Trinidad and Tobago’s Olympic (Under 23) footballers put on a strong second half showing to defeat Guyana’s senior national team 3-1 in a warm-up match at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Tobago on Thursday evening.
Goals by striker Jamal Gay (49th minute), Trevin Caesar (61st) and substitute Bradley Welch (77th) gave the young T&T players victory after they fell behind in the 22nd minute to a Walter Moore penalty.
The goals flowed for T&T after they shifted gears in the second half. The visitors enjoyed the better of the first half and applied high pressure on the Angus Eve-coached outfit. But Eve eventually got it right as his men lifted their game and capitalised on a leg-weary Guyanese team in the second half.
Eve gave Zane Coker an opportunity in goal, while Sporting Kansas defender Daneil Cyrus made his first start since returning from a serious injury which sidelined him for almost all of last year. He was understandably lacking match fitness and sharpness. Regulars Kareem Moses, Joevin Jones, Mekeil Williams and Sean De Silva were also missing from the lineup but still skipper Sheldon Bateau and company managed to keep Guyana at bay aside from the penalty. Guyana were without all of their UK-based pros as Jamaal Shabazz used the opportunity to try out some of his local-based “Jaguars”.
T&T coach Eve introduced W Connection’s Andre Quashie and Jomal Williams at the expense of Marcus Joseph and Micah Lewis at the start of the second forty-five. And from the word go, T&T seemed intent on taking the game to their Caribbean counterparts who ended the senior team’s 2014 FIFA World Cup hopes last year.
Guyana took a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute when Moore converted a penalty. But striker Gay restored parity at 1-1 in the 49th with a neat tuck home from close range following a goalmouth scrimmage. Further enterprising play saw Tobagonian Caesar put T&T 2-1 up in the 66th. Caesar collected a pass from substitute Jean Luc Rochford, lifted his head after a couple touches and unleashed a scorcher past a hapless Guyanese goalie Ronson Williams. Welch then kept coach Eve’s attention with a well-executed right footer from 20 metres out that also left the Guyanese goalie with nothing to do other than retrieve the ball from the net.
Delivering a post-match analysis, T&T assistant coach Derek King said: “In the first half we used the opportunity to look at the players and we changed the system a bit and then we changed it again in the second half, also bringing on a couple new players. We have some players that we still have to look at in the US and we are still trying to finalise the squad. We are also looking to options available regarding our systems of play. We’re focusing on game-like situations and trying to ensure we select the best 20 players for the tournament,” King added.
“I thought Trinidad and Tobago struggled a bit against high pressure in the first 45 minutes but credit to them in the second half in that they kept their nerves and came back at us very aggressively and very skillfully also. This is a good sign with them showing strong character and good intensity. I was very happy with what I saw of Trinidad and Tobago in the second half,” Guyana coach Jamaal Shabazz said.
T&T squad : Zane Coker, Daneil Cyrus (Ziko Denoon 79′), Sheldon Bateau, Jayson Joseph, Aquil Selby, Nuru Mohammed, Micah Lewis (Andre Quashie 46′), Jeromie Williams (Cameron Roger 71′), Jamal Gay (Bradley Welch 65′), Marcus Joseph (Jomal Williams 46′), Trevin Caesar.
(Source http://www.trinidadexpress.com/sports/Olympic_footballers_whip_Guyana_3-1-139560403.html)
