Nicaragua manage first ever win over T&T; more farce as Aikim and Ewing miss flight

Coach Tom Saintfiet got his Trinidad and Tobago football career off to a historic start tonight in Managua. But it was not the sort of history that local football fans would have hoped for, as his debut ended in a 2-1 loss to Nicaragua.

It was the first time that Nicaragua—ranked 124th in the world by FIFA at present—ever managed a win over the two island republic in their fourth attempt since 1967.

Photo: Trinidad and Tobago head coach Tom Saintfiet. (Copyright Ethiosports)
Photo: Trinidad and Tobago head coach Tom Saintfiet.
(Copyright Ethiosports)

Midfielder Luis Peralta put the hosts ahead after just three minutes, as he peeled away from marker Alvin Jones to beat opposing goalkeeper Adrian Foncette with a downward header off a well worked corner kick routine. It was Nicaragua’s first goal against Trinidad and Tobago in 49 years—the two nations played to a goalless draw in Port of Spain in October 2015.

The second item was even more memorable for the Central American nation, as Iceland-based forward Daniel Cadena beat Foncette with a dipping half volley from 35 yards to double their advantage.


Neither Peralta nor Cadena had ever scored an international goal before tonight.

Defence Force playmaker Hashim Arcia halved the deficit with his first item in Trinidad and Tobago colours in the 75th minute. While, 17 minutes earlier, San Juan Jabloteh Tyrone Charles came close with a free kick that clipped the bar.

But the boys in red, white and black could not salvage a point.

Saintfiet said he was disappointed in the result but not the performance.

“As a coach you don’t like to lose [and] I am disappointed with the result but I can’t be too disappointed in the performance of the team,” the Trinidad and Tobago coach told the TTFA Media. “Nicaragua were full strength and naturally we missed a lot of players. We gave some opportunities for players to make their debuts with a lot of young players in the squad and it was the first game after only two weeks in training together.”

Photo: W Connection winger and former Trinidad and Tobago National Under-20 player Aikim Andrews (centre) tries to find way past a gang of Santos Laguna players during 2015/16 CONCACAF Champions League action at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. (Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)
Photo: W Connection winger and former Trinidad and Tobago National Under-20 player Aikim Andrews (centre) tries to find way past a gang of Santos Laguna players during 2015/16 CONCACAF Champions League action at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)

Not for the first time, Trinidad and Tobago’s problems began before kick off—in fact, they started before the team even got on the plane. Mysteriously, W Connection winger Aikim Andrews never got on the flight to Nicaragua which left Piarco on Christmas Day.

Wired868 understands that Andrews, a former National Under-20 player, had an expired passport and only realised as much at the airport.

Warriors chef de mission Ewing Davis refused to explain why Andrews did not board with his colleagues.


“If you speak to Aikim, he would be best placed to tell you,” Davis told Wired868. “But there were some challenges.”

If Davis, the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) vice-president, was not much help to the young man, he did not do much better for himself. He also failed to make the trip. Again, he did not feel like explaining himself.

“In Trinidad, there are always challenges but my challenges are different to Aikim’s,” said Davis. “I should be going [to Nicaragua] tomorrow.”

The fact that the TTFA has not reported on the absence of player or administrator—after two full days in Nicaragua already—arguably typifies current football president David John-Williams’ administration, which has lurched from the clandestine to the incompetent to the farcical.

Photo: Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) vice-president and ex-SSFL president Ewing Davis does match commissioner duties during 2015/16 CNG National Super League Premiership Division action at the Matura Recreation Ground. (Courtesy Nicholas Bhajan/Wired868)
Photo: Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) vice-president and ex-SSFL president Ewing Davis does match commissioner duties during 2015/16 CNG National Super League Premiership Division action at the Matura Recreation Ground.
(Courtesy Nicholas Bhajan/Wired868)

And so Saintfiet—having dropped the team captain Kenwyne Jones, snubbed first team goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams, lost back-up goalkeeper Marvin Phillip to injury and axed defender Tristan Hodge for indiscipline—found himself still losing players at the airport.

