Orielle Martin played the role of star player perfectly, as Trinidad and Tobago's women kicked off their CONCACAF Under-17 football Qualifiers with a 5-0 victory over the US Virgin Islands (USVI) Monday night in Couva.
A small but appreciative crowd was on hand at the Ato Boldon Stadium to see the local team kick off their Group B campaign.
And striker Martin gave them something to cheer, four things in fact.
Before coach Ayanna Russell gave her a rest in the 75th minute, Martin had scored all of T&T's four goals to that point. Substitute Mia Lee Chong completed the rout in the 89th minute.
Martin could have had five herself, but missed a 57th minute penalty.
At the time that she gave USVI’s sub goalkeeper Isabella Quezada a surprisingly easy save to make, Martin had already scored two goals. They had come in a first half which T&T had controlled, with most of the play taking place in the USVI half of the field.
Martin, as much the playmaker as the team’s goal-getter, was at the heart of much of T&T’s forward play, although the composed Aniya Thompson in central midfield and sprightly winger Rasheda Archer were also influential.
Diminutive Archer, very elusive, got as close as hitting the underside of the crossbar from inside the six-yard box, but should have had three or four herself. However, she could not put her chances away.
It was left to Martin to get the net bulging, which she eventually did in the 26th minute with a low drive into the bottom right hand corner from a central position in the penalty area.
The goal broke the ice for T&T and seemed to give Martin and her team-mates the confidence to further express themselves against a USVI side that showed little attacking intent.
Martin quickly doubled T&T’s lead three minutes later, capping a counter-attack just outside the penalty with a diagonal shot into the bottom left corner of starting goalkeeper Kyliz Osorio’s net.
Coach Russell switched out Thompson and Sanni Wilson at half-time, bringing on Lee Chong and Jayda Herbert.
The changes did not affect T&T’s flow though, and following her penalty miss, Martin made it 3-0 with a left-footed effort following good combination play in the 61st minute. And six minutes later, she iced her cake with a lob into the top left-hand corner.
After Martin left the field, USVI got their one and only shot at goal that did not force T&T keeper Zaira Aimey to make a save. However, Lee Chong emphasised the lop-sided nature of the contest when after some clever footwork around the six-yard box, she finished with aplomb.
There was no great celebration from her. This was just about getting the points and laying a platform for the tests against Belize and Honduras to come.
T&T play Belize Wednesday. The Belize U-17s lost 2-0 to the Hondurans in the first match of Monday’s double-header.
TEAMS
Trinidad and Tobago (4-3-3): 1.Zaira Aimey (GK); 15.Kanika Rodriguez (captain), 17.Mikaela Yearwood, 2.Kaitlyn Darwent, 3.Hackeemar Goodridge; 6.Cherina Steele, 4.Aniya Thompson (9.Mia Lee Chong 46), 12.Rori Gittens (8.Ty’kaiya Dennis 68); 11.Sanni Wilson (19.Jayda Herbert 46), 10.Orielle Martin (16.Madison Campbell 75), 7.Rasheda Archer (13.Zyesha Potts 86).
Unused substitutes: 18.Kenisha Taylor (GK), 21.Zofia Richards (GK), 5.Daniella Paul, 20.Jessica Nesbitt.
Coach: Ayanna Russell
USVI (4-4-2): 1.Kyliz Osorio (GK) (18.Isabella Quezada GK 53); 11.Yahsenah Leo (7.Vigga Tyson 13), 4.Makayla Walcott, 14.Lauren Jones, 2.Neah Williams (16.Chaney Smith 75); 8.Camille Chambers (captain), 13.Hana Bronstein (6.Norma Tyson 53), 17.Angelina Quezada, 5.Olivia Crikelair; 9.Mylee Bendinelli, 10.Gabriella Quezada.
Unused substitutes: 3.Jade Browne, 12.Yadayyah Leo, 15.Taliyah Sextius.
Coach: Vin Blaine
Referee: Glenda Lopez (Guatemala)
SOURCE: T&T Express