U-20 Women: Haiti makes T&T sorry, Mondésir trick KOs hosts despite Princely start

Haiti Women’s National Under-20 Team captain and forward Nérilia Mondésir turned 19 on Wednesday and, by all appearances, she opted to celebrate her birthday a day late.

Trinidad and Tobago enjoyed the perfect start to their CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva tonight. But, by the final whistle, they had found no response to the magic of Mondésir, who makes her living playing as a professional for Montpellier in France.

Photo: Haiti captain and forward Nerilia Mondésir (right) sprints to the ball while Trinidad and Tobago captain and defender Natisha John tries to keep up during CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship action at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva tonight.
Haiti won 3-2.
(Courtesy Sean Morrison/Wired868)

Mondésir scored all three goals for the French-speaking islanders as they fought back from two goals down to edge the young Women Soca Warriors 3-2 in Group A.

It was a deflating end for the host team who had roared to life with a clever opener from forward Dennecia Prince in the third minute and then doubled their advantage after Kedie Johnson scored directly from a corner kick in the 10th minute.


There was no stopping Mondésir once she got going, though, and, after losing defender Shaunalee Govia to injury in the second half, Trinidad and Tobago eventually finished with 10 players as captain Natisha John was carried off on a stretcher after coach Jamaal Shabazz had already used all three substitutions.

And, in the end, it took a string of fine saves from Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper K’lil Keshwar to keep the score respectable as roughly 2,500 fans took consolation in a courageous but ultimately unsuccessful effort by the hosts.

The Under-20 women are in Group A action again from 6:30pm on Saturday when they face Canada and it might not be a contest for the faint-hearted or for fans of the local girls who still nurture high hopes for them in this tournament.

Photo: Canada captain Gabrielle Carle (left) leaves cat-spraddled Costa Rica defender Stephhanie Blanco for dead during CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship action at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.
(Courtesy: Sean Morrison/Wired868)

The Canadians roared back from a goal down against Costa Rica in the opening match of today’s double-header to win 3-1. Lanky forward Jordan Huitema scored twice while captain Gabrielle Carle added another. Catalina Estrada scored the lone goal for the Central American team.

Group B kicks off at the same Couva venue tomorrow when Mexico tackle Jamaica from 4pm while United States face Nicaragua from 6:30pm.

CONCACAF’s three top teams will advance to the France 2018 Women’s Under-20 World Cup.

Editor’s Note: Click HERE for full match recap and comments from the coaches.

(Teams)


Trinidad and Tobago (4-4-2): 1.K’lil Keshwar (GK); 3.Shadi Cecily Stoute, 6.Shaunalee Govia (15.Asha James 79), 4.Natisha John (captain), 12.Jaasiel Forde (9.Lauren Theodore 59); 19.Chelcy Ralph (17.Alexis Fortune 39), 11.Ranae Ward, 13.Shenieka Paul, 14.Kedie Johnson; 10.Aaliyah Prince, 7.Dennecia Prince.

Unused substitutes: 20.Malaika Dedier (GK), 2.Crystal Molineaux, 5.Nathifa Hackshaw, 8.Megan Rampersad, 16.Kelsey Henry, 18.Brittney Williams.

Coach: Jamaal Shabazz

Haiti (4-1-4-1): 1.Kerly Theus (GK); 13.Rosianne Jean, 3.Naphtalie Northe, 4.Emeline Charles, 2.Ruthny Mathurin; 18.Melchie Dumornay; 8.Nelourde Nicolas (6.Betina Petit-Frere 70), 9.Sherly Jeudy (7.Melissa Shelsie Dacius 67), 5.Dougenie Joseph, 11.Roseline Eloussaint; 10.Nérilia Mondésir (captain).

Unused substitutes: 12.Naphtaline Clermeus (GK), 14.Rachelle Caremus, 15.Daniel Monique Etienne, 16.Taina Gervais, 17.Flero Dina Surpris, 19.Magdala Macean, 20.Dolores Jean Thomas.

