Wired868 Wired868 for smart sport news and opinion
Jamaica-based attacker Akel Vesprey got the decisive goal against the nation he now calls home today, as he steered Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Under-17 Team to a 1-0 win away to the young “Reggae Boyz”.
Vesprey got a last gasp winner for the Soca Warriors who prevailed, despite spending long periods of play on the backfoot at the Jamaica Football Federation’s Technical Centre in Kingston.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
Coach Shawn Cooper travelled without several of his more experienced players, such as midfield playmaker Cayden Trestail, utility player Criston Gomez, defender Sheridan McNish and goalkeeper Makaya Taylor.
And he gave four teenagers their first international starts this evening: defenders Antonio Hills, Jimally Renne and Jaydon Caprietta, and midfielder Alejandro Harper.
Flanker Dimitre Jones and midfielders Adasa Richardson and Antuan Louison also wore national colours for the first time, as they saw action off the substitutes’ bench.
Richardson, a Naparima College student and Cox Coaching School player, is just 13-years-old and is expected to represent Trinidad and Tobago in the 2024 Concacaf Under-15 Championship, which kicks off in August.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
It was the more seasoned Vesprey who decided the match, though.
In the final minute of regulation time, the Jamaica defence failed to clear a corner kick from Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Seth Hadeed. And Vesprey was on spot to lash the loose ball past the opposing goalkeeper.
The former St Benedict’s College flanker moved to Jamaica earlier this year to represent Munro College. And he punished the local team to help Trinidad and Tobago get their tour off on a positive start.
The two nations meet again from 10am on Sunday in their second and final friendly, while Trinidad and Tobago are due to meet an unspecified club team on Tuesday.
(Squad)
Trinidad and Tobago (5-4-1): 1.Mikhail Clement (GK); 2.Jeremiah Daniel, 3.Salim Soanes (Keston Richards), 6.Jimally Renne, 4.Antonio Hills (15.Dimitre Jones), 5.Jaydon Caprietta; 7.Jasai Theophilus (18.Antuan Louison), 10.Nikosi Foncette (captain), 8.Alejandro Harper (23.Seth Hadeed), 11.Riquelme Phillips (20.Akel Vesprey); 9.Jonathan Mason (16.Adasa Richardson).
Unused substitutes: 21.Necose Moore (GK), 19.Eran Mc Leod, 17.Kyron Baptiste, 12.Jayden Christophe, 14.Josiah Simmons.
Coach: Shawn Cooper
“I think a better method [to select the Secondary Schools Football League standout players] has to be used,” said Arima Read more
Naparima College goalkeeper Mikhail Clement and Pleasantville Secondary attacker Nikita Gosine were crowned the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Boys Read more
Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Senior Team interim head coach Derek King named seven teenagers in his 23-man squad to Read more
The Jones brothers—Alvin and Joevin—and Naparima College schoolboys Adasa Richardson and Jaydon Caprietta were among 24 players involved in coach Read more
For the second successive year, Trinidad and Tobago were eliminated by Costa Rica in Concacaf competition on foreign soil, after Read more
Trinidad and Tobago registered the first win of their 2026 Concacaf U-20 Qualifiers series today, as they rebounded from Tuesday’s Read more
