A dull performance by the T&T squad of local footballers against Guyana on Tuesday has left head coach Colombian Francisco Maturana with more headaches. T&T won the scrappy friendly international 2-0 at Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, Tunapuna.
The disappointing display by the all-local squad must have left Maturana worried, especially as Guyana cannot be counted as World Cup material (they were knocked out in the first round by Suriname).
Building a formidable unit is foremost in the mind of Maturana with a little over one month left for the important World Cup group stage contest against the United States, Cuba and Guatemala.
A performance like that on Tuesday will certainly not take T&T to its second successive World Cup and it is now clear that there is plenty work to be done by Maturana and his staff to bring the team to the level of the three teams (USA, Cuba and Guatemala), which are ranked higher than the “Soca Warriors” in the world rankings.
Six minutes into the match, Maturana and the 1,000-plus die-hard fans on hand witnessing the match, must have felt elated when Clyde Leon’s bullet from 35 metres out, gave T&T the lead.
For the remainder of the half though, the local players never looked comfortable against opposition that they knew, since 15 of the 18-man Guyanese team ply their trade in the Pro League.
Except for Leon’s brilliant goal, Maturana had nothing else to be satisfied about in the first session. His team lacked creativity and the players lost possession of the ball so frequently that it had to be a big talking point in the dressing room at the break.
It came as no surprise when Maturana substituted Kevon Carter for Anthony Wolfe and Akile Guevara for Kendall Jagdeosingh at half time. Wolfe, along with Cornell Glenn, were the only two survivors from the Germany World Cup team on the field. Both looked ordinary and have shown no signs of improvement.
Glenn, in particular, was a shadow of himself, not exhibiting the flashy moves he’s accustomed to.
In the 4-5-1 formation, he was the only attacking player up front and the midfielders failed miserably to get the ball to him for most of the 90 minutes.
Fleet-footed Keon Daniel scored the second goal in the 68th minute, after bouncing defender Walter Moore off the ball in the right flank.
Referee Geoffrey Hospedales allowed the play to go continue and Daniel’s drifted inside before unleashing a powerful shot that substitute goalkeeper Richard Reynolds half-stopped, before the ball trickled over the goal line. After the second goal, the T&T players still appeared to be colour blind, passing the ball to a yellow jersey rather than their teammates in red.