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Trinidad and Tobago will face the Dominican Republic in the Concacaf Girls Under-15 Championship League B semifinal round after closing their Group C assignments with a comprehensive 5-0 rout of Grenada at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain today.
The young Women Soca Warriors and Dominican Republic square off from 9am at the Hasely Crawford Stadium while Guatemala and Honduras meet in the other semifinal.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
The Trinidad and Tobago High Performance outfit failed to top their group, after being eliminated with a 1-0 loss to Guatemala—in a match the home team needed to win.
But surely a second-place group finish from Trinidad and Tobago’s reserve players, who would not have expected to see any action until the late withdrawal of Nicaragua, would be viewed as a positive sign by High Performance coordinator Paul Decle, who coached the team, and technical director Anton Corneal.
The High Performance team face the Cayman Islands from 11am at the Hasely Crawford Stadium tomorrow in a playoff contest.
However, the first-choice national team are playing for a spot in the League B final following their second successive win—after a goalless opening draw against Antigua and Barbuda.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
Grenada were forced on their heels from early in the match and conceded after just three minutes, when Trinidad and Tobago defender Hackeemar Goodridge arrowed the ball into the far corner from a free kick.
Goodridge’s technique was good but, to be fair, goalkeeper Leonna Williams should have done better.
In the 13th minute, Grenada’s defence took an impromptu break and allowed Trinidad and Tobago forward Scarlette Cole a free header from a corner kick to double the host’s lead.
The scoreline remained 2-0 at the interval but Williams’ uncertain goalkeeping suggested that things could easily get out of hand.
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The Grenada coach opted to replace Williams with backup custodian Katie Fletcher, during the halftime break. It proved to be a superficial change.
Trinidad and Tobago, who sported a 4-1-4-1 system, were clearly having the better of the game. It would be overstating it to say they were in total control though.
The structural shape was evident along with the preferred pattern of play, and there was a sense of adventure down either flank—particularly when Gyasi Lewis was on the ball. However, the ball movement was inconsistent in terms of accuracy and technique, and exchanges of more than five passes were rare.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
It was still much more than Grenada could handle though.
Trinidad and Tobago stretched their lead to three goals in the 48th minute, as substitute Shemaiah Toussaint thumped a penalty kick into the top left hand corner after a trip on Lewis.
Some more forgettable Grenadian defending allowed a fourth goal, as another substitute, Alliyah Baptiste, scored from close range after the visitors failed to clear a free kick.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
And Mia Lee Chong, Trinidad and Tobago’s tidy deep-lying playmaker, rounded off the scoring in the 67th minute with a free kick that should have been a regulation catch for the goalkeeper—only to be spilled into the back of the net.
“I am very, very proud of them,” said veteran Trinidad and Tobago coach Marlon Charles. “I couldn’t ask for more… How we play when we have the ball; you saw a lot of that today. And how quickly we were closing spaces to win back the ball.
“[…] I was very happy with that.”
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
They will have another chance to show what they can do against the Dominican Republic tomorrow.
Concacaf Girls Under-15 Championship League B
(Thursday 8 August)
Group C
Curaçao 1, Antigua and Barbuda 1 at Hasely Crawford Stadium;
Trinidad and Tobago 5 (Hackeemar Goodridge 3, Scarlette Cole 13, Shemaiah Toussaint 48 pen, Alliyah Baptiste 60, Mia Lee Chong 67), Grenada 0 at Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
Group D
T&T HP 0, Guatemala 1 at Hasely Crawford Stadium;
St Kitts and Nevis 1, USVI 1 at Hasely Crawford Stadium.
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