Spicer: Dream come true; Yorke proud of Warriors but hopes to strengthen team

Trinidad and Tobago head coach Dwight Yorke said the country should be proud of its national football team after the Soca Warriors whipped Cuba 4-0 on Tuesday night to qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup finals.

A double from Isaiah Lee and lone items from Kevin Molino and Nathaniel James handed Trinidad and Tobago a comfortable victory on the night and a 6-1 aggregate win across two legs.

Winger Tyrese Spicer, who grew up idolising Yorke, produced two more assists and says he hopes the performance will spur the Soca Warriors to a deep run at the Concacaf showpiece event.

While Yorke was pleased with Spicer’s productivity in the game and his team’s work in general, he was not entirely happy with the execution of their game plans against 10-man Cuba.

The former Manchester United star stressed that his team is a work in progress, and he is currently looking into opportunities to bolster his roster while charming fans and sponsors back into local football.

“That is part of my job, to get the crowd back into the stadium,” said Yorke. “The way we played today, I think they should be proud of it and with the players, and hopefully, that will entice them to come back out and support the players.

“It’s a new generation, they need support from the crowd, we need the people. We are a small nation. We need everyone back in this team to get there. We can’t do it on our own.”

When the teams met at the Ato Boldon Stadium on Tuesday, the Soca Warriors were attempting to complete a rare double over the Cubans.

Trinidad and Tobago led the two-legged play-off 2-1 with a dogged win on Friday—their first triumph in Cuba since August 2008.

On Tuesday, in front of a 6,240-strong crowd at the Ato Boldon Stadium, the nervous Cubans, who arrived in Trinidad seven hours before the home team on a private jet, immediately lost the plot.

Defender Romario Torres saw red after three minutes after his reckless two-footed challenge floored T&T midfielder Andre Rampersad.

Yorke said he anticipated an aggressive start from the Cubans to level the tie early, and he focused on ensuring the Soca Warriors’ defence would not be breached as easily as in Friday’s encounter in Santiago de Cuba.

“From a tactical point of view, we felt that if we become resilient, hard to beat, these players become very desperate,” he said. “Once we see the threat off, they become undisciplined because that is what happens at this level.

“[…] If you go back to the last game, we conceded within five minutes, and that was something we tried to eradicate from the game. So, to achieve that was a good first step forward.

“[…] Of course, the red card did work in our favour.”

With Cuba down to 10 men, Yorke said he encouraged his team to use the extremities of the Ato Boldon pitch to carve out openings for their strikers.

“Tactically, when a team goes down to 10 men, we try and make the pitch really big, so that way we can utilise the extra man and make the opposition run around,” he said.

Chances came and went. Kevin Molino, returning to the starting line-up instead of Steffen Yeates, shot overbar from another telling Spicer pass. Spicer hit the crossbar from close range after Alvin Jones forced a fantastic save from Raiko Arozarena off a knuckling free kick.

However, in the 22nd minute, the opening goal arrived from a familiar scenario: Spicer sprinting clear of Cuba right-back Elvis Casanova and Lee converting his cross from inside the six-yard box.

Lee got his double before the half, after a farcical error by stand-in captain Yosel Piedra, harried by Spicer, passed the ball straight to Lee in the 37th minute.

However Yorke, who stepped on the field a few times while dispensing advice to his players, was unhappy that his team squandered good positions and committed unforced errors.

“Often enough, I think we got a little bit complacent in midfield, where the short passes were a little bit too short,” said the former Manchester United striker. “We needed to make the pitch big and that is what a good team does.

“I am not particularly happy with the transition of the football, like giving away the [ball] with some sloppy passes at times. We caused our own problems rather than taking control when they went down to 10 men.”

Yorke made several personnel changes in the second half, with young guns Real Gill and Nathaniel James among those coming on to have a tilt at the Cubans.

Cuba also made a change at the half. The jilted player was Elvis Casanova, who never come to terms with the pace of Spicer and spent the rest of the night on the bench.

While Elvis had not quite left the building, Spicer was already tormenting his replacement, Alejandro Delgado.

The Toronto FC forward, who skinned Delgado to set up Trinidad and Tobago’s first goal in Santiago, brought further nightmares to the Cuban’s door.

Spicer broke through the double-team setup between Delgado and another defender to fire at goal, and Molino was there to pick up the pieces and slot home his 24th international goal.

With the goal, the Defence Force star is now fifth on the all-time list of Trinidad and Tobago’s international goal scorers and level with Cornell Glen.

