T&T, Jamaica go after Caribbean Cup

Trinidad and Tobago have won eight titles in the 18-year history of the Caribbean Cup, while Jamaican have won five. The final night begins at six o’clock with dethroned champions Cuba and Haiti meeting for third spot. The final takes place from nine o’clock.

Jamaica reached the final by topping Group B following a 2-0 victory Haiti on Sunday night. And the final gives Jamaica’s German coach Winfried Schäfer the opportunity to fulfill a boast he made last December.
 
Following back-to-back home-and-away defeats to the Soca Warriors, Schäfer said the Reggae Boyz would win when next they met. Jamaica will have a stronger team than a year ago this time. “I think we will have to play much better to play against Trinidad and Tobago. We know its going to be a derby game,” stated Jamaican midfielder Jevon Watson.

Watching Jamaica play Haiti were the T&T men’s national team. However, T&T head coach Stephen Hart is unconcerned about having to face the hosts, and just wants his team to play to its potential.

“Its a final. I don’t care who we play,” Hart said. “I don’t care who we play in the final. We are in the final and whoever comes up, you have to play them and you have to get the result.”

Hart has so far rotated his squad every match, giving all on his 23-man squad except third-string goalkeeper Adrian Foncette a run so far. But given a lacklustre performance against Cuba (0-0) last time out when he made eight changes, Hart hinted at fielding his best possible team tonight.

“I’m going to have to think about that,” Hart said following the draw against Cuba, when he benched top-scorer Kevin Molino, who has won Man-of-the-Match awards in two matches, Hughtun Hector, Khaleem Hyland, Daneil Cyrus and Lester Peltier.

Hart’s main concern is an uncertain defence. “The line is working fine. It is the individual mistakes that are worrying,” Hart said.

Meanwhile, captain Kenwyne Jones expects an extra effort from his players tonight. “By just reaching the final we giving ourselves a chance to win it,” Jones said. “We are going to be confident. We going to go out there and push. We just going to prepare as we normally do, and go out there to win the game.”

And if the incentive of regaining Caribbean supremacy is not enough, Jones and his teammates will also be bearing in mind that victory tonight will also see them earning the right to represent the region at the 2016 Copa America Cenetenario, the tournament that will mark the 100th anniversary of the South American confederation’s premier tournament.

Warriors hunt ninth CFU title.
T&T Guardian Reports.

T&T will be seeking to add to its illustrious trophy cabinet for regional competitions today when the “Soca Warriors” meet host Jamaica in the final of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Caribbean Cup, from 9 pm (TT time).

The match will follow the tournament’s penultimate fixture, a third-place decider between Cuba and Haiti.

Jamaica reached the final with a 1-1 draw against Martinique and wins over Antigua/Barbuda (3-0) and Haiti (2-0) while T&T enjoyed unconvincing wins over Curacao (3-2), French Guiana (4-2) and a draw against dethroned champion, Cuba (0-0).

T&T’s draw against Cuba officially booked both teams spots at next year’s Concacaf Gold Cup, along with Jamaica and Group B runner-up, Haiti.

Today, Jamaica and T&T meet for the fourth time in 18 finals. Over three finals, Jamaica holds a 2-1 record over T&T. Most recently in 1998, Jamaica edged T&T 2-1 in the title match.

Today, joint leading scorer in this tournament, Kevin Molino will return to action after missing the draw with Cuba. Molino has three goals, as does Darren Mattocks who is expected to start for Jamaica.

Molino said yesterday he was feeling good. “I’d like to play every game but the coach had to make a decision because of the tight schedule. Now I’m focused and ready. It’s always a big game and a final is always huge. I wanted to meet Jamaica because the atmosphere with the home fans and then the rivalry is the kind of games I live for,” said the Orlando City striker.

Putting several shaky performances aside from both teams, the final promises to be a thrilling one as each will have nearly full strength squads comprising mostly overseas-based players. Unfortunately, T&T will be without Carlyle Mitchell who was suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards, but will have the advantage of an added day’s rest after completing group action on Saturday, a day before Jamaica.

T&T head coach Stephen Hart, took an optimistic but cautious approach to today’s showdown.

“Jamaica at home has been a fortress for years,” he said, adding, “...but it’s a one off game and we’re confident and it should prove to be quite an experience.”

“Overall I’m pleased with what I’ve seen. We have talked about our capacity to maintain concentration and focus regardless of what is happening around us. You will expect that sometimes from the stress of the game that the focus might waver but what we need is to put two solid halves of football together,” Hart said.

Rosters

T&T 

Goalkeepers: Jan-Michael Williams, Marvin Phillip, Adrian Foncette.

Defenders: Radanfah Abu Bakr, Justin Hoyte, Joevin Jones, Daneil Cyrus, Carlyle Mitchell, Aubrey David, Yohance Marshall.

Midfielders: Khaleem Hyland, Andre Boucaud, Kevan George, Ataullah Guerra, Leston Paul, Jamal Gay, Hughtun Hector

Forwards: Lester Peltier, Kenwyne Jones, Jonathan Glenn, Kevin Molino, Shahdon Winchester, Cordell Cato.

