Warriors advance as Suriname shocks St Vincent

Maybe the tide really is turning for the Trinidad and Tobago national football team.

The “Soca Warriors” qualified for next month’s Caribbean Cup finals in Antigua and Barbuda with a game in hand after Suriname shocked St Vincent and the Grenadines 1-0 today at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago.

It meant that Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba, whose fixture already kicked off, were through to the next stage before their 6 pm clash started this evening.

St Vincent and the Grenadines was left to rue the departure of its coach Cornelius Huggins who led “Vincey Heat” to successive 1-1 draws against Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba but left the technical area to his assistant yesterday.

Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) technical director Anton Corneal is staging a coaches’ symposium in St Vincent today and Wired868 confirmed Huggins left Tobago to attend that course. His absence from today’s crucial game might spark debate in his homeland but it was well received here.

The Vincentian team was a shadow of itself without him and Suriname won comfortably despite resting its best player, midfielder Emilio Limon.

Suriname captain and ex-Tobago United goalkeeper Ronny Aloema did the honours with a successful penalty kick in the 42nd minute, which was Suriname’s only goal at this stage of the competition.

It turned out to be a vital goal for Trinidad and Tobago’s football.

(Teams)

St Vincent and the Grenadines (4-4-2): 1.Kenyan Lynch; 22.Keith James, 18.Reginald Richardson, 6.Shemol Trimmingham, 16.Jolanshoy McDowald; 11.Wendell Cuffy (13.Romano Snagg 66), 8.Darren Hamlet (vice-capt), 21.Theo Gordon (capt) (5.Nical Stephen 61), 17.Emerald George; 7.Cornelius Stewart (15.Azinho Solomon 79), 9.Myron Samuel.

Unused subs: 20.Dwaine Sandy, 2.Wesley Charles, 3.Roy Richards, 10.Nazir McBernette,

 

Suriname (4-2-3-1): 1.Ronny Aloema (capt); 15.Naldo Kwasie, 8.Giovanni Alleyne, 13.Joel Baja, 5.Guno Kwasie; 2.Jurmen Vallei, 16.Romano Stekkel; 7.Giovanni Waal, 17.Wilfried Galimo (6.Stefan Baneti 77), 11.Giovanni Drenthe (3.Furgill Ong A Fat 89); 12.Iwaan Pinas (14.Evani Esperance 71).


Unused subs: 22.Obrendo Huiswoud, 4.Jetro Fer.

2012 Caribbean Cup qualifiers

Sunday November 18

Suriname 1 (Ronny Aloema 42 pen), St Vincent and the Grenadines 0 in Bacolet

[standings league_id=6 template=extend logo=true]

Editor’s Note: Wired868’s 2012 Caribbean Cup semi-final coverage is sponsored by DirecTV

More from Wired868
Soca Warriors set for Christmas pay-out

The Trinidad and Tobago national football team’s players and staff are set for a merry holiday season as the Sport Read more

A ranking story for Warriors

Trinidad and Tobago’s latest FIFA rank of 67 is our best placement in three years. But the highest rank ever Read more

Warriors record highest FIFA place in three years

The Trinidad and Tobago national football team will end 2012 with its highest FIFA ranking in three years after moving Read more

Warriors declare: The hunger is back

Trinidad and Tobago national football defender Seon Power refused to celebrate second place after the “Soca Warriors” lost the 2012 Read more

Cuba takes Caribbean crown; Warriors finish second

Cuba reached the Caribbean Cup finals three times before and lost each time; twice to Trinidad and Tobago and once Read more

Odd couple aims to restore T&T football

Sport is filled with overblown jargon that tries to oversell its importance like “group of death”, “do or die” and Read more

About Lasana Liburd

Lasana Liburd is the managing director and chief editor at Wired868.com and a journalist with over 20 years experience at several Trinidad and Tobago and international publications including Play the Game, World Soccer, UK Guardian and the Trinidad Express.

Check Also

Soca Warriors set for Christmas pay-out

The Trinidad and Tobago national football team’s players and staff are set for a merry …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.