Spicer, after another two-assist game, came off to warm applause, as he was replaced by the exciting Netherlands-based midfielder Dantaye Gilbert.

“It was fantastic—just playing out there, representing my country, and having my family there, that was a proud moment,” said Spicer, after the match. “I think that was the best feeling ever, playing for my country.

“I’ve dreamed about this. It was hard work, with belief, and it paid off. I think I had a good game today.”

James put the exclamation mark on the Trinidad and Tobago win, rifling a shot past Arozarena from an accurate Gill pass.

Six minutes later, the 4-0 win was confirmed—Trinidad and Tobago’s heaviest victory over Cuba since the teams first met in battle in November 1971.

“We can celebrate. I think it is cause for a good celebration. We haven’t done the double over Cuba in quite some time,” said Yorke.

The only time T&T completed the double over Cuba was in 2008, when they beat Los Leones del Caribe 3-1 in Havana and 3-0 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.

However, those matches were played three months apart, in August and November, while the current series was played over the course of five days.

Spicer, for one, is confident Trinidad and Tobago can make an impact at the Gold Cup.

“It wasn’t easy out there. It looked easy, but it wasn’t easy,” he said. “Everyone gave 110 percent out there, and now we just have to focus on that Gold Cup and going far.

“Maybe passing the group stage, going to the quarterfinals and the semifinals and maybe a final. You know? I believe we have a lot of talent, and we can push for that.”

Yorke’s overall assessment of his team’s performance was positive. The holy trinity of regret (would’ve, should’ve, and could’ve) rarely featured in his discourse at the post-match media conference.

“There [are] a lot of positives there that you can build on. That is something, at international level that we are constantly mindful of, and we are looking to improve going forward,” he said.

“We are improving, we are getting better. We continue to build, and that is what we are trying to do. We are going to get better as we progress. But for now, I think that you can give the players a little bit of a respite.

“Enjoy this moment because it is a major tournament.”

The former Aston Villa forward is also looking to freshen up his ranks with Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Saint Kitts and Nevis and Costa Rica in June and the Gold Cup a few weeks later.

“I can turn my attention to try and do our due diligence to try and recruit the right players,” said Yorke. “Let me stress, we are not just going out for players, but players who will improve the team as well.

“These players, to this point, have done a tremendous job. They deserve a chance, but ultimately, we want the best players to represent Trinidad and Tobago. That is part of my job to make sure that we can do that.”

The Trinidad and Tobago head coach, however, warned that it will not be easy for new players to break into his team.

“You will have to be a really good player to get into this team, and that is the standard I am trying to set,” he said. “We are not just going to buy somebody or get somebody and give someone a pass into this team. It doesn’t work that way.

“You have to have the work ethic, the right mentality, the right skill set, and qualities to get into this team. It’s not going to be an easy ride, and it’s not a free pass.”

Yorke said his goal is to steer Trinidad and Tobago to the World Cup, as he did as a player.

“We want to qualify for the World Cup—that is my vision,” said the Soca Warriors coach. “[…] Home advantage is a huge thing because that is where you win and lose in terms of qualifying. If teams are knowing that they are coming to Trinidad and Tobago and they know they are in for a very tough time, that’s what I want to create.”

Yorke said that public support, private sector involvement, government assistance, and the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association’s (TTFA) management of the campaign are all critical pieces in the team’s success.

“I don’t want to get into the administration part of it, but from that front, it will be a huge boost to the camp so we can get the players prepared correctly,” he said. “It is a high expectation within my players and the country in terms of us trying to qualify for the World Cup.

“I think equally, you have to match expectations, and that is all we ask: give that opportunity to my players so then we can prepare correctly and thoroughly and give ourselves the best chance to qualify.”

Yorke, whose career has been a virtual Hollywood script, is a myth made flesh to the star of Tuesday’s match, Tyrese Spicer.

“I’ve watched him on TV—my dad showed me a lot of clips of Dwight Yorke,” said Spicer, a former St Mary’s College and St Augustine Secondary student. “I even watched him for Manchester United. On YouTube, I’ve watched him.

“It’s a dream come true just playing with him and feeding off his intelligence. He played at the highest level and that is where I want to go play.”

Spicer’s dreams are those of Trinidad and Tobago football fans. While imperfect on Tuesday, the Soca Warriors’ win will inspire more fevered aspirations, with World Cup qualifiers and the Gold Cup fast approaching.