A HAT-TRICK by J’eleisha Alexander gave the T&T Under-20 women’s footballers an exciting 3-2 victory over Guadeloupe in Group D of the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 qualification tournament at Rignaal Jean Francisca Stadium in Curacao on Monday.
Alexander scored the first of her two penalties in the eighth minute to give T&T a 1-0 advantage.
In the 42nd minute, Guadeloupe found the equaliser when Laetitia Echard converted after a goal-mouth scramble. Echard’s first attempt struck the crossbar of T&T goal-keeper Sophia Keel and a follow-up was blocked by a T&T defender. The ball then fell to Echard who found the back of the net on this occasion as the teams were squared 1-1 at half-time.
In the 51st minute, Alexander was on target again from the penalty spot as T&T took a 2-1 lead.
Alexander completed her hat trick when in the 60th minute she tapped home a low cross as T&T went on top 3-1. Sergyna Loubli pulled a goal back for Guadeloupe from the penalty spot in the 84th minute after Keel committed a foul.
T&T thought they had relinquished the lead in stoppage time as Guadeloupe put the ball in the back of the net with a header. The celebrations for Guadeloupe were cut short as the goal was ruled offside. After a few more minutes of play the final whistle was blown as T&T clinched their second win in as many matches.
In their opening match on Saturday, T&T defeated the Cayman Islands 3-0 with two goals from Talia Martin and another from Nikita Jackson.
T&T will face Puerto Rico on Wednesday at 6 pm. Puerto have been impressive winning their matches 5-0 against Guadeloupe and getting past the Cayman Islands 6-1. T&T will need to defeat Puerto Rico to advance to the 2023 Concacaf Under-20 Championships later this year.
The top team in each of the six groups will advance to the 2023 Concacaf Under-20 Women’s Championships in the Dominican Republic kicking off on May 24.
The top three teams at the championships will qualify for the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.
Teams
Trinidad and Tobago: 21.Sophia Keel (GK), 19.Jada Graham, 17.Anastasia O’Brien, 3.Cicely-Anne Spencer-Wickham, 5.Kaitlyn Darwent, 14.Cherina Steele, 6.Marley Walker (captain), 10.Orielle Martin, 7.Talia Martin, 9.J’Eleisha Alexander, 11.Mariah Williams.
Substitutes: 1.Mikaela Yearwood (GK), 20.Sadiel Antoine (GK), 2.Jeniecia Benjamin, 4.Kanika Rodriguez, 8.Jessica Harragin, 12.Nikita Jackson, 13.Athena Jackson, 15.Rasheda Archer, 16.Carissa Cowan, 18.Shakira Charles.
Coach: Dernelle Mascall
Guadeloupe: 1.Léane Fouineau (GK), 3.Cléhame Assard, 5.Sarane Gustarimac (captain), 14.Horlane Coppry, 20.Cindy Tauliaut, 18.Léa Trefle, 17.Anaelle Jasmin, 13.Malika Moiret, 12.Kenza Valerie, 7.Laetitia Echard, 9.Elsa Marillat.
Substitutes: 16.Séphora Cabarrus (GK), 2.Lincy Morice, 4.Cynly Dyvrande, 6.Sergyna Loubli, 8.Kélise Baral, 10.Mallory Heynegen, 11.Mymithye Bironien, 15.Kellen Saint Marc, 19.Keycha Monchador.
Coach: Cédric Monpierre
Referee: Tatiana Guzman (Nicaragua)
ABOVE SOURCE: T&T Newsday
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T&T U-20 women footballers face Puerto Rico in must-win match.
By Jonathan Ramnanansingh (T&T Newsday).
Under-20 women’s football team are one win away from booking a spot in the 2023 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championships.
Victory is mandatory for the young Women Warriors on Wednesday as they gear up for their final Group D clash against an in-form Puerto Rico squad at the Rignaal Jean Francis Stadium in Curacao from 6pm (TT time).
Puerto Rico and T&T are tied atop the Group D standings on six points each, having both won their opening contests on Saturday and Monday respectively. T&T, however, are second since Puerto Rico hold a superior goal difference.
Only the winner of each group advances to the Concacaf Women’s U20 Championships. T&T need a win to seal qualification while a drawn result goes in favour of Puerto Rico.
There are six competing groups in the ongoing qualifiers. The six progressing teams join already qualified USA and Mexico.
The Concacaf tournament kicks off in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on May 24 to June 3. The eight-team competition will qualify its top three finishers (finalists and third-place match winner) for the 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.
On Saturday, T&T’s U20 women opened their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 triumph over the Cayman Islands. Two goals from Talia Martin and one from Nikita Jackson got them over the line.
And on Monday, a hat-trick from Tobagonian J’eleisha Alexander notched a 3-2 win over Guadeloupe to keep T&T’s U20 World Cup hopes alive.
However, Puerto Rico have shown more attack up front as they drubbed Guadeloupe 5-0 in their first fixture and then swept Puerto Rico 6-1 in the second.
Speaking after Monday’s victory, T&T U20 women’s head coach Dernelle Mascall said that despite Guadeloupe proving to be a physical test, her squad persisted and was successful in breaking them down.
“We predicted this one to be more challenging that the first mainly because Guadeloupe has some natural athletes who really are not afraid of the physical game.
“But we also knew that they were weak technically, so we planned to put the game out of their reach as early as possible. But we squandered a lot of chances which kept them in the game,” Mascall said.
She lauded the team’s all-around performance and anticipates another tough test against Puerto Rico.
“All in all, this one (Guadeloupe match) called for some grit and heart and in the end the girls had a desire for the result. We had Alexander who came up big for us. She is the best one we have, in terms of, finding the back of the net, and she came up big for us with a hat-trick.
“The girls showed a lot of character, and we got the desired results. I can’t stress enough of how proud I am of these girls.”
Group D will be decided on Wednesday, but other final-round matches continue daily until Saturday.