Coach: Marc Collat (France)

Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva (USA)

CONCACAF Player of the Match: Nérilia Mondésir (Haiti)

CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship

[All matches are carded for the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva]

(Thursday 18 January)

Costa Rica 1 (Catalina Estrada 27), Canada 3 (Jordan Huitema 49, 65, Gabby Carle 56), Group A, 4pm;

Trinidad and Tobago 2 (Dennecia Prince 3, Kedie Johnson 10), Haiti 3 (Nérilia Mondésir 25, 45, 53), Group A, 6.30pm.

Photo: The Trinidad and Tobago Women’s National Under-20 Team pose before kick off against Haiti at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on 18 January 2018.
(Courtesy Sean Morrison/Wired868)

Upcoming fixtures

(Friday 19 January)

Mexico v Jamaica, Group B, 4pm;

United States v Nicaragua, Group B, 6.30pm;

(Saturday 20 January)

Haiti v Costa Rica, Group A, 4pm;

Trinidad and Tobago v Canada, Group A, 6.30pm;

(Sunday 21 January)

Nicaragua v Mexico, Group B, 4pm;

United States v Jamaica, Group B, 6.30pm;

Photo: Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Ranae Ward (centre) tries to wriggle free from a trio of Haiti opponents during CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship action at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on 18 January 2018.
(Courtesy Sean Morrison/Wired868)

(Monday 22 January)

Haiti v Canada, Group A, 4pm;

Trinidad and Tobago v Costa Rica, Group A, 6.30pm.

(Tuesday 23 January)

United States v Mexico, Group B, 4pm;

Jamaica v Nicaragua, Group B, 6.30pm.

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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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147 comments

  1. These gurls, most of them played U 16 for T&T. What were they thought there?

    I have an issue with a National Women’s Coach who has no local women team.

    I can’t ever remember him having a local women team.

    • Sheldon, these girls were mediocre at U15, U16 and and how much assistance have they gotten? Even if they trained, how many meaningful games have tbey played? I ask, do you think the WOLF can prepare them for this level of football?

    • The WOLF can’t, but was this pointed out?

    • Sheldon Scipio can T&T perform with an all local football [soccer] team? if not , especially at some positions that we will be lacking ..Can the coaches who coach women football [soccer] have the ability to develop players to play at international standard ? as it seem clear base on those who watch local female football that our local girls are not up to the standard ..are they not coach by these same ‘ wome’s foot ball coaches’?..next… if T&T was as bad ,…fat players. slow players.. unskilled players. … none tactical players and coaches…If I was in charge of Haitian football I would of fired the coach for winning 3-2 against such an inept team .y’ll words like Trinidad and Tobago u20 female team … just based on y’ll expert judgement.

    • We have never given those coaches a try?

      So we don’t know.

      But what we do know is that they are the ones that have developed the girls that get scholarships, etc.

      But are untried as National Coaches.

      You have developed scholarship basketball players, we’re you given a chance to coach a national team?

    • Sheldon Scipio you are someone who am asking very hard questions for a reason ..and i will continue to ask you lasana , mango pierre , hard question s as you fully know my thirst for knowledge … that being said the phrase ‘given a chance’ to me is condensing .. i would like to think i was not given a chance bit my ability to marry the three components of coaching theory, tactical , and practical combined with my development of players reputation and success in championships got me the job .. not the condensing entitlement of ‘gemme a chance’ if we go that way any armchair coach would think he or she should could and ought to be ‘gemme a chance’ coaching internationally takes more than just using the ‘gemme a chance ‘ type coaches.. players who have played at the hightest level know straight up the coaches who are the ‘gemme a chance’ coaches that usually is a recepy for disaster especially when it is senior teams ..you may get away with it at junior level ..almost never at senior level SHELDON you of all people knows that from past experience just saying bro .. want to understand the footballing culture .. so you will get the questions be bless

    • I wanted you to state what you just did.

      That recipe for disaster that you spoke of, is now a fully cooked meal in football.

