'It's time for us to do our homework', national midfielder and captain Khaleem Hyland has said ahead of the team's two World Cup Qualifying matches against the Bahamas and St Kitts and Nevis on June 5 and 8, respectively.
The defensive midfielder told Guardian Media Sports recently that it is because St Kitts and Nevis did their homework that they are currently at the top of Group F of the qualifiers with six points from their two matches.
T&T are second in the group with four points from a win against Guyana 3-0 in the Dominican Republic and a 1-1 tie against Puerto Rico in Mayaguez, while the Guyanese rebounded to a more-than-convincing 4-0 win over the Bahamas after its disastrous performance against the Soca Warriors on March 25.
Hyland said: "We are disappointed but four points are better than none at all. We went into the game with hot blood, we did our job in the first 15 minutes and then we squeezed pressure on Guyana. The second game didn't go as planned because of a number of situations, where we can say it's two games in almost four to five days we played. Long travelling and long bus ride, but we want to have no excuse.
"It was heavy for me personally, it was a heavy day with the artificial turf which I don't like at all. Also, a lot of grain and water were on the pitch which was a bit discomforting for me.
"The result didn't go the way we wanted. I think we underestimated Puerto Rico by winning our first game so comfortably. Puerto Rico did their homework, now we have time to do our homework for the next two games," Hyland said.
With just the winner of the group advancing to the second round of the qualifiers, T&T will be favoured to beat a struggling Bahamian outfit on June 5, but could be in for a challenge against the Kittitians.
According to Hyland, however, the good thing is that they will have to face St Kitts and Nevis in an expected do-or-die clash that could determine the ultimate winner of the group.
"The situation is that St Kitts and Nevis is doing the job on the field. We still have to play them, that's the only good thing, so the ball is in our court and once we win our next two games, we will be on top of the table," Hyland said.
The steady T&T midfielder called for all efforts to be made by the powers that be, to have the game, expected to be the country's home game, to be played at home.
SOURCE: T&T Guardian