The 2010 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup got off to a perfect start for host nation Trinidad and Tobago who took advantage of a large and noisy crowd at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain to defeat Chile 2-1.
The home side scored in each half through Diarra Simmons and Liana Hinds, before Iona Rothfield pulled one back with seven minutes remaining. Under renowned Norwegian women’s coach Even Pellerud, the host nation impressed throughout with their lively brand of football against a Chile side that seemed to lack ideas in the attacking third.
The Soca Princesses, having won two international preparation matches, started confidently and Victoria Swift found herself with time and space in the penalty area on eight minutes but her header cleared the crossbar. The ebullient home crowd had to wait just a minute later for the opener as Simmons collected the ball from a long throw-in and, with her back to goal, she pirouetted and cracked a shot home.
The match settled down after the opener with goalscoring opportunities at a premium though Simmons and Kayla Taylor were both unable to take advantage of good openings. Francisca Moroso had Chile’s best effort of the first half but was denied by impressive goalkeeper Linfah Jones in a one on one situation, with Yanra Aedo unable to score from the follow-up.
Chile commenced the second half with a renewed sense of spirit though they found themselves up against some dogged and well-organised defence. Maria Urrutia fired a good shot wide ten minutes after the interval in what was one of the more notable efforts from the South Americans.
Trinidad and Tobago had the ball in the net midway through the second period through Jo Marie Lewis only for the substitute to be called back for a foul on her defender. Ten minutes from full time the home side collected the clinching goal with goalkeeper Veronica Saezunable to make a clean take from a corner with the ball dropping to Hinds who gleefully tucked the ball home.
Chile to their credit were not swayed from their task and Rothfield hammered a shot from distance that was too hot to handle for Linfah Jones. Lewis could have extended the winning margin during injury time but her shot narrowly cleared the crossbar.
The result was a perfect beginning for the host nation who now must face up to the impressive Nigerians, 3-2 winners against reigning champions Korea DPR, in their next match in Marabella. Chile, hosts of the 2008 U-20 Women’s World Cup, will play at the same venue knowing they must take something from their encounter against the Koreans.
Teams
Trinidad and Tobago: - 21.Linfah Jones, 2.Rose Bahadursingh, 3.Diarra Simmons (10.Jo Marie Lewis 64th), 4.Patrice Vincent, 5.Lauren Schmidt (capt), 6.Khadisha Debesette, 7.Brianna Ryce (11.Khadidra Debesette 73rd - Yellow 75'), 8.Victoria Swift, 9.Liana Hinds, 12.Kayla Taylor (Yellow 82') (19.Anique Walker 90th), 14.Emma Abdul.
Coach: - Even Pellerud (NOR).
Chile: - 21.Veronica Saez, 2.Yocelyn Cisternas, 3.Nicole Cornejo, 4.Camila Saez, 5.Leticia Torres (capt) (Yellow 76'), 6.Yorky Arriagada, 9.Yanara Aedo, 10.Barbara Santibanez (13.Iona Rothfield 70th), 11.Francisca Moroso, 14.Maria Urrutia (8.Jetzabeth Zepeda 87th), 16.Claudia Soto (19.Yudith Rojas 62nd).
Coach: - Ronnie Radonich (CHI).
Yesterday’s Results
Hasely Crawford Stadium:
T&T 2 (D. Simmons 9, L. Hinds 80) vs Chile 1 (I. Rothfeld 83)
Nigeria 3 (Okobi, 3, 79, Ordega 77) vs Korea 2 (Su Gyong 28, Kum Jong 58,
Dwight Yorke Stadium:
Germany 9 (Lotzen 4, 5, Petermann 12,13,72, Malinowski 42, 55, 66, Demann 47) vs Mexico 0
South Africa 1 (Seoposenwe, 53) vs Korea Republic 3 (Yeo Min Ji, 37, 56, Damyeong 77)
Today’s Matches
Ato Boldon Stadium:
New Zealand vs Venezuela, 4 p.m
Spain vs Japan, 7 p.m
Larry Gomes Stadium:
Republic of Ireland vs Brazil, 4 p.m
Canada vs Ghana, 7 p.m
VIDEO - Highlights.
Venue: - Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Attendance: - 13,646
Group A.
MP W D L GF GA Pts
Nigeria 1 1 0 0 3 2 3
Trinidad and Tobago 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Korea DPR 1 0 0 1 2 3 0
Chile 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Statistics
Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) - Chile (CHI)
8 Shots 11
2 Shots on goal 6
13 Fouls Committed 3
8 Corner kicks 4
0 Direct Free Kicks to Goal 1
0 Indirect Free Kicks to Goal 0
0 / 0 Penalty Kicks 0 / 0
0 Offsides 2
0 Own Goals 0
2 Cautions 1
0 Expulsions due to Second Caution 0
0 Direct Expulsions 0
36% Possession (%) 64%
18 Actual playing time 32
Pellerud pleased but warns two tough ones to come.
By: Charisse Broome (TTFF Media).