      A winning Coach, or the winning coaches at the local level do not get a chance, that they have earned at the National level. Coaches, Trainers, etc. They are selected from a very small pool, that is why the same National coach is still coaching the women for 25 years now.

      That is unfair to the other coaches who have new methods, techniques, who have studied the game, etc.

      Yes I have even worked with you, I have seen you grow immensely as a coach, I have seen you take Maloney Pacers to become a team to be feared, I have seen you invest in learning, and develop many players for scholarship, I saw you get a chance as a National Coach.

      Football is not the same, Coaching sport is a science now, and we are afraid of it in most sporting disciplines today in T&T.

  2. But isn’t that what the junior national teams partially do, most of these girls also play in the WOLF, they also have foreign based players added.

    They have been preparing for almost a year.

    I am not saying they should win the tournament, but they should look like they understand their roles, they should react better, they should be a le to continously string passes together, etc.

    None of this demonstrated.

    3 passess, send it long was they apparent strategy employed, then hope for the best.

  3. How are our players expected to improve? What league are they playing in outside of our mediocre girls SSFL? You guys can blame Jamaal all you want but we have zero chance of competing on this level without proper development. Yuh could bring whomever you want to coach, they will fail without proper youth development.

  4. This is not the first time a Haitian football team has beaten us in recent times. We should have been better prepared mentally against Haiti as they always possessed good skills,fitness and speed. Intelligence gathering in Sports must be a factor in our training and preparation against opponents.

  5. I mean we didn’t find out about this tournament last month

  6. ^^well I refer to match fitness…and if they didn’t put in the necessary practicematches well it’s only those in charge who are at fault

    • 100 % agree. What’s with playing men over 40. Serves no purpose ?
      Seeing that $$$ is an issue to travel for friendlies. Playing the Senior Women regularly as well u5/16 boys would serve as better preparation

  7. Fit is very subjective. General fitness allows for running specific distance moreso than the average person. Match fitness is another issue. I am sure the staff would say they needed more time and higher intensity practice matches to get the selected players match fit..

  8. I still don’t understand what’s stopping us from being FIT..apart from hard work….no matter the quality of your team fitness can NEVER HURT

  9. Travis, I have a proposal. If you are going to play three games in five days against teams of a particular level, then try to play three teams that can push you in as close a scenario as possible after you have already worked out your core squad.
    How’s that? Lol.
    The way our football is we don’t need new solutions. We could literally go back to what we were doing 30 years ago and it would be an improvement.
    What does that say about our “progress”?

  10. ..And is no rocket science either..

  11. .. Proposed solutions abound Travis. And have for many years. But they remain only so much hot air until and unless there is REAL AND PROGRESSIVE political change in the corridors of power..

  12. Solutions please people . All I am hearing is the problem which is clear for ALL to see cause in sport you can’t. What are the solutions ??? Anybody.

  13. ..Well Lasana, that is as we discussed a few days ago. It is all well and good to fortify your team with a few expatriate passport holders. But this is ridiculous. As I asked you then – What is the percentage of same in our team? Short term convenience is no solution to long term developmental problems..

  14. Keith, Jamaica has one local-based player in their starting team. ONE! That has to be a new record. Maylee and Ahkeela, allyuh have to pay attention yes. That is a USA C team.

  15. ..Today it is Jamaica’s turn to demonstrate just how disorganized Caribbean teams could be. These TV commentators keep talking about Jamaica’s size. Size is useless if you don’t mark, can’t pass and are totally disorganized..

  16. Anthony Sherwood we all know the wonderful job you do in developing players (as evident with your academy having multiple national team selections and potential international offers) … in all honesty have you ever been approached by our football governing body or techhnical staff to help assist your country?