Incidentally, the Belgian is yet to have a face to face meeting with his assistant coach, Russell Latapy, who spent his Christmas in Portugal.

Presumably, having spent almost his entire coaching career in second and third tier football nations like Namibia and Bangladesh, Saintfiet might be used to such hiccups.

At first glance, there was little adventure about his team though. Like Andrews and Davis, the Warriors barely showed up in the first half either.

Stunned by an early goal, Trinidad and Tobago spent almost the entire first half camped in their own side of the field as an apparent matter of strategic choice rather than necessity.

It was only Cadena’s wonder strike, barely two minutes into the second half, that seemed to rouse the visitors into action.

Photo: Trinidad and Tobago midfielders Alvin Jones (centre) and Hashim Arcia (left) in action against Nicaragua on 27 December 2016. (Copyright Leonel Rodriguez Ramirez/TTFA Media)
Photo: Trinidad and Tobago midfielders Alvin Jones (centre) and Hashim Arcia (left) in action against Nicaragua on 27 December 2016.
(Copyright Leonel Rodriguez Ramirez/TTFA Media)

“It was a little bit sad that Nicaragua scored immediately after a few minutes,” said Saintfiet. “It was a goal out of a standard situation with two players [who] didn’t follow instructions of what was done in advance.

“The second half we wanted the make the equaliser but surprisingly they scored out of first of all, a hand ball in the midfield, but secondly, a world class goal with a player shooting from 30-40 metres.”

Saintfiet sent Charles and World Cup 2006 veteran Cornell Glen on to replace the anonymous pair of winger Jomal Williams and striker Akeem Roach in the 55th minute. And, three minutes later, Charles served warning with a delicate free kick that just clipped the bar before going over.

Last year, Charles made a forgettable debut in a 1-0 international friendly defeat to Panama in Couva under former coach Stephen Hart. And the winger certainly intended to make the most of his second chance.

In the 65th minute, Charles produced a brilliant outside of right boot cross that should have created a scoring opportunity for Glen if he had been paying close attention.

“Tyrone Charles came on and did well,” said Saintfiet. “He hit the cross bar with a fantastic free kick and then he had a good cross. We had a chance to make it 2-1 but it didn’t happen… We tried to press more and we had some good occasions.

Photo: San Juan Jabloteh attacker Tyrone Charles (right) keeps the ball from Central FC right back Kaydion Gabriel during 2015/6 Pro League action at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. (Courtesy Allan V Crane/CA-images/Wired868)
Photo: San Juan Jabloteh attacker Tyrone Charles (right) keeps the ball from Central FC right back Kaydion Gabriel during 2015/6 Pro League action at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/CA-images/Wired868)

“Also Cornell Glen played very well, was pressing a lot and we tried to go for 2-2 and of course it means the opponent could have some chances as we opened up a bit at the back.”

Finally, Nicaragua were being pressed in possession and beginning to look like what they are—an average Central American team that has only been to the CONCACAF Gold Cup once in the last 50 years.

In the 74th minute, the pressure told as the host nation conceded the ball in their own half of the field and Arcia galloped forward before belting into the far corner from 20 yards.

Any chance of an equaliser was lost in a raft of substitutions, though, with the most eye catching changes being Daneil Cyrus installed as a box to box central midfielder and Defence Force hardman Curtis “Boyo” Gonzales utilised as a right winger.

If Central’s commanding midfield duo of Nathaniel “Spanish” Garcia and Leston Paul were watching online, they might not have known whether to laugh or cry.

Before the match, Saintfiet told the TTFA Media that his team was 80 percent ready for competition and, regardless of the result, he hoped to see a reproduction of their work on the training ground.

