Haynes: “I could have prepared better!” T&T coach discusses Canada defeat

Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Under-20 Team head coach Brian Haynes admitted that his players were not fully prepared for their do-or-die Concacaf U-20 Qualifier against Canada on Tuesday night at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.

The young Soca Warriors were soundly beaten 3-0 by Canada, who will now advance to the 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championships in Mexico from 19 July to 4 August.

The manner in which Trinidad and Tobago waved goodbye to the tournament was furiously debated by supporters, long before the final whistle went. And Haynes’ explanation for the yawning gulf between the two teams centred around the level of preparation for the match.

“I don’t blame the players in any way—I think I, personally, could have prepared the team better and I didn’t have enough time to do that,” said Haynes, at last night’s post-match media briefing. “As far as I am concerned, it is an effort we have to take forward now and understand to be better for it.”

Canada coach Andrew Olivieri held his first training session with his team less than two weeks before their first qualifying match. Still, they went through the tournament without conceding a goal while scoring 15 times in three matches.

“I’ve been very proud of the boys,” he said. “They’ve been together seven or eight days now and five days before the tournament. The way they’ve come together, we have to be pleased with the result.”

Haynes held his first training session last November. However, he suggested that he struggled to deal with the short time available between games to prepare his team.

Canada employed a five-man attack, with a striker and two wingers supported by two ‘number 10s’. It is the same system that the North American team used at the 2023 Concacaf Under-17 Championship as well as in their two group stage matches.

However, Haynes said he only came up with the tactical strategy to counter the North America side on the eve of their contest.

“[The system we used] wasn’t a system we’ve trained and played, and we had one day to prepare for it, so that was the difficulty,” said the Trinidad and Tobago coach. “[…] We normally play a 4-2-3-1 but because they play with five high, we had to change and play a 4-1-4-1—something we haven’t played on a regular basis.

“When you don’t play something on a regular basis, it is hard to adjust right away.”

Haynes’ tactical realignment included moving Rio Cardines to right-back and return Lindell Sween to the starting team, although he was not fully fit for the match.

He described the Cardines’ move as a trade-off between defensive solidity and attacking flair upfront.

“Well, if you noticed the way they play, we wanted to make sure we stopped them from scoring first,” said Haynes. “Cardines going the other way might have helped [but] we were prepared to defend first and then take our chances.”

On Sween, who left the opening game on Friday with swelling in both calf muscles, Haynes was gambling with house money.

“He had a day and a half to get fit from the standpoint that he had both calves that were cramping up and all kinds of problems going on with his legs,” he said. “One hundred percent fit? No. But fit enough to play? Yes. And so we had to take the chance because we had to make a run for it.

“I would have been better served for him not to play at all, but we had to give it a go. We tried, and when we couldn’t do it anymore, we took him out.”

Canada was ahead within the first 10 minutes of the game, with Jesse Costa finding space between the lines to deliver an accurate cross that Myles Morgan guided into the net.

By the end of the first half, Morgan came close two more times, while attacker Santiago Lopez muffed a couple more chances.

Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Ailan Panton also made a superb save from a Lopez free kick to keep the Canadians only a goal ahead.

“We came up with a game plan, but it didn’t work,” said Haynes. “We tried our best to change it, and in doing so it became more and more complicated. They took advantage of it because the way they play is the way they play and we had to adjust while the game was going on.

“It is difficult to adjust on the fly.”

Haynes replaced defensive midfielder Levi Jones with Josiah Ochoa, early in the second half, “because we were trying to get more offense—we needed to get a goal or two”.

Left back Duhrell Young also gave way to Lyshaun Morris.

“Mr Young was very tired and very leg-weary,” said Haynes, who admitted he erred in allowing the defender to play two full games in three days.

The other two changes were Sween, who again went down clutching his calves, and flanker Michael Chaves, who ran out of gas.

Chaves and striker Larry Noel also played the entire game against Dominica on Sunday.

Canada went on to score in the 53rd minute through Lopez and in the 79th minute through substitute Kevaughn Tavernier.

With the end of the campaign looming, Trinidad and Tobago went to a three-man defence with Cardines released from defensive duties to fire in his team’s only shot on goal for the night, which prompted a regulation save from Canada custodian Gregoire Swiderski in the 84th minute.

Haynes said they had not done a lot of work on the three-man defensive formation.

“It was just like coaching on the run because I had to make sure to give the guys a chance to get a goal or try to get back in the game,” he said. “It was difficult because they hadn’t played it before. But look, at times they did and I give them credit for it.

“If you have time and you have time to prepare for it, it’s easier. It wasn’t. They got their chances and they took them.”

Haynes gave a two-way response on the quickfire format of the competition.

“I think both teams had to deal with the same situation and it was difficult to get, when you have main players hurt and main players have to be rested, it kind of takes away the momentum,” he said.

“But all the players were picked for a reason… Young, I thought was very fatigued but it is something we have to deal with. Going forward, we will have to prepare for that as well.”

Haynes was asked about his assertion, after their 3-2 win over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines last Friday, that he did not select the players on the squad.

Was he dissatisfied with his players after a four-month selection process?

“I said I did not select all the players, they were here before I got here,” said Haynes. “I did not go, that I want this one and that one. The players were selected through different screening processes. I didn’t do that. But I trusted Anton Corneal and his staff to do that before I got here.

“That is not a cop-out. I think that there were very good players selected and I agree with them. I didn’t pick them, but I agreed with them.

“Going forward, that’s the process that we use, and I am okay with that. It is not that I was upset that anybody wasn’t picked.”

Haynes said he empathised with his players, who were hurt by their elimination. He insisted that some of the teenagers in his team have the ability to wear national colours for a long time.

“I see players having that pathway to go play with the first team and get quality minutes,” he said, “because there are a couple of guys who can make that step. I’m very happy for them.”

Haynes also thanked the Trinidad and Tobago public for their support over the course of the competition.

“I tried to get all the players to get to the other side of the field—not to just haphazardly wave at them but to thank them because they came out, they supported them,” he said. “They stayed to the end. We disappointed them from the standpoint of not getting a goal or not getting back into the game.

“Very thankful for their support and hopefully this is the start of something good in Trinidad and Tobago because it’s something that we need.”

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