Kevon Carter scored twice in the first half and set up another to lead Trinidad and Tobago to a 4-1 win over Antigua and Barbuda in an international friendly on Wednesday.

Carter opened the scoring in the 10th minute at the Marvin Lee Stadium after racing clear through the middle and sending his shot past the advancing Antiguan goalkeeper Molvin James.

Carter made a powerful run down the right and sent a low cross to Kerry Baptiste on the top of the box, where he drove the ball past James in the 18th minute .

Akeem Thomas headed in from close range in the 29th to pull a goal back for Antigua.

Carter scored his second goal just two minutes later when he eluded a number of challenges before driving a low strike into the net and Trinidad sealed the win in the 67th minute with a free-kick by Devon Jorsling from the top of the box.

Trinidad and Tobago hosts Jamaica on Aug. 11 at Port of Spain's Hasely Crawford Stadium as they build up to the upcoming Digicel Caribbean Championships.

Line-ups:

Trinidad and Tobago: 21.Jan Michael Williams, 5.Makan Hislop (Robert Primus 81st), 6.Keston Williams, 7.Kern Cupid, 3.Aklie Edwards, 8.Trent Noel (capt), 11.Kevon Carter (10.Hayden Tinto 66th), 9.Devon Jorsling (Shahdon Winchester 76th), 18.Densill Theobald (Hughtun Hector 81st), 4.Kerry Baptiste (Jason Marcano 58th), 2.Ataullah Guerra.

Subs not used: Marvin Phillip, Devon Jamerson, Matthew Bartholomew.

Antigua and Barbuda: 1.David Joseph, 2.Ranja Christian (Jamie Thomas 79th), 7.Gayson Gregory, 9.Quinton Griffith (Teran Williams 84th), 13.Tamarley Thomas (Orlando Peters 63th), 14.Randolph Burton, 15.Lawson Robinson (Desmond Bleau 71st), 16.Roy Gregory, 17.George Dublin (capt), 18.Molvin James, 20.Akeem Thomas (Dave Carr 61st).

Subs not used: Javid Joseph, Damien Farrell.

FT Score: T&T 4 v Antigua 1

Scorers
10' Carter (Theobald assist)
18' Baptiste, (Carter assist).
29' (Ant.) Thomas, (Mack assist)
30' Carter, (? assist).
67' Jorsling, (unassisted).

T&T vs Antigua post match press conference - CLICK HERE

Antiguans test T&T U-23s.
By Ian Prescott (T&T Express).

Trinidad and Tobago's Under-23 footballers would have been playing Costa Rica, Belize, Puerto Rico and Venezuela had the Central American and Caribbean Games football tournament in Puerto Rico not been cancelled.

So instead of the Olympic Games qualifiers, the T&T Under-23s will provide a second test in two days for a lively Antigua-Barbuda senior squad, who themselves are preparing for the Digicel Caribbean Cup qualifying series.

Antigua-Barbuda will take on the Under-23s today in the 4 p.m. opening match of a Marvin Lee Stadium triple-header which will also see Digicel Pro League clubs meeting in the opening round of the Lucozade Goal Shield tournament.

At 6 p.m., St Ann's Rangers will clash with Tobago United in the opening qualifier for a spot in the Goal Shield quarter-finals. Later, FC South End and Police FC, the two bottom teams in the Pro League, will meet in a penalty shootout eliminator.

The winners of that shootout will then take on North East Stars at 8 p.m. in a second Goal Shield qualifier.

In the opening match of today's triple-header, Antigua-Barbuda should be more than a match for the Under-23s after causing some nervous moments before going down 4-1 to the Trinidad and Tobago seniors two nights ago at the Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya.

The senior Soca Warriors began nervously, but after settling down a bit were soon into a tenth minute lead via Defence Force right-winger Kevon Carter.

Carter's pace was instrumental in the breakthrough, a searching pass picking out the Army man, who beat his marker before putting the ball past Antigua keeper Javid Joseph.

But the visitors also have their speedster in Gayson Gregory and he almost brought them level in the 17th. Taking the ball under pressure, former San Juan Jabloteh man Gregory hit hard and low from just inside the box as T&T keeper Jan Michael Williams dropped quickly to stop the shot.

Taking advantage of the reprieve, the home team doubled their tally to 2-0 in the 18th minute. Once again, Carter's speed unhinged the Antiguans and after racing free up the flank, he squared back to striker Kerry Baptiste who finished with aplomb from atop the area.

Some fans had been worried beforehand about Baptiste's lack of fitness and form, but the way he finished was immaculate, the ball "zinging" high into the net from the moment it left his right foot.

Still, Trinidad and Tobago head coach Russell Latapy could not have been impressed with either the holes which the Antiguans left in his back line, or that they seemed to many times outnumber his ball-watching defenders.

Strange thing, though, is that while the recent World Cup saw great teams such as Brazil and even eventual champions Spain defending with sometimes eight players, the local thinking appears to be that it is a game for just a back four. And, most times, T&T attacked with four.

The Soca Warriors' defensive fragility was most evident when Antigua's lanky central defender Akeem Thomas was first to react to a dropping free-kick, before heading the ball into the T&T goal in the 29th minute.

But, quick as a wink, Carter was away again straight from the kick-off and the Antiguans never caught up.

Just a minute after conceding, Carter squeezed a low shot in at the near post, leaving Trinidad and Tobago sitting pretty with a 3-1 lead at half-time, although the two-goal advantage was only maintained because T&T left back Aklie Edwards just nudged Anja Christian away from receiving Gregory's ball into the area in the final seconds of the first session.

Trinidad and Tobago continued to look weak, allowing the Antiguans two early second-half chances.

Gregory impressed all in the 53rd when going close with a spectacular over-head kick despite the attention of defender Makan Hislop and soon after Christian only got a tame header onto a cross.

But once again when they were looking suspect at the back, T&T excelled up front when Pro League top-scorer Devon Jorsling ripped a left-footed free-kick into the goal, putting the hosts 4-1 up in the 70th minute.

Late on, Jorsling was stopped by a good save from the Antigua keeper from close up and substitute Jason Marcano hit a post.

Antigua-Barbuda were not a threat after and coach Latapy might have been reasonably pleased with the exercise. However, in an examination room, Trinidad and Tobago would have gotten good scores for attack, but done only moderately at the defensive end.