Photo: Trinidad and Tobago National Senior Team coach Tom Saintfiet (centre) and Dr Terence Babwah (left) talk to defender Carlyle Mitchell during training at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain on 15 December 2016. (Courtesy Nicholas Williams/Wired868)
Photo: Trinidad and Tobago National Senior Team coach Tom Saintfiet (centre) and Dr Terence Babwah (left) talk to defender Carlyle Mitchell during training at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain on 15 December 2016.
(Courtesy Nicholas Williams/Wired868)

The good news is that it can only get better from here. He will even have TTFA vice-president, Davis, by his side when Trinidad and Tobago face Nicaragua again on Friday 30 December.

Saintfiet suggested too that his players found it difficult on artificial turf after training exclusively on grass in Trinidad—rather than getting some sessions in on turf at the Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya. Nicaragua opened their artificial surface in 1992.

“It was also difficult on the artificial pitch but we can’t change that surface,” said the Belgian. “It was a very disappointing result but a satisfying performance for the first time of this team. Sure there were some weaknesses which we have to improve on and be ready for the future for the most important games against Suriname and Haiti and then Mexico and Panama.”

Trinidad and Tobago host Suriname and Haiti in vital 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup playoff fixtures on 4 and 8 January respectively. It is crucial that Saintfiet’s troops get some momentum before then.

Saintfiet said he saw positives in Managua that the Warriors can build on.

“I am a football coach who likes to look into the future,” he said. “I saw a lot of good things. I saw a committed team which played very well in the organisation, which made some small mistakes that the opponents scored out of. I think it was a decent start with disappointing result.”

Photo: Defence Force playmaker Hashim Arcia (right) attempts to glide past San Juan Jabloteh defender Jerome Isaiah McIntyre during Pro League action at the Ato Boldon Stadium on 18 September 2016. (Courtesy Sean Morrison/Wired868)
Photo: Defence Force playmaker Hashim Arcia (right) attempts to glide past San Juan Jabloteh defender Jerome Isaiah McIntyre during Pro League action at the Ato Boldon Stadium on 18 September 2016.
(Courtesy Sean Morrison/Wired868)

(Team)

Trinidad and Tobago (4-2-3-1): 22.Adrian Foncette (GK); 11.Carlos Edwards (captain), 6.Radanfah Abu Bakr, 17.Maurice Ford, 2.Aubrey David; 16.Alvin Jones (5.Daneil Cyrus 80), 15.Hughtun Hector; 8.Nathan Lewis (20.Trevin Caesar 66), 14.Hashim Arcia (4.Curtis Gonzales 78), 23.Jomal Williams (7.Tyrone Charles 55), 9.Akeem Roach (13.Cornell Glen 55).

Unused substitutes: Glenroy Samuel (GK), Carlyle Mitchell, Shahdon Winchester.

Technical staff: Tom Saintfiet (head coach), Jamaal Shabazz (assistant coach), Lukas Wojciak (goalkeeper coach), Riedoh Berdien (trainer), Dr Terence Babwah (doctor), Dave Isaac (paramedic), Michael Williams (equipment manager), Shaun Fuentes (press officer), Azaad Khan (interim manager).

Editor’s Note: The TTFA revealed after Wired868’s report that Aikim Andrews did not travel to Nicaragua due to a passport issue.

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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.

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268 comments

  1. Tom the Cat makes TNT Football history by losing to Nicaragua then blames the artificial surface and the referees but he is not making excuses he is focused on the future.

    Not to worry his team is at 80%…..By Feburary our FIFA ranking will be much closer to Bangladesh.

