Need to beat Haiti by 2-goal margin
Trinidad and Tobago’s senior men’s team will attempt to produce their strongest performance yet under head coach Tom Saintfiet as they go after a victory over Haiti by a two-goal margin to advance out of the CFU Gold Cup playoffs.
Both teams clash from 5pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium on Sunday. Following Haiti’s 4-2 defeat of Suriname on Friday, T&T have it all to do as only a victory by two goals will push them ahead of both Haiti and Suriname on a better goal difference.
The Caribbean Football Union confirmed the tie breaker rules, stating –
1.Greatest number of points
2.Best Goal Difference
3.Most Wins
4.Most Wins in regulation time,
5.Most goals scored in regulation time
6.Goals scored away from a designated home game count double between the teams concerned
7.Drawing of Lots
Note – Goals scored in penalty shootouts to determine match winner shall not be counted.
Head coach Tom Saintfiet knows it will be a tall task but remained optimistic.
“At the moment we know that a 2-0 or a 3-1 result will get us through. It will be a difficult task against a good Haitian team but not an impossible one for us. They are ranked 59th in the world which is higher than us. We need everyone to support the team tomorrow. We need the fans there in big numbers and pushing the team on,” Saintfiet told TTFA Media on Saturday. Saintfiet and his technical staff viewed Saturday’s win by Haiti at the Ato Boldon Stadium.
“The two goals from Suriname last night were good for us. Haiti has a good squad and with some young players also. Their playmaker Sebastien Thuriere, the number 15, played in Bangladesh and he is a very good player. But we don’t want to think too much about the opposition and what they can do but we have to be more concerned with our game and what we must do to finish on top of the group,” Saintfiet told TTFA Media.
Saintfiet will conduct a final training session at the Hasely Crawford Stadium at 5pm on Saturday, spoke about his squad options, adding “At this time we have four players who are unavailable because of injury, Cornell Glen, Tyrone Charles, Hughtun Hector and Carlyle Mitchell so therefore we have to monitor things closely and we are not yet sure what the squad or the formation will be like for tomorrow’s match.”
“The players know what is needed, we as a team knows what is needed and we will go into the game giving it our all to accomplish this,” Saintfiet added.
Lotto Outlets will be closed on Sunday but tickets can be purchased at the venue on gameday. Tickets cost $50 for adults and $25 for children.