    • Ian the football culture here in Trini is very different from what you and I may have been exposed to bro…there is a clearly defined hierarchy, and to be honest, individuals such as myself and many others are at the very bear bottom of the youth development ladder in this country, in fact we ain’t anywhere near the ladder. To be honest we are okay with that – however, in the absence of some clearly identified criteria as to how coaches are selected – then what happens is that no one outside of that hierarchy is striving for excellence and that to me, is where regression sets in. Many of the men at the forefront are friends of mine and they will tell you – I/we support them all the way. If they succeed, then local football succeeds.

    • Anthony Sherwood as I figured…… I joining the fight out here also brother…. we will link soon….. #countryfirst 🙂

    • I think we need some newer heads on the scene …. one way or the other

  17. The extraordinary people aren t given the jobs Anthony Sherwood or they are disrepected with crap offers. And those extraordinary people includes more than coaches . Then there are people out there in the private sector whose expertise can help turn this thing around but classism or a lack of interest or both are responsible for them holding there corner. We in deep deep shithole to borrow the words of shit for brains trump

  18. I was involved in the “old man’s” practice match versus this group last Saturday night, and to be fair – there wasn’t much to suggest (on the night) that this would be a team that could dominate games in possession. The girls all had a great attitude and they seemed responsive to what the coaches were asking of them…what jumped out at me was the fact that at times – it seemed to easy for us (the old men) to play…it was very quiet on the field. I’m sure Jamal knows exactly what the strengths and weakness are with this group and he is doing his best…what I occasionally tried to convey to one or two of the players is that whether or not you have the quality within your squad – nothing prevents you from giving your absolute all on the pitch. Nothing prevents you from making it a nightmare for other teams to play…I hope they do well in their other games because it becomes more and more difficult to sell football locally if the perception is that we cannot produce teams that people can become excited about…we are in a moment in time where EXTRAORDINARY people are required to do extraordinary things with our teams, despite the many challenges that we face…

  19. “I think our players are hungry for it but I think they were very surprised by the speed and the aggression of this Haitian team… They outplayed us tonight and they deserved to win.”
    Trinidad and Tobago Women’s U-20 coach Jamaal Shabazz admits his players were second best to Haiti after 3-2 CONCACAF defeat in Couva; but vows to regroup for Canada test on Saturday
    https://wired868.com/2018/01/19/shabazz-haiti-caught-us-surprise-u-20-women-must-recover-quickly-canada-lurking/

  20. this loss falls squarely on Jamaal… in the warm up games all the errors shown in the Haiti game were GLARINGLY evident. I saw the game against Jca (which we won 1/0) and mentioned to a parent of the trini team.. he needs to work on line spacing and our defensive transition in the middle 3rd.. better teams will eploit the space given and it will literally become a training session of backs and forwards (1st 2nd and 3rd goals were straight off training pitch no ingenuity needed to break down defense)…. our wing backs were clueless then and no adjustments were made to compensate for that… our overall shape was a mess and we are not technically sound to be patient with and on the ball like Haiti (hence panic long balls) we sorely missed amaya’s experience in the back…. the girls did the best they could and scored the chances presented (positive)…but quite frankly we were out classed in all facets technically and out coached tactically.

    • To say outcoached is relative to perspective. I wouldn’t say that. We have part time school girl footballers. Theirs are academy trained. Specially selected, educated and trained. We have no sporting structure on our country. We are an opportunistic fly by night bandwagonists sporting country.

    • And our money thieving governments not helping at all. We saw some progress in the Jack Warner era. But salt for we now.

    • Well. … if you can tell me what the identity of our team was (what type of team are we) and what our purpose was in that game I may agree with you. Based on what was presented It was clear Haiti has an identity and tactical game plan. … even when they went 2 down it was clear everyone on the pitch knew her job… if you can say that for trini then it was all individual. .. if not that is tactical (coach) and this is where we lost the balance of the game (exclude the obvious technical superiority)… so not subjective and relative to perspective…. most games are won or lost before you hit the tunnel… our loss started with the “admitted” lack of prep for the haitian team that showed up…. and it showed (we we outplayed and lost 3/2 after being up 2/0… could have easily been 4 or 5/2 in 1st half)

    • Well we will always lose at age group football male or female because it’s absolutely down to poor sporting structure that cause all that you outlined there.