  2. Tom Saintfiet (post-game comments):
    “As a coach you don’t like to lose. I am disappointed with the result but I can’t be too disappointed in the performance of the team. Nicaragua were full strength and naturally we missed a lot of players. We gave some opportunities for players to make their debuts with a lot of young players in the squad and it was the first game after only two weeks in training together.
    “First half I think it was a neutral game. Both team didn’t really create chances and it was a little bit sad that Nicaragua scored immediately after a few minutes. It was a goal out of a standard situation with two players didn’t follow instructions of what was done in advance.
    “The second half we wanted the make the equaliser but surprisingly they scored out of first of all, a hand ball in the midfield, but secondly, a world class goal with a player shooting from 30-40 metres. We were now pushed to score two goals.
    “Tyrone Charles came on and did well. He hit the cross bar with a fantastic free kick and then he had a good cross. We had a chance to make it 2-1 but it didn’t happen. “Then Hashim Arcia scored a good goal 15 minutes from the end. We tried to press more and we had some good occasions. Also Cornell Glen played very well, was pressing a lot and we tried to go for 2-2 and of course it means the opponent could have some chances as we opened up a bit at the back.
    “It was also difficult on the artificial pitch but we can’t change that surface. It was a very disappointing result but a satisfying performance for the first time of this team. Sure there were some weaknesses which we have to improve on and be ready for the future for the most important games against Suriname and Haiti and then Mexico and Panama.
    “I am a football coach who likes to look into the future. I saw a lot of good things. I saw a committed team which played very well in the organisation, which made some small mistakes that the opponents scored out of. I think it was a decent start with disappointing result.”

  3. hmmm i blame all the coaches in twin island republic serious they not teaching the players the right ting from youth level they teaching the youths to hold the ball and drible wen they get older they trying to teach them position football madness bend the tree wen it young plus it have coaches haveing players not training wit the team they could never play as a unit

  4. Nigel Tyrell P. Reid Obviously yes. And in Honduras. And soon in Panama and Costa Rica.

  5. This is the last wired868 on the soca warriors article I’m gonna be reading. This is and every other article about the team is terribly negative and biased

    • It’s run by Lasana Libird a lifelong enemy of local football administration

    • Nigel Carty I respect him as a journalist but I think he needs to step back and take a look at what he’s presenting to the public as a source of information. He’s writing about a 2-1 away loss in a friendly lead by a coach installed a few weeks ago and the article reads like we got trounced by a school boy team

    • I agree with you 100% ……But he has always been like that to be honest

    • There is a lovely website for positive football news called the TTFA Online. You can go there if that is what you want.
      Our only aim is to produce facts, analysis and relevant information.
      The best way to challenge that is to go through the various articles and look for examples of inaccuracies or irrelevant information. Feel free to bring that to our attention once you find it. 🙂

    • Who cares evil does only persist when good men do or say nothing, continue with the good work Lasana Liburd

    • Lasana Liburd I’m not challenging your facts. I’m asking – are there any positives coming out of the game?

    • The TTFA continues to operate like a dictatorship and you look for positives Corie? If we could will the team to victory i am sure we all would… but we need to be realistic and honest. If things continue as they are our football will continue to be mired in politics and mediocrity…… Lasana and other journalists just call it as they see it.

    • Lyndon Diaz painting a future of doom and gloom at every opportunity ain’t calling it as you see it imho bro. It was a 2-1 loss in a friendly game away from home.

    • I agree with you but the underlying feeling is that every step we take forward, we take two steps back. Sighhhhh… it’s hard to keep the faith sometimes.

    • Lyndon Diaz I agree with that 100%! So when as a die hard fan, I wanna read bout what happen in the game I wanna just read about the football. So according to Liburd’s advice I’ll read elsewhere! PS respect to the ppl in this post – fb debates usually ain’t this civil

    • Corie, in the match report I highlighted Tyrone Charles’ performance as one positive. Charles froze on his debut, almost two years ago, and had a stinker. But he is better than that.
      He got a second chance yesterday and he showed a bit of what he is capable of.

    • Btw, we lost 2-1 away from home is one way to put it. You’re acting as if the opposition doesn’t count. We lost 3-0 away from home in a friendly in one match and Wired868 wasn’t critical at all.
      You know why? The opposition was Argentina. My job is to provide context.

