Gordon: We’re 60% there; ‘Zoom Zoom’ purrs as T&T U20s rout SVG 6-0

Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Under-20 Team head coach Marvin Gordon said his players are “60 percent there”, after they cruised to a 6-0 win over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva last night, in the first of two international friendlies this week.

Attacker Derrel “Zoom Zoom” Garcia was peerless, with two goals and three assists—as the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines U-20s were torn apart after the break, conceding four second half items.

Trinidad and Tobago face the Grenada National Under-20 Team on Friday at the Ato Boldon venue, in the last of three double headers, while, on Wednesday, Gordon’s troops will battle AC Port of Spain from 8pm at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain.

Yesterday, Grenada lost 3-2 in the opening game at Couva, to a Defence Force team comprising their reserve players and a few national under-20 fringe players, like midfielder Tau Lamsee, attacker Jonathan Mason and goalkeeper Jadon-Paul Alexander.

Already, Trinidad and Tobago’s emphatic result over the young “Vincey Heat” outfit looks ominous for the remainder of the friendly mini-tournament.

“I think we got what we were looking to get out of the game, which is to see where we are at,” Gordon told Wired868. “I think what we practiced over the last few months, the boys stuck to that.

“[…] I don’t want to get carried away yet, because there are a lot of better teams in our group than Saint Vincent.”

Gordon said he asked his players to play quickly in transition and to regain possession as soon as they lost it. He gave them a passing grade on both counts.

“We are about 60 percent there—40 percent to go,” said Gordon, who is also technical director of San Juan Jabloteh. “[…] I thought the boys moved the ball fantastic at times. We still have a little way to go. I spoke to my staff afterwards and we are okay with that performance.”

Garcia, who is a Jabloteh employee and also lives with Gordon, wore the captain’s armband last night. But there could be no questioning his value to the team, despite his obvious ties with the national coach.

Zoom Zoom was unplayable—fast, skillful, decisive and unselfish, he was at the heart of almost everything positive from the host team.

“Derrel deserves to lead this group,” Gordon told the TTFA Media, as he pointed to Garcia’s solitary cap for the Senior National Team in 2025. “I put the responsibility on his shoulders, let him work… And you [saw] the leadership qualities tonight.”

But, despite the lopsided score summary, Trinidad and Tobago did not have things all their way last night.

In fact, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines should have scored first. A rash challenge from Trinidad and Tobago central defender Sheridan McNish on opposing forward Malique Small, in the 15^th minute, presented the visitors with an opportunity from the penalty spot.

However, Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Sylvon Theophilus, a St Anthony’s College student, made a fine save, low to his right, to keep out Kevonte Clarke’s effort.

Up until that time, Vincey Heat, led by former stand-out player and one-time MLS coach Ezra Hendrickson, looked the more assured team in tactical terms. Which is to say that Saint Vincent and the Grenadines players seemed to be playing to an obvious script.

Hendrickson used a 4-2-3-1 system, with Clarke floating between the midfield and forward lines while they pushed their full backs upfield in an attempt to gain a numerical advantage in the wide areas.

Trinidad and Tobago played 4-3-3, with Colin Joseph playing in an advanced midfield role, ahead of Caden Trestrail and Josiah Ochoa but behind the front three of Garcia, Phillip Nelson and Malachi Webb.

Webb generally hugged the right touchline while left back Jaydon Caprietta pushed forward like a winger on the other flank, which freed Zoom Zoom to go inside and create havoc.

The problem, at least early in the contest, is that Trinidad and Tobago seemed to have no regular pattern in advancing the ball to the attacking third of the field.

While defending, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines tried to confront the young Soca Warriors from midway in the host’s half of the field—and they got some early success that way.

Inevitably, though, the ball did get between the lines to Trinidad and Tobago’s frontmen. And then, Hendrickson’s troops saw a horse of a different colour.

Nelson, the Fatima College frontman, was a battering ram—strong, aggressive and mobile. Webb, fast and powerful, was always looking to run behind the opposing backline. And Garcia, tricky and persistent, was gliding past opponents and working combinations all over the place.

In the 23^rd minute, Webb broke free down the right side and pulled the ball back for Nelson, who had a clear sight on goal. Nelson scoffed his shot, but Garcia spared his blushes with an emphatic low finish off the loose ball.

Garcia almost had his second goal, four minutes later, as he stepped in from the left flank and tested SVG goalkeeper David Butler with a powerful blast that the latter player tipped over.

Trinidad and Tobago did double their lead in the 32^nd minute though, after winning possession high up the field. Again, Garcia was involved as he squared the ball for Nelson to tap into an unprotected goal.

Clarke nearly pulled a goal back in the 38^th minute, with a volley on the turn from the edge of Trinidad and Tobago’s penalty area. But the hosts were in control by then and were unlucky not to get a third, in the 43^rd minute—as Butler made a fine save to deny Webb, off a clever pass from his former St Benedict’s College teammate, Garcia.

Gordon replaced McNish with Jimally Renne at the halftime, with the former defender never quite recovering his poise after the early penalty call.

