Double goalscorer Keon Daniel said his performance in Havana was a result of hard work and belief. The United Petrotrin midfielder, a former National Under 20 team member was not in the start team for the 1-0 loss to Haiti in Port-Au-Prince but was included in the first eleven against El Salvador and Francisco Maturana kept him in for the Cubans.
“To tell you the truth it all come from the coachman. He continuously keep telling me to play hard, shoot and believe in myself. I always play better away from home. The pressure is less. This came from hard work. I have to keep working on it.,” Daniel added.
“I think we wanted the three points and we went there and got it. We are in a good position with the win now and we have to win again against Guatemala. I want to make it to the World Cup because that’s the biggest stage.” T&T’s third goalscorer Cornell Glen felt the win on the road was just the right start for the “Soca Warriors”.
“Definitely it’s the right start for us especially before we play Guatemala and USA. It felt good to play a part with the goal. Putting a lot of focus on my international career is what I always wanted to do. I’ve been working really hard to make a comeback from the injury and it’s starting to pay off with the three goals. We have to keep up this momentum,” Glen added.
Skipper on the night, Cyd Gray credited his teammates for pulling the first one on Cuba. “We wanted three points because Cuba is a team we knew could be a bit tricky. They ran hard and they never gave up but we showed that we are a team that can pull off upsets because to me it’s an upset result for Cuba as they were home. Getting points from another team in their home ground is a plus and we did it. I think we can keep it up and get another win against Guatemala now,”Gray said.
T&TFF Special Advisor Jack Warner was a proud man in Havana as well. “Before the game I said I felt we should go all out for the win and that came to past. The result was the start we were hoping for and I want to congratulate Mr Maturana and his team for a well played victory. Cuba proved to be a good opposition because they came at us and they never stayed down. Of course it means that our team produced the kind of performance that not even the valiant effort of Cuba could overcome. This sets the stage for the team for the rest of the round which I am sure we will continue to go from strength to strength,” Warner stated.
The T&T contingent will return home at 4:20pm on Thursday. Dennis Lawrence, Osei Telesford, Darryl Roberts and Chris Birchall returned to their respective clubs on Thursday.