AYANNA RUSSELL, the Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Under-17 coach, said she was proud of her charges despite the 1-0 loss to Honduras in the final game of their CONCACAF W U17 Qualifier Group B competition Friday night.
The Kanika Rodriguez-captained squad still managed to advance to February’s CONCACAF W Under-17 Championship despite losing their first game of the campaign and placing second in the group.
In the 76th minute of the encounter at the Ato Boldon Stadium, T&T goalkeeper Zaira Aimey misjudged a 45-metre free kick, at first advancing off her line before having to retreat. Aimey managed only to parry the ball into the path of a bunch of Honduras players near the goalline, and Paula Ramirez Guardiola got there first to stab home.
However, with two wins in three games and seven goals scored and just one conceded, the Soca Princesses advanced to the Championship as one of the two best second-placed teams in the groups.
“It is such a blessing to be part of,” said Russell after the match. “The girls have really been working hard and left it all on the pitch. Today we came and we said, “we ride down till we lie down’, together as a team. And they did everything that was asked of them, so I am really proud of them.”
Russell said the team prepared for the long ball play of the Hondurans, a style that differed from their own approach of building from the back.
“It is just what we did with the ball after,” she noted. “Sometimes we just gave it back, but nothing different to what we planned for,” said the former national player.
She also saw some deficiencies in the time her players took to adjust to the Hondurans’ high-press game.
“They (Honduras) were pressing and they (Soca Princesses) didn’t recognise that at times, because we build out from the back. But the changes needed to happen quicker,” Russell reasoned. “So the adjustment took too long to come at times, so we had to tell them to switch it up a bit and go longer.” Another shortcoming was the inability of the wingers and forwards to combine fluently.
“Again the attacking in the final third; we are still not connected enough with the front group, so that is definitely an area we have to go back and work on,” Russell explained.
However, the coach also felt her charges were able to deal with the demands that came with the deciding match.
“I think they responded well to the pressure. In the beginning, not so much—I think everybody’s emotions were really high —but after they settled and they just wanted it so badly—they all wanted something bigger than themselves—so you saw it on the pitch today.”
Russell continued: “This result, it really means everything to the team, to the girls. They want to keep this journey going on so, by the grace of God we move forward and give 100% for T&T.”
And overall, Russell didn’t think her debut as a national team coach went that bad.
“Where I lacked experience in coaching, my experience as a player has helped me, especially in the area of managing the players, because they are the products,” she said. “So I think firstly that was the first step for us as a coaching staff, to get the players on board with what we want moving forward. So all in all I just enjoyed the experience.”
SOURCE: T&T Express