The coach explained the United States-based defender only returned to Trinidad on the eve of the match and the change was an attempt to “manage his minutes”.

As it turned out, Renne had his own problems in the second half too, as he nearly beat his own goalkeeper with a cushioned header that came off the Trinidad and Tobago bar, midway through the second half.

So, despite the clean sheet, there were some defensive wobbles by the Trinidad and Tobago team then.

Trestrail, playing in an unfamiliar role as a holding midfielder, picked up some unconvincing positions off the ball.

Sometimes he dropped alongside his central defenders to create a back three with only one Vincentian forward to look after, which left the Trinidad and Tobago midfield short-handed. And neither he nor Adam Pierre slid across to offer any noticeable cover for Caprietta when the full back went forward.

And when Trestrail was in possession, his offensive teammates did not offer enough movement to capitalise on his passing range—arguably one of the reasons that Trinidad and Tobago struggled in the build-up phase, at times.

So, his deployment as a deep-lying midfielder still looks to be a work in progress.

But, in the attacking third of the field, Zoom Zoom was the business.

Within seven minutes of the restart, Garcia put the game to bed. First, with a cracking strike from the edge of the area that flew past Butler in the 51^st minute. Then, in the 53^rd minute, he released Nelson, who had time and space to measure a low shot below the opposing goalkeeper.

In the 77^th minute, Garcia got his third assist of the night with a threaded ball to substitute Giovanni Hospedales, who opened his body to place his shot around Butler for Trinidad and Tobago’s fifth goal.

Hospedales, who replaced Nelson upfront, nearly had a majestic second goal in the 84^th minute with a cracking first time effort off a Webb pass, which cannoned off the upright.

With UK-based forward Josiah Kallicharan still to join the team, Hospedales made a good case for himself with his link-up play and vision around the opposing penalty area.

“We will try to select 21 players by the end of the month,” said Gordon. “The toughest decision is who to drop. And those 21 players include three goalkeepers and 18 outfield players. So, it is going to be tight.”

Gordon intends to use 27 players across the three practice games this week. It is up to the boys to seize the opportunity.

“We want to give everybody a fair chance,” he said.

Trestrail rounded off the score summary in the 85^th minute, as he eluded one challenge in the opposing penalty box before drilling a left footed shot into the corner. It capped an emphatic offensive outing for the young Warriors.

Last week, Gordon talked up his outfit’s chance of becoming Trinidad and Tobago’s first team to qualify for a Fifa tournament in 17 years.

So, what can we tell from last night? The current National Under-20 Team have offensive bite, providing they can get Garcia on the ball in the right areas of the field.

Whether they can advance the ball to him with any regularity is a question that was not answered with any conviction last night, though.

Gordon said his team will continue to walk on their ball movement.

“I like the ball to move, I like attractive football—I like creativity,” said Gordon. “No matter how you come pressing, I want to play it out of the back—that’s how I train [this team].”

There will certainly be stiffer tests of Trinidad and Tobago’s defensive structure than what was provided by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines last night. But Gordon is confident that his squad will peak at the right time to qualify for the 2027 Fifa Under-20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

“[I want] to take it up to 75% by Friday—and then we work on the last 25 going into the tournament,” said Gordon, about his team’s readiness. “We don’t want to peak too early, we want to peak in the right time.

“And the right time for me is when we pick off everybody one by one and we beat Costa Rica. That’s when I want the horses to be ready to run.”

(Teams)

Trinidad and Tobago Under-20 (4-3-3): 21.Sylvon Theophilus (GK); 2.Talan McMillan, 5.Sheridan McNish (3.Jimally Renne 46), 4.Adam Pierre, 14.Jaydon Caprietta (13.Jadon McShine 60); 8.Josiah Ochoa (23.Jaden Chan Tack 60), 6.Caden Trestrail, 12.Colin Joseph (16.Deisean Plaza 70); 7.Malachi Webb, 9.Phillip Nelson (20.Giovanni Hospedales 70), 10.Derrel Garcia (captain).

Unused substitutes: 1.Bryan Gafiuk (GK), 11.Chaz Williams, 15.Nikosi Foncette, 19.Marcel Valentine.

Coach: Marvin Gordon.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Under-20 (4-2-3-1): 1.David Butler (GK); 3.Glenroy Layne (5.Shaquan Hooper 46), 4.Dimitri Thomas (captain), 14.Keron Thomas, 18.Darson Joseph (15.Javan Cato 72); 12.Taariq Small (17.Shane Miller 60), 9.Zibeon Cunningham, 13.Tyler Lewis (21.Gabriel Doyle 46), 10.Kevonte Clarke, 11.Deshad Simmons; 7.Malique Small (19.Jordan McKenzie 60).

Unused substitutes: 22.Donnell Thomas (GK), 6.Imani Miller, 8.Lazaro Lynch, 20.Juan Chance.

Coach: Ezra Hendrickson.

Referee: Timothy Derry (Trinidad and Tobago).

Friendly games

(Monday 19 January)

Trinidad and Tobago 6 (Derrel Garcia 22, 51, Phillip Nelson 32, 53