Jamaica

Goalkeepers: Dwayne Miller, Andre Blake, Ryan Thompson.

Defenders: Jermaine Taylor, Demar Phillips, Nicholay Finlayson, Alvas Powell, Kemar Lawrence, Nyron Nosworthy, Keithy Simpson.

Midfielders: Rodolph Austin, Je-Vaughn Watson, Jobi McAnuff, Romario Campbell, Hughan Gray, Simon Dawkins, Joel Grant.

Forwards: Dane Richards, Darren Mattocks, Michael Seaton, Deshorn Brown, Jamar Loza, Craig Foster.

Jamaica, T&T showdown - Reggae vs Soca in Montego Bay
By Audley Boyd (Jamaica Gleaner)

REGIONAL powerhouses Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago will battle for the CFU Men's Caribbean Cup football championship title tonight at Montego Bay Stadium, St James, starting at 8 p.m.

Winning the title will secure a major landmark for either team, as they will claim a spot in the prestigious Centennial Cup America.

This first-time tournament - held to commemorate the centenary celebrations of the South American football association, CONMEBOL - will take place in the United States and has historical attachments.

It combines the CONCACAF Gold Cup and South American championship, Copa America. And the latter will be held outside the continent for the first time.

By qualifying for the CFU Men's Caribbean Cup final, both Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago had already knocked off one target: securing qualification for next year's CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Automatic advancement

That advance came automatically for the top-four teams in this eight-nation CFU Finals, including Haiti and last year's winners, Cuba, who will battle for third in this evening's curtain-raiser that is set to kick off at 5 p.m.

Those two have each won the title once. However, the teams lined up for the feature presentation are true Caribbean kings, having shared 13 of the 16 CFU titles.

Trinidad and Tobago hold a distinct advantage, with eight successes.

As all their titles were netted in the first 11 stagings - the last coming 13 years ago in 2001 - the Trinidadians have been sleeping giants. This also strengthens their desire for success.

"We came here with two objectives, one was the Gold Cup, the other was to get into the final and give ourselves the opportunity to win the Caribbean Cup," outlined Stephen Hart, coach of the Trinidad and Tobago team.

He added: "We are in the final and we need a result. Jamaica are always tough opposition to face and will be dangerous in any final."

Though they have cuddled the championship feel more recently, the Jamaicans are no less hungry for the title.

The tournament presented a path to redemption, as the entire football organisation, including the administrators, players and coaches, were under pressure. This is because the team lost match after match - under tough circumstances with long travel and practically no rest most of the times - and their FIFA ranking plummeted to 113 through the past year.

This is well below Trinidad and Tobago's 49, and that of several other teams in the tournament. Despite the disparity, Jamaicans consider their team superior to practically every one in the region; and to a degree, it made nothing short of winning the tournament enough for the locals.

"The tournament is not finished, we have one more match. Now we have to work to make preparation," noted Reggae Boyz head coach Winfried Schäfer.

Good character

Now the Reggae Boyz are at the doorstep, rising after the uncertain start of a 1-1 draw against Martinique, to record back-to-back wins against Antigua and Barbuda (3-0) and Haiti (2-0).

"The team showed good character," said Jamaica captain Rodolph Austin. "We started out with a draw and we came back and won two matches.

"We're going into the final with a positive thing going," he added. "After the first game, we came together and said we've to fight for everything, we've to fight to the last whistle ... we want to die for each other."

Trinidad and Tobago's Soca Warriors qualified for the final following wins in their first two games - 3-2 - over Curaçao and French Guiana, then tying goalless with Cuba in their last group contest.

The teams have expended a lot of energy getting to this stage, with matches every other day in an eight-day championship.

Having played their semi-final a day earlier, the Trinidadians have the advantage of one day to recover for this final battle. Both squads have talent, so Hart and Schäfer have numbers from which to choose.

Kevin Molino, who has been making a name for himself in the USA Leagues, emerged as the main player for the Soca Warriors with three goals in two games, while Kenwyne Jones, who netted a double in their opening win, has English Premier League experience, height and strength that also carry danger. Atualla Guerra and Lester Peltier have also been among their scorers at this tournament and pose a threat.

For the Reggae Boyz, feisty Darren Mattocks, who has scored a goal-a-game, has been leading the lines with a lot of energy and decent finishing. Schäfer has altered his front combination and has got more creativity and finishing through the addition of Simon Dawkins, with Joel McAnuff and Austin throwing some heavy punches from midfield.

A lot more talent

There is a lot more talent on the Jamaica team, but as shown throughout the championship, they can fluctuate between excellent and poor.

One area, however, where they have remained consistent is defence, which has been making a difference.

It is this very area in which Trinidad and Tobago have been found wanting, twice conceding a double and keeping a clean sheet against a Cuba team missing their shooting boots. This defect is not lost on Hart.

"I am expecting a lot more urgency on the defensive end of things, as I am a little disappointed in how the defence have been carrying out their job," the former Canada national coach said.

"The defence line is working fine; it's the individual mistakes that are worrying. All these things we will have to be better focused on, and if we don't do that, the final will be a tough assignment for us."


- The Gleaner's Western Bureau reporter Paul Clarke also contributed to this article.