Ex-national player and coachDerrick “Pretty Boy” Edwards said the senior Antigua & Barbuda men’s football team, Benna Boys, should not be overly criticised for their poor showing against Trinidad and Tobago in Wednesday’s international friendly at Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Grounds.
Playing their first match since their last encounter – a 2-1 loss to Haiti in Port-au-Prince on November 15, 2011 in their CONCACAF Group F Second Round Qualifiers for the 2012 FIFA World Cup in Brazil – Antigua & Barbuda were hammered 4-0 by Trinidad’s Soca Warriors.
Buoyed by the inclusion of five England-based professionals, Antigua & Barbuda had managed to keep the Trinidadians at bay for the first 45 minutes in which the score was 0-0 at halftime.
But the withdrawal of the overseas based professionals at halftime to facilitate travel arrangements back to the United Kingdom totally exposed the home side’s defence as the Soca Warriors took full advantage to score four goals in the second half.
But Edwards said the three-month break from national team duties, the addition of new players and fatigue caused by playing in the domestic league contributed to the poor display by Antigua & Barbuda on Wednesday.
“Basically I was at the game. I observed some good things and some bad things mainly about the way in which the team was set-up. You had five players coming in to fit in with the home-based players so I did realise they were struggling a bit in the second half after the overseas-based players left for their flight. All in all, we cannot hit them too hard because they haven’t been playing together for a while,” Edwards said.
“Most of our home-based guys are just coming off a long premier league season so I guess they could also be a bit tired as well. The coaching staff will have the opportunity to look over the tape and put the things that they need in place.”
Edwards said based on Wednesday’s display, Benna Boys will need to tighten up on defence in future matches and be more creative in attack.
“It’s an overall thing but the thing that I think we really need to work on is our defence. The goals that Trinidad scored on us were a result of total defensive blunders so that is one area that we really need to pay a lot of attention to,” Edwards said.
“I don’t think that our forwards were creating enough for us so that the mid-fielders could at least get into the game. I think we need to be more creative at the front.”
Benna Boys, minus the English-based professionals, are expected to travel to St Kitts this weekend for another friendly encounter at Warner Park.