    • I 100% agree Kerry. .. but in this instance I think if lamaal spent a little more time crafting team identity around the players at his disposal we may see a better outing… he has them playing out of comfort zone and it shows. … girls are deer in headlights when certain basic tactical situations presented themselves…. hard to win or be competitive if players aren’t 100% sure of tole and what to do in different situations..

    • The faces of the girls coming out of the tunnel at the half told of a grim reality.

    • I could imagine… hard for any team to recover after leading 2/0 and other team equalize in the 46th min

  21. Have to be realistic knowing our development system is essentially non-existent.

  22. Sheldon, I have been to quite a few training sessions and a couple practice games. I honestly expected worse. Praying the jitters are a factor and they settle into a more composed next few games to get a decent result.

  23. Did we listen to the post game comments?

    You may totally agree with Gerard after that

  24. Gerard Johnson, I hear you, however, sometimes we say players coming off bench we’re better without giving due consideration to other factors.. was the opposition being tired at that stage of the game a factor in their looking better? How did the players coming off the bench look in practice as compared to the starting players? Was there a case of game jitters affecting performance and can it be overcome in next match? Were some players put into a position they normally do not play and asked to try their best? The coach was hired to do a job. He spent more contact hours with his charges. Just wanted to ensure I put those things in the mix even if I agree with some of your points a lot.

    • I took all that into consideration. The center backs were awful from the start especially number 6. The insertion of the midfielder was a no-brainer because we were giving away the ball easily and just playing it into no man’s land. She came on and immediately established herself. How can you not know in training she’s a baller and a fighter. The girl who switched to center back was obviously quicker. What she gave up in height she made up for in quickness and determination. Height against the Haitians was irrelevant. Besides they couldn’t jump. If he didn’t know all those things from the warm-up sessions, don’t expect anything better against tougher opponents.

    • Nevertheless, This was a better result than I expected and hopefully tweaks can be made going forward.. we are always going to be behind countries who put more focus and effort into planning and development..

    • Well said Brian. Those who stay abreast with the women’s program in TnT obviously know to manage their expectations. Significantly more investment is needed before we can expect to start seeing reasonable results.

    • Yep. Think we could really use a top down AND a bottom up approach simultaneously so we can meet in the middle to push the system forward. Both a meeting of the open minds has to happen and the powers that be have to acknowledge they need help.. let’s see man

  25. Besides pulling a trigger, is there anything we’re good in?

  26. “We have seen two games with [Haiti] on tape and we know they are very skillful,” Shabazz sought to reassure the media. “They have a couple players who we can consider outstanding. And technically and tactically they are at the same level as us.” – Shabazz

  27. The three goals we conceded were poor… especially the first. Looping header practically in the middle of the goal with no power. Right over the keeper. But I not here to beat up on the ladies. Fantastic goal from the corner kick for TnT’s second. That is highlight reel material on any level.

    • The thing is, we could have conceded much more.

    • That surprises me, because according to the coach, a team that is “very skillful,” which has “a couple players who we can consider outstanding,” and which is “technically and tactically… at the same level” as TnT, shouldn’t be beating TnT.

    • Exactly, this was the team we had to beat. This was a must win game in order to have any chance of progressing. We just looked woefully underprepared for the task.

    • We were not equal, as we saw, they were tactically superior, as well as better physical and since we did not rry to possess the ball, maybe we are also technically inferior.

    • The thing about coaching is after all the Licenses and all the ole talk, you either know the game or you don’t. You recognize weaknesses and you correct them or exploit them. The Haitian coach saw a slow team playing wide apart on defense and he exploited that and had his players making intricate short passes in between the spaces and then sending his forwards in on goal behind a slow defense which played high. Of course just like the men’s team, we don’t like marking players and that is the main reason we lost. Saying that Haiti could’ve scored more is irrelevant because the goals they threw away were set up because of the same weaknesses I just cited. If we go into the last two games with the two center backs we started with and not the ones who finished the game, I guarantee you we will get 10. It is instructive when the players coming off the bench seemed far superior to the ones they replaced.

