“We never found our rhythm!” T&T U17 Women concede W/Cup dream after 4-0 loss to El Salvador

Trinidad and Tobago’s dream of qualifying for the Morocco 2025 Fifa Women’s U-17 World Cup always seemed far-fetched, considering the state of the local game.

A more realistic hope might have been that the young Women Soca Warriors show they can match-up with the likes of El Salvador and Honduras.

Last night, the Trinidad and Tobago U-17s failed on both objectives as they lost 4-0 to El Salvador at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva—a result that means the hosts have no chance of advancing, despite having a group match left against Honduras on Saturday.

“We never found a rhythm,” said head coach Ayana Russell, in the post-match press conference. “We know we can put the ball down and play and we never did that. So, unfortunately, the result didn’t go our way.”

It is a cruel irony that, 48 hours after restricting the mighty United States of America to a 3-0 win, Trinidad and Tobago then conceded more to an inferior team in El Salvador (inferior to USA, to be clear—not T&T).

But then score summaries are not always perfect barometers of football matches.

Against the USA, Trinidad and Tobago faced 43 shots—30 from inside their own penalty area and 14 on target. In response, the Women Warriors had a solitary shot which was well wide.

Last night, the shot summary read 28 to six in favour of El Salvador. The Central America team, which managed 12 shots on target, had only six attempts from inside the Trinidad and Tobago box.

However, having lost their opener, Russell’s troops could no longer satisfy themselves with damage limitation. And, ultimately, the challenge of creating scoring opportunities while also remaining defensively organised proved beyond the girls in red, black and white.

“Trinidad and Tobago played a really good game against the United States, but it is complicated to win a game like that,” said El Salvador coach Eric Acuña. “[If] you are defending with everyone, you are never going to get at the [opposing] goal. It is a way to look better because you are not receiving too many goals, but I think at this stage you have to teach the girls how to attack.

“If you don’t teach the girls how to attack, you are never going to win a game… Football has two different moments: you have to be good when you have the ball, and when you don’t have the ball.”

Once more, Trinidad and Tobago struggled to consistently advance with the ball beyond their own defensive third and into the midfield phase.

For the first 10 minutes of the contest, the Women Warriors went for short goal kicks before trying to pass the ball directly into midfield. At the first sign of trouble, though, they abandoned the tactic and, direct from goal kicks, defender Mikaela Yearwood opted to whack the ball as hard as she could up the field.

“That wasn’t the plan, but that is how we played,” said Russell. “[…] I don’t know if it was a little bit of tiredness, a little bit of lack of composure—but that was never the game plan.

“We know what we can do on the ball and that is the type of team we are, but we just started to lose sight of that.”

In truth, the Trinidad and Tobago women’s youth teams have played exactly like that since the Jewels of the Caribbean tournament last December—content to pass the ball out only when opponents sit off, but quick to ditch the tactic as soon as their opponent even hints at applying pressure.

As Yearwood punted the ball upfield, she often had two teammates alongside her or just on top of the penalty box. It meant Trinidad and Tobago not only had fewer bodies upfield to contest the second ball, but were also in danger of being stretched because of an exaggerated distance between the back four and the front three.

El Salvador lacked the athleticism and guile to get around either Trinidad and Tobago full back, but they sought to exploit the gaps left between the hosts’ midfield and defence—and they had a shoot-on-sight policy.

The score was goalless at the interval with El Salvador attempting 16 shots to three from Trinidad and Tobago. Only three shots from the visitors were inside the 18-yard box.

Acuña said he was not worried.

“I think the goal was always going to appear,” he said. “I knew Trinidad had to be open.”

At the interval, Russell swapped wingers, with Rasheda Archer replacing Sanni Wilson while midfielder Mia Lee Chong came on for Rori Gittens, who, according to the coach, was “not herself”.

Acuña made two substitutions as well, but effectively rejigged almost his entire backline.

Defender Andrea Saravia, who was booked for a high boot in the face of Trinidad and Tobago star attacker Orielle Martin, was replaced by Elyssa Hernandez.

Another defender, Machaela Looper, also came off the bench to partner her, while deep-lying midfielder Karyme Parada dropped to right back and Angie Alvarenga, who sported the number 10 shirt, moved from central defence to midfield.

Acuña said he felt Alvarenga, who was used in an unfamiliar role in defence, could help El Salvador more in midfield. Almost certainly, it was a change that had more to do with how Trinidad and Tobago used—or did not use—Martin than anything else.

“I think the number 10 (Martin) is a good player,” said Acuña. “Maybe she needs someone else to play with her because sometimes she was too alone.

“Maybe if she gets the ball close to the objective (opposing goal), she can do more damage to the other teams. But playing in that way she tried to play, alone against four or five players—it is complicated.”

Satisfied that Martin lacked the support to dismantle his defence, Acuña pushed his own best player, Alvarenga, into the midfield.

