winning penalty kick in the semifinal versus Martinique at the Caribbean Cup Finals. Guerra’s winning pot gave T&T a 5-4 win and put them into their first final since 2007. His kick followed a fantastic save by skipper Jan-Michael Williams.
2—Kevin Molino’s second-half goal versus Dominican Republic which turned out to be the winning goal in T&T’s closing group encounter at the Caribbean Cup Finals. The 2-1 win was enough to ensure T&T’s passage to the Concacaf Gold Cup as Haiti went on to defeat Antigua & Barbuda 1-0 soon after.
3—T&T’s 4-1 win over French Guiana in their opening match of the 2012 Caribbean Cup campaign in October at Warner Park, St Kitts & Nevis. The win came after T&T went a goal down and set the pace for T&T’s resurgence at the regional tournament. It was the first of a seven-match unbeaten run which eventually led to T&T finishing the year in 68th position on the Fifa world rankings. It demonstrated strong character and will to succeed as just a week earlier the team’s participation appeared unlikely because of low finances. In St Kitts, Jamal Gay also struck a beavertrick in T&T’s 10-0 hammering of Anguilla.
4—The installation of Raymond Tim Kee as new president of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation. It happened at the TTFF’s Congress on November 11th at the Cascadia Hotel. “Today we have taken just another small step in pursuit of national greatness,” said Tim Kee, who went up unopposed, replacing acting president Lennox Watson. Oliver Camps was the previous president dating back to 1992.
5—Appointment of Anton Corneal as technical director—the former national player was named to the position on January 12th, taking up the full-time position on a four-year contract, replacing ex-TD Lincoln Phillips. Corneal’s responsibilities include charting the way forward for local football, national teams and improving the standard of local coaches.
6—Dennis Lawrence’s extension as assistant coach for Wigan Athletic—the former national defender signed a new contract to serve as assistant to Roberto Martinez in July through to the end of the current season, giving him his third straight year with the English Premiership club.
7—T&T U-17s qualify for final round—T&T’s U-17 men’s team booked their place in the Concacaf final round towards the 2013 Under-17 World Cup with a 2-0 win over Guyana on July 28th. The win saw them top their qualifying group which also included Suriname and British Virgin Islands which T&T hammered 23-0.
8—The completing of the 2012 WoLF Season—the month of August saw Real Dimension capture the Big Four title in the Women’s League Football season. The league’s staging was a significant achievement in local women’s football with some players eventually making up a national senior team which defeated Costa Rica 4-0 in a friendly later in the year.
9—The qualification of local Pro League clubs W Connection and Caledonia AIA to the Concacaf Champions League—both teams reached the final of the Caribbean Club Champions Cup in June with ‘Cali’ winning 4-3 on penalty kicks on June 21st. The two local giants didn’t progress beyond the Champions League’s first round but did manage some decent showings with Connection’s 1-1 draw with Mexico’s Chivas and Caledonia’s 0-0 draw with CD Marathon among them.
Of course, there were some disappointments which would be biased of me to not mention. Those included T&T’s 7-1 loss to Mexico at the Olympic final qualifying round which saw T&T fall short in Los Angeles in March; the failure of the Under-20 Men’s team to progress to the Concacaf final round of qualification and the disappearance of midfielder Keon Daniel from the senior team just prior to the semifinal round of the Caribbean Cup, particularly after he had one of his best spells in a national shirt just a month earlier.