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DAVID SCARLETT
AFTER a string of valiant performances, the TT Men’s Under-17 team were ultimately eliminated from the Concacaf Under-17 Championship at the hands of El Salvador in a 3-2 loss on Sunday evening.
In an intense battle, the Young Warriors displayed the same resilience they did in their previous matches throughout the tournament, as it took El Salvador a long-ranged ‘hit and hope’ shot in extra-time to pin down their fighting opponents.
Going into the fixture, TT were the only team in the round-of-16 without a win, having advanced to the knockouts as a third-place team who registered just one point following a draw against Barbados in their final match of the group – thanks to a late equalising goal from striker Lindell Sween.
Before the encounter with their Caribbean neighbours, the young Warriors fiercely battled against Canada and the United States. But their efforts proved to be futile as they were defeated in both matches 3-2 and 3-1, respectively.
Those results were products of TT’s poor first-half performances, which led to the team being forced to atone for their errors in the second period. The second-half changes proved to reap dividends for the Warriors but, when TT got into their top gear, it was ultimately too late to salvage anything but a point from the three group matches.
At the Estadio Pensativo on Sunday, the Warriors knew that they could not have afforded to display the same lacklustre first-half performances – especially after seeing that El Salvador saw off two other Caribbean opponents (Haiti, 3-1 / Suriname, 4-0) in the group stage.
But the Warriors’ woes continued as the Salvadorans quickly drew first blood in the third minute when Bryan Vasquez rifled the ball into the top corner from the edge of the TT penalty area following a poor clearance from TT midfielder Armani Rowe.
TT’s first-half struggles were at the forefront once again. El Salvador dominated possession and made TT goalkeeper Ailan Panton work hard in the opening 15 minutes.
But the young Warriors eventually switched into second gear and got their game going. In the 33rd minute, Lindell Sween received a pass at the top of the Salvadoran penalty area, turned towards goal – seemingly seeking to take a shot with his powerful left foot – and played a cheeky pass to the onrushing Rio Cardines. The Crystal Palace midfielder then coolly placed the ball into the back of the net to bring TT back on level terms.
Cardines' effort was TT’s only shot on target in the first half, which highlighted another slow start from the young Warriors. Nevertheless, the teams went into the break with the scores level at one apiece.
The second half began in a similar fashion. However, TT were more dangerous in their transitional play and they caused problems for the El Salvador defence in the attacking third.
But the Salvadorans reclaimed their lead in the 64th minute as their captain, Walter Menjívar, led by example to finish a well-placed shot past Panton’s left hand.
As a response, TT head coach Shawn Cooper brought on the St Benedict’s duo of Malachi Webb and Derrel Garcia from the bench to help bring his team back into the game. Rewardingly, the boss was repaid 11 minutes from full-time when Garcia slalomed past two defenders and cleverly set up Webb, who clinically slotted the ball home for his second goal of the tournament, and TT’s second goal of the night.
After some shaky final minutes, the young Warriors held on to force the match into extra-time.
In extra-time, as both teams gambled to clinch a winning goal, they left themselves vulnerable at the back. Both sets of attacking forces put pressure on their opposing goalkeepers in the first 15-minute period.
With the score still tied after the first half of extra-time, something special was needed by either team to decide the match. Unfortunately for the young Warriors, that spectacular decider came from El Salvador’s Michael Ventura in the 106th minute, who lashed a rifling shot from 30 yards out that sailed over Panton, crashed off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.
That late dart had TT deflated but not defeated. The Warriors continued to push on for yet another equaliser – so strongly that the Salvadorans implemented time-wasting tactics to stifle TT from levelling the score for the third time.
Ultimately, TT’s efforts were in vain as the Warriors were eliminated.
The young Warriors can be proud of their campaign having only had two warmup matches against Jamaica prior to the tournament.
With some strong performances over the four matches, they can look forward to the future having set a solid foundation in this competition.
Shawn Cooper lamented his team’s slow start to matches throughout the campaign but also praised their resilience, stating, “Sometimes players go out with the mindset that the victory will come, and only when desperation hits you see them making the effort they should have made from the start.”
“In the second half, you saw a change of attitude with the same players on the field, when they took up the intensity. It is about attitude—how you value the game, your approach to the game. It is not just if you can play or not.”
He continued, “Our conditioning program has been second to none, so we were relentless in the second half. When last you see a Trinidad and Tobago team run this hard in the second half of a game? Usually, they are dying—but they are giving me blood.”
“What they are probably lacking in tactical ability and stuff they are giving me in heart and soul. They are really representing the country to the best of their ability, although they are young boys and still learning.”
Many of the young players from the TT U17 team can be expected to play in the upcoming youth tournaments planned by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), which will serve as a platform to develop budding footballers to compete an perform at the highest level and help TT to close the gap to the top Concacaf juggernauts.
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