Holding Mexico to creditable draws and matching them is not quite enough for Trinidad and Tobago head coach Stephen Hart. But that will not prevent him from staying positive even as he identified some areas of the national team’s state of play that needs improvement d leading into the 2018 World Cup qualification.
Hart will next work with the national team from around October 5th as the team prepares for another international friendly against Panama in Panama City. He will meantime will be following Tuesday night’s World Cup qualifier between Antigua/Barbuda and Guatemala with the winner of that tie set to be T&T’s first World Cup qualifying opponent on November 13th. T&T’s first home game is against United States on November 17th.
“I think overall I will like to see us look a bit cleaner when we do win the ball, in our possession and the speed at which we move the ball forward. I would like to see us push teams back some more especially with our wide players because we do have the capacity to do that,” Hart told TTFA Media with respect to some of the improvements he wants to see in his team’s play.
The 3-3 draw with Mexico in Salt Lake City was played 4,327 feet above sea level and had its benefits for T&T.
“I think there are a few things that were good for us in that game. We played at altitude which was good for us. We know we can play in a certain way if we are organized and disciplined but moving forward, players have to know that they have to be on top of their game physically to be playing with their clubs if they want to be part of the World Cup campaign,” Hart added.
Iceland-based forward Jonathan Glenn proved to be a good find, scoring on his starting debut and setting up the second goal. This followed a Gold Cup campaign in which he remained on the bench in all four matches. US-based midfielder Trevin Caesar and 19-year-old midfielder Neveal Hackshaw also came off the bench
“I was pleased with some of the newer players. I would have liked to have made some more substitutions but I’m not into rewarding players that don’t train at their best and the players have to fight their way to get into the squad
“I think there are a few adjustments that need to be made. But certainly I would like more or less the core group of players that should be going into the World Cup qualification. Some players have cemented their positions, others are fighting for their positions and that’s a healthy situation to be in,” Hart ended.