When that seemingly innocuous free kick was redirected into an empty waiting net, I knew at that exact moment that a dream was about to die. The Soca Princesses labored on for almost 120 minutes without scoring; asking them to score two in quick succession against such an organised defence was too much. At the final whistle I felt a roller coaster of emotions. Part of me was infuriated at the wasted chances – Ecuador themselves would eagerly admit that they were inferior, however, I also felt deep regret for these girls, I really did.
These girls have been working extremely hard in spite of some very challenging circumstances. The team that went to the United States several weeks ago to the CONCACAF Women’s Championships were a combination of several youth team players over the years as well as seasoned campaigners. Their journey to this point has been particularly long and arduous. The Women’s League Football (WoLF) competition is the female equivalent to the TT Pro League and has to be directly attributed to the success of the current women’s team. I have been to a few of these games… more than enough to conclude the obvious and time honoured adage that Trinidad and Tobago could be something really special in sports if the administration would quit the bullshit. In our women’s game I can off the top of my head identify three clubs that stand out in a professional capacity; Real Dimension, Trincity Nationals and Malick City – all teams that operate at a high standard.
It is an extremely uncomfortable parallel, but last night’s match reeked of 1989. Even the goal was a similar flash in the pan, much more ludicrous than that of Paul Caligiuri. Alas, the heart is not in it to criticise these girls. I prefer to remember the series of critical saves in the first match a month ago against the US attack, or the defensive marshalling by Arin King, our no-nonsense central defender, or the adventurous performances against Haiti and Guatemala that saw us 1-0 and 2-1 winners, sending us into the semi-finals. Or last night when Ecuador spent over 75 minutes parked in their own half, constantly being outstripped on their flanks by Kennya “Yaya” Cordner, as well as so many other superb collective performances. So instead, I have to say that the entire team has progressed very well under the long-time tutelage of Even Pellerud (who has done a lot for the women’s game) and current coach Randy Waldrum. Ahkeela Mollon and Kennya Cordner will be on the tips of the tongues of many spectators for years to come, but for me the standout player was most definitely Maylee Attin-Johnson, whose performance lends to the overused cliché of “having not put a foot wrong all night”. Her overall performance was technically flawless: dropping deep when necessary, fetching and carrying as well as distributing the ball in a way that retained possession. So the lasting painful image in my head was that of her trudging down the tunnel, eyes down at her feet in dejection.
There are a couple things that I feel that I do need to say however. The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs (MSYA), The Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago and virtually all the entities with the power to help develop the game are a shameless lot. It’s sickening to consider the amount of credit our government would have taken in hindsight had these girls have qualified. Cynical this, but I also have to say that the exodus of hundreds of fans shortly before the final whistle was also shameful, but not surprising – after all, virtually no-one knew or cared about this team until a few weeks ago when Waldrum decided to take drastic measures via social media to acquire the funds necessary for the campaign in the US. Hats off to the administrators in the WoLF who did as much as they could to mobilise support for the girls. However, last night the image of the fans was emblematic of bandwagon patriotism Trinidadians are notorious for. I do hope, however, that this near miss would be a catalyst for positive changes in the local setup. After all, let’s not forget the Men’s Senior Team is doing very well themselves losing on penalties in the Caribbean Cup Final (narrowly missing out on a Copa America place) as well as qualifying again for the next CONCACAF Gold Cup. On the eve of that particular final against Jamaica, Stephen Hart and his players had to refuse to participate in the Final in order to be paid a backlog of salaries dating back to four years ago. Stephen Hart himself wasn’t paid for several months… I mean what is it with these organisations and derailing the progress of a hard-working group?
Never mind that, as Trinidadians and Tobagonians we should be proud. Despite the anguish, frustration and obvious disappointment at the result, I won’t forget this group. These women, as well as a lot of our athletes in the past twenty-four years have brought the attention of the world to themselves, without so much of a peep from the sports administration here. They were able to soldier on to the brink in spite of the TTFA and MSYA’s chronic and inexplicable lethargy. There may come a day when the officials in the corridors of power get their acts together and do their job with the development of our sporting teams in mind and T&T can really show the world what we have to offer. And if that day comes, we can look back in awe at these athletes who were the true pioneers that laid down the groundwork when most people with power were only interested in fulfilling their own personal agendas. The athletes who put pride and country above all else and work tirelessly with minimum complaints and next to no public encouragement. Until that day materialises though, we owe it to ourselves to give the collective effort of the T&T Women’s team the acclaim it deserves.