    • Lasana Liburd agreed sir. But the context is also that it’s the team’s 1st match under a newly appointed coach etc. – and I’m talking about the tone of your articles in general, including this one. But as you say we can agree to disagree. No hard feelings

    • It’s really clutching at straws when people start blaming journalists for not presenting the TTFA in a more positive light. It reminds me of the PP government’s claims that the media was making them look bad. I think if administrations whether it be sports administrations or political administrations let their work speak for themselves in a transparent manner the positive cannot help but shine through. People want to look good but don’t want to do the hard work required to BE good.

    • Rose-Marie Ingrid Lemessy-Forde nowhere in any statement I made did I blame him for what he wrote.

    • Oh Corie Sheppard-Babb I was basing my statement on your assertion that this and every other article about the team is biased and negative. And the journalist in this case Lasana is responsible for what is published so I assumed that by extension you were “blaming” him for writing something ‘biased and negative”. I guess if you’re not blaming him for what he wrote then you’re happy with the article? I understand what you might prefer was written is a positive uplifting article saying “not bad guys….new coach..new faces..the manager couldn’t make it….we didn’t get all the players we wanted…” And any number of reasons why we were beaten. But that kind of placating would be nice for a youth football side where you want to encourage the children to develop. But we talking about the Trinidad and Tobago national football team. We held Sweden to a draw and conceded one goal against an England national team on the biggest stage in football. If we can’t even draw against a team like Nicaragua in a friendly no pressure game how can we even hope for anything much when we face formidable teams in a few weeks. Its a reality check we need not sugar coated analysis.

    • Exactly Rose-Marie. Really, it is the fans’ prerogative to be positive and hopeful no matter what. But what use would I serve if I was just a fan?
      My job is to give relevant information. The best way to critique me is to find inaccuracies.
      Doesn’t make sense telling me that I made it seem as if things are not rosy when we just lost to Nicaragua for the first time in our lives, barely had two shots on goal for 90 minutes and were dominated for the first 70 minutes as far as ball possession goes.
      It isn’t my job to try and dress that up for you. That’s the TTFA’s job.

    • Lasana Liburd I remember the last time I saw the West Indies play cricket in the oval. Allison Hennessey was still alive and we were liming together in the FCIB corporate box. We were so dismal Bangladesh cut we ass real bad. But the lime was nice. Our expectations of the West Indies team had dropped so low it was like water off a ducks back. I can’t remember people lambasting Fazeer Mohammed or Tony Cozier for their scathing analysis. I don’t want our football to drop so low that we go to the stadium just to drink and lime instead of watching the match. That’s what we go to see cricket for now 😉

  6. Pity he didn’t have guys with the talent of Yorke, Latapy and crew back in the day to work with. At the end of the day you could just expect so much with what you have to work with.

  7. Regardless of whom the coach was or is, I knew we would have lost. Soca Warriors are neither disciplined, organized nor creative. Besides none of them wanted to play. They preferred to be in Lopinot or somewhere in T&T paranging & fete-matching. That’s why none of them are worthy of playing in the Premiership or the Bundesliga where serious games are played during the season.

  8. As I said earlier, I usually have a never-say-die attitude in most things. However a few weeks ago I happened to be in very close quarters with the new coach and my immediate thoughts was that the World Cup campaign is over. And the Comments made by the TTFF head while introducing him were reckless and set the tone for failure.

  9. They will return with 2 loses. That will be followed by losses in the Gold Cup qualifiers
    I don’t think I need to say anymore about our chances in the Hex!

  10. Instead of firing the coach let’s jus get rid of David John Williams.

    The problem with the West Indies is the WICB, the problem with T&T football is the TTFF. Heck we could even go into Gymnastics and Cycling and show where the problems lie. Nasty bunch of administrators spoiling the sport and athletes.

  11. Well that settles that.

    Off with his head!!!