Two minutes after the restart, El Salvador rapped the T&T bar with an ambitious effort from distance by midfielder Maya Buerger, which would have been some goal.

Did she mean that? Or was it an overhit cross?

There could be no doubting Abigail Salgado’s intent in the 57th minute, as she stepped inside from off the right flank and hit a sensational swerving strike that beat Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Zaira Aimey to fly into the far corner.

El Salvador were still not penetrating, but they did not need to if they could hit the ball like that from distance.

Trinidad and Tobago might still have been shell-shocked when, four minutes later, Buerger danced into the box to double their lead. And the hosts never looked like recovering.

In the 75th minute, Russell recalled Archer to the bench and sent in Giuliana Meyer instead.

“Archer starting or coming off the bench is usually very dynamic,” said Russell. “She didn’t give us that today and I think she started to pull a bit…”

But it was El Salvador who kept scoring.

In the 85th minute, Alvarenga got on the scorecard with a free kick that slipped through Aimey’s hands—there was a steady drizzle for much of the match—and across the goal line.

And the El Salvador midfielder got her double, four minutes later, with a deflected shot that looped over Aimey.

Three of the visitors’ four goals came from improbable shots from distance. In a sense, the score line flattered them. However, it is also true that Trinidad and Tobago did not do nearly enough to achieve a positive result.

“We were second to every ball—we were never first to the ball,” said Russell. “We didn’t really show enough urgency and the fight that we usually do. We thought that we would be victorious today, but the [game] did not go our way.”

Russell commended her team on their character in this campaign and lamented the fact that they have not shown what they are capable of on the ball. On Saturday, they will try to settle a score against the Honduras team that defeated them 1-0 in their earlier qualifying round in Couva.

Honduras lost 7-0 to USA last night and would need a big score against Trinidad and Tobago to have any chance of finishing above El Salvador.

The three group winners advance to the Morocco World Cup, but a solitary runner-up will join them. Honduras and El Salvador still have a slim chance of qualifying alongside USA, then.

The Women Warriors have lowered sights.

“We have to play for pride,” said Russell, who hopes her troops show supporters what they can do this weekend. “[…] This team has a lot of potential.

“They need to sulk a bit tonight and deal with the fact that we cannot go to the World Cup. But we are home and we want to come out with a good result on Saturday.”

(Teams)

Trinidad and Tobago (4-2-3-1): 1.Zaira Aimey (GK); 15.Kanika Rodriguez, 2.Kaitlyn Darwent, 17.Mikaela Yearwood (captain), 3.Hackeemar Goodridge; 6.Cherina Steele, 12.Rori Gittens (9.Mia Lee Chong 46); 8.Ty’kaiya Dennis, 4.Diem Sealy, 11.Sanni Wilson (7.Rasheda Archer 46 [19.Giuliana Meyer 75]); 10.Orielle Martin.

Unused substitutes: 18.Kenisha Taylor (GK), 21.Alexia Dolland (GK), 5.Taya Williams, 13.Zyesha Potts, 14.Cherine Steele, 16.Madison Campbell, 20.Jessica Nesbitt.

Coach: Ayana Russell.

El Salvador (4-3-3): 18.Jessica Silva (captain) (GK); 2.Zoe Castro (5.Machaela Looper 46), 10.Angie Alvarenga, 12.Andrea Saravia (3.Elyssa Hernandez 46), 14.Hannah Hopkins; 8.Makena Zukeran (17.Laila Pacheco 83), 6.Karyme Parada, 7.Maya Buerger; 20.Abigail Salgado, 15.Camila Brower (4.Veronica Jimenez 83), 9.Ava Rodriguez.

Unused substitutes: 1.Yvette Torres (GK), 21.Esther Quintanilla (GK), 11.Audrina Santos, 13.Jade Diaz, 19.Ariana Jones.

Coach: Eric Acuña.

Referee: Suleimy Linares (Cuba).

Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship qualification

Group C

(Wednesday 2 April)

Honduras 0, USA 7 (Kimmi Ascanio 45, Micayla Johnson 47, Ashlyn Anderson 51, 74, Pearl Cecil 56, Riley Kennedy 60, Jaiden Rodriguez 65) at Ato Boldon Stadium;

Trinidad and Tobago 0, El Salvador 4 (Abigail Salgado 57, Maya Buerger 61, Angie Alvarenga 85, 89) at Ato Boldon Stadium;

(Monday 31 March)

El Salvador 1 (Maya Buerger 13), Honduras 1 (Jazlyn Sanchez 61) at Ato Boldon Stadium;

USA 3 (Ashlyn Anderson 63, Micayla Johnson 78, Chloe Sadler 90), Trinidad and Tobago 0 at Ato Boldon Stadium;

Upcoming fixtures

(Saturday 5 April)

USA vs El Salvador, 4pm, Ato Boldon Stadium;

Honduras vs Trinidad and Tobago, 7pm, Ato Boldon Stadium.