    • I don’t think it’s ‘irrelevant’ to say that Haiti could have scored more, except perhaps to the outcome. I think that fact that we could have conceded more than three goals (despite having an early two-goal lead) just speaks to our overall inferiority. Bad enough that we lost the match, but we also lost it from a winning position, and then dominated on top of that.

    • Nigel S. Scott I say irrelevant because no matter how much more they scored, they were all set up from the same weaknesses. So unless we correct those, how many they scored matters only in goal difference. lol

    • I think we’re both arriving at the same destination but taking different routes.

  28. Shabazz don’t have a reputation for conditioning our women ballers into athletes…….that is why he consistently fail as national womens coach…..how it is foreign coaches know women need a lot of conditioning work and yet dem local coaches doh know dat…how it is dat ah foreign coach could have we girls sprinting toe to toe with Americans yet we always hadda note how slow and lethargic and inept dem same girls will look under shabazz and all dem other waste ah time local coaches in DJW close circles………i learning to coach and prepare players from friggin YouTube and sure i could do a much better job thn dat man…..is how much years he failing now. …….steups

  29. .In any event, how could Haitian speed be a surprise? The ONE THING all Caribbean teams have, whatever their defciencies, is speed. Sigh..

    • I wonder if any of our technical staff went to the Final Round of Caribbean qualifying where they would have seen first hand the Haitian team in action? Where they would have seen Mondesir score six goals against St. Kitts.

    • Haiti played as anyone that watches Caribbean football would have expected, fast, confident on the ball. They have been like that for years. Knowing they had access to foreign-based players at french based clubs, meant that the captain should have been paid closer attention.

      I am shocked that she was played the way she was.

    • Mondesir is a known entity in Caribbean Women’s football. She won the Golden Boot and was adjudged tournament MVP at the 2015 Caribbean Championships. She’s been a starter on the Haitian Senior team since she was at least 17, the same year she got her pro contract with Montpellier.

  30. ..Amateur night. We not serious..

  31. The press conference also begs the question. Do we do enough scouting of the opposition? To be surprised by an opponent’s strength and speed suggests not enough or no scouting was done, effectively or otherwise..

  32. ..This team lacks the basics for high level success: 1. technical quality, 2. fitness,3. tactical organization. 4. strong mentality. I might add that we allowed a 2:0 lead to evaporate without seeking to adapt to the unexpected lead and the obvious superiority of the Haitians. THIS was the match we had to win to have any chance in this tournament. However, I got mixed signals from the coach prior to the day.. in one breath he said we were the underdog and in anther he said the team was ready. It is obvious now that the team is both not ready and, therefore, the obvious underdog. I repeat my question,asked previously – why host a tournament that we are obviously not going to win? The hosting of an international age group tournament should be the last element (in the final year) of a a multi-year plan for the development of any particular age group – U13, U15, etc -not something done on a whim. How has the money spent on this tournament moved our women’s football forward? In reality, it is probably a setback. TT is now viewed as an easy mark in Caribbean, not to mention CONCACAF, football. Consider the disaster that was our recent women’s Under-17 team. We have to start over. We need EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT, PLANNING, AND PROPER INVESTMENT OF SCARCE RESOURCES. The lack thereof is the continuing bane of our football..

  33. WATCH: Post-match comments from Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz following Trinidad and Tobago U-20 Women’s 3-2 loss to Haiti.


  34. We played or tried to play football for 15-20 minutes. The rest of the time was spent just trying to clear the ball away from our half of the field. Only few of our girls showed grit and determination. But for our goalkeeper Klil Keshwar, and some poor finishing by Haiti, we could have easily conceded 5 or more.

  35. Despite the technical flaws, T&T is not down and out. Much work needed for improvements in areas listed by Andy Morris in this thread. Learn from your mistakes Coach and team and move forward with dignity.