  12. As always our problem begins with the absence of responsibility and accountability in Trinidadian culture. Does no one see we’ve been repeating the same sort of mishaps for decades?
    That is not coincidence.
    Better we just scrap everything and stop playing the ass …. that is unless of course there is a World Cup in Playing The Ass in which case we should persevere!

  13. Well Guyana could beat wii also ? here what nah with this kinda football how we gonna compete in the world cup play offs let the man coach the west indies nah bring back hart

  14. jamal shabbaz football.. aka disgusting

  15. Oh, Oh!!!!!…………………………fire and brimestone would be showered on this new coach!!!

  16. ..TTFA = Ringling Bros. x Keystone Cops yes…

  17. We need to know what it takes in central america to beat NICARAGUA???? heavens!

  18. I honestly expect a better performance next game

  19. D best quote in that who article explains so much ” this administration was lurched from the clandestine to the incompetent to the farcical” lmao!! Where do we go from here boi? D mediocrity this man brings will make so called good players look bad and the football politics will make a lot of bad players feelthey competent for this level when they are not! So much things(negative) things to say better let d coming weeks action speak for themselves! Smfh! So many so called intelligent people around this guy supporting this bullshit and ain’t saying a word apparently just to ” eat ah food”! Selfish egotistical bunch of croonies! Nuff said yes!!

  20. A bunch of losers and a total waste of money .. they’re just not good enough and not into it .. they play like they’re in practice session

  21. Keeping hart make 2 much sense. …goes against d trini norm…..

  22. ..so where were the ‘missing persons’ found?

  23. Did Saintfiet where the white socks? Need I say more?

  24. Expired passport….Lasana….in the end of 2016….sad

  25. Interesting. Didn’t see game, but results are not necessarily the prime marker in first game under a new coach IMHO. No instant coffee here at all. It takes a little time to truly transition, and for coach to understand his talent base. Hoping to catch next game to see where team stands though.

  26. This is what allyuh fire hart for?????

  27. Well the Charles kid show his hand …that’s a positive ….let’s see if he could do it twice ….

  28. “The good news is it can only get better from here”. Lol….unless of course it gets worse ;). We hardly ever recover from an early goal. Probably makes us feel like a secondary school playing the German national team. Will keep them in my prayers for the 30th.

  29. I have nothing good to say, so I will say nothing ?

  30. I don’t want hear or read one word of an excuse for those 2 missing the flight.

  31. This team is very much unknown to me. I’m not familiar with these players at all. Thought I was going to see more popular names showing up. Hopefully with the better known names back on the team, we’ll get better results going forward.

  32. So you have several players experienced in Central America (Mekeil Williams, Yohance Marshall, Kordell Samuel, Weslie John, Jerrel Britto, Jamal Jack) and almost none get called up and the team regularly gets their ass kicked in Central America. Most of them would know very well what it takes but they prefer local players from the ultra competitive TT Pro League. Interesting.

  33. Entertaining article Las lol. …. not gonna comment on the performance …first game …. gonna get some highlights and check it out. I am however gonna ask a few. How did Glen and Carlos look? Anyone stood out in the team?

  34. I was pretty surprised with even the use of the options he had there. That performance was really poor. But let’s see if there is noticeable improvement on Friday.

  35. So you have several players experienced in Central America and almost none get called and the team regularly gets their ass kicked in Central America. Interesting.

  36. Lasana…you ever thought football would have gotten worse in TnT after Jack?

  37. Liburd, I find yuih farse to call the performance a farce. What is joke fuh de schoolboy, the old adage reminds us, is sometimes death fuh the crapaud.

    How long do you think it will be before Saintfiet croaks as national coach? YUh tink he could make three months?

  38. “lurched from the clandestine to the incompetent to the farcical.” 🙂

  39. I’m sure Saintfiet’s true brilliance is right around the corner… But judging from what I saw tonight, Kenwyne Jones might be flattered to hear he doesn’t fit into the coach’s tactical plans.

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