Even Pellerud congratulated the history making Trinidad and Tobago's Women's U-17 team again on their return journey to the Crowne Plaza hotel following this country's impressive debut at the Women's World Cup level with an inspiring 2-1 win over chile at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Sunday evening.
He told the girls that it was a fantastic win but "we must keep our feet on the ground."
He continued with the girls that "We have to be prepared methodically and mentally for the game on Tuesday" and expects that they increase the level of pressure placed on their opponents on the field.
The winning ladies were handed their 'caps' during dinner and were additionally rewarded for their special performance with special dessert.
TTFF Media: What does this win mean for you and the team?
Coach Pellerud: The T&T Women's Programme is a proud programme today. Not only did we win the opening game in World Cup Finals - we also made history by winning the first ever World Cup match for this tiny country!
We are proud and very happy. We also know that the match was a tough one. The team could only in short spells perform at our highest level. For too long a time we lacked defensive aggression and the ability to connect with one when in possession.
We have created a great foundation for the balance of the group stage, and are committed to play even better in our next game against the formidable opponent - Nigeria. These next two games will not be easy by any means.
Skipper Lauren Schmidt - We are so happy but it was a lot of hard work. I am so proud of my team. It's a great feeling to start the tournament with a win. We are proud to do it for the country and we are all very thankful for the support. It was an amazing feeling to see all the fans and I feel happy that we rewarded them with the victory. Now it's on to the next two matches. We got a great start and now we must maintain this run.
Goalscorer Diarra Simmons - I couldn't believe it when the ball entered the net. It's a feeling I cannot describe ... when that goal was scored. I wanted to play a part and I believe I did that. I'm so proud to be part of this team and to be able to represent Trinidad and Tobago. The game was not an easy one for us. Chile fought right down until the end but we kept focused and we never stopped playing. I'm proud of our accomplishments today.
Goalkeeper Linfah Jones - What a great day it is for us and for women's football in our country. It was a thrilling start to the tournament for us but the tournament has only just started and we have two more games in this group stage so we must try to keep the momentum and go for two more wins. I will do my best to keep the goals out and help the team move forward.
T&T dances to drumbeats and goals.
FIFA.com.
THE DAY REPLAYED.
If day one of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Trinidad and Tobago 2010 is anything to go by, the competition should be nothing short of spectacular, with the four opening games producing 21 goals and plenty of excitement.
Proceedings got off to a colourful start with a carnival-style opening ceremony at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, which was immediately followed by a shock as defending champions Korea DPR went down to Nigeria. In a match featuring not one but two comebacks, the Flamingoes struck early only for the North Koreans to fight back and take a 2-1 lead. The Africans saved their best for last, however, replying with two goals in a three-minute burst as the clock ticked down.
The drums were still beating as the tournament hosts took to the stage, kicking off their campaign with an emotional and much-celebrated win over Chile. Over in Tobago meanwhile, Group B began with a bang as Germany opened their title bid with a tournament-record defeat of Mexico. In the second game of the day in Scarborough, an efficient Korea Republic side proved too strong for the willing South Africans, who were cheered on by the vociferous locals but paid dearly for missing a penalty only five minutes in.
Results
Nigeria 3-2 Korea DPR
Germany 9-0 Mexico
Trinidad and Tobago 2-1 Chile
South Africa 1-3 Korea Republic
Goal of the day
South Africa-Korea Republic, Jermaine Seoposenwe (53)
The Bantwana took a leaf out of the men’s national team’s book when they pulled level against the South Koreans with their maiden goal in the competition. After Seoposenwe had slotted home Robyn Moodaly’s precise through-ball, the South African players peeled off to the touchline to mimic the team celebration that greeted Siphiwe Tshabalala’s goal for the Bafana Bafana against Mexico in the opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.
Memorable moments
Let’s celebrate
The day’s goal feast yielded a whole host of celebratory dance routines and gestures, although none of them were quite as unusual as that of Nigeria striker Yetunde Aluko. While her team-mates kneeled down and hugged each other after every one of their three goals against the North Koreans, Aluko would sprint across and fall down by their side, as if overcome with the emotion of it all.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Filled with music and dance and taking the Trinidadian carnival as its theme, the opening ceremony set a colourful tone for what proved to be an action-packed day. Featuring fireworks, the tournament mascot and the distinctive sound of the country’s steel drum bands, the spectacular scene was capped by the appearance of a rainbow over the stadium.
The stat
9-0 - Title candidates Germany sent a message of intent to the rest of the field by racking up the biggest win in the competition’s short history. Their thoroughly impressive demolition of the shell-shocked Mexicans featured hat-tricks from Lena Petermann and Kyra Malinowsky and a Lena Lotzen brace.
What they said
“This is Trinidad and Tobago’s first win in their first-ever appearance in any FIFA Women’s World Cup and it’s a great day for the country. It’s going to give us a tremendous amount of encouragement and a lot of belief in the future of this sport here, although I’m not entirely happy because we didn’t play our best football,” T&T coach Even Pellerud.