  36. Keep your heads up girls the competition is not over yet.

  37. Not fit enough, not quick enough, not technically as good. Haiti was better in passing, keeping possession and strength. We had luck on our side as they created so many more quality chances than we did. Thank God the goalie was decent and they missed some chances too.

  38. Our players are part timers. We will never match up until we have at least 4 full time academies across the country. Haiti has it. Cuba has it. For both U17 and U20 levels. The U17 in Haiti starts when a gem 13/14 year old has been discovered. And they are poorer than us. Our politicians are NOT interested in building our country. We are a banana republic. We will not qualify. Y’all will vex with me. But it’s the truth. I love my national soccer teams. But we will never qualify for any youth world cup men nor women ever. Unless our national system is changed. I can elaborate more. But later.

    • Kerry, just to be factual, our Men’s youth teams have previously qualified for:
      1991 FIFA World Youth Championship in Portugal
      2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea
      2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt

      And our youth teams have participated as hosts for:
      2001 FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup
      2010 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup

    • I am aware. Firstly as hosts yes we have to. Secondly in 1991 we had a proper coach. Along with the fact that we qualified second to Costa Rica I think with Mexico serving a 2 years ban for the use of over aged players in an U17 tournament some 2 years prior. Thirdly 2007 & 2009 we had proper support via the influence of Jack Warner.
      We have nothing more to get until our sporting structures are changed. Nothing.

    • Also in 2007/ 2009. With the influence of that great administrator of football. He was able to to have our region get 4 direct spots. Can you recall what place we got in as?? And what was our insipid performances like?

  39. Gerard, I did think Shabazz made some adjustments during the match. They just didn’t impact on the result.

    • Please tell me what they were defensively

    • Okay. We were not matching up in centre midfield with Ranae and Shenika against their midfield three, so midway through the first half he withdrew Chelcy and put in Fortune to make it 3 v 3.
      Then at half time, he swapped full backs and put Stoute on the left as he must have felt Haiti were doing too much damage on that flank.
      Then he pulled Forde off and dropped Fortune into central defence and put Natisha John at full back in second half. Those are three changes.
      The fourth change was unintentional as Govia went down and he brought on Asha James.

    • The fourth change should have been the first. The second change should have been the other center back. It seems he went for height over talent. But the most obvious adjustment you haven’t mentioned and he didn’t make. Why were we playing a high line with defenders who were obviously slower than the Haitians and with a goalkeeper who does not realize she becomes a sweeper also if the defense is going to play such a high line against faster forwards.

    • Well I’m speaking to the adjustments that I saw he made. Not those he DIDN’T make. Lol.
      Clearly we don’t have the fitness or legs to play a high line. That was overly ambitious I think.

    • If we not trying to keep possession, which I am sure we not, then he should have stayed back as Gerard said, especially with slow stoppers.

      Play it long and shorten the sprint towards our goal. They were clearly faster.

      They keep the ball, we needed to be more compact defensively.

    • It’s not just the fitness but the type of drills you put a team through. They were always slower to react to the ball. That means there were no drills to get them off their blocks. I saw a warm up routine on tv and while it may be unfair, they looked slow, lazy, and in some.cases heavy. Preparation is the evil that bedevils our players and that’s on the coaches.

  40. I never doubted hati because it’s all about ball control

  41. Watching the performance overall, we not technically sound. Passing trapping possession field awareness, all lacking. Two goals were fortuitous….Haiti, despite their small size, were more skilled, and technically sound.

  42. We scored first, but Haiti was controlling the game for most of it.

  43. WATCH: Highlights of Trinidad and Tobago U-20 Women’s 2-3 loss to Haiti.


  44. Why did you call this a shock? I don’t think we were really favored tho. Am I wrong?

  45. Watching this game I was a bit disappointed with the tactics used by T&T …. but still 2 more games to go let’s hope to see something different….. could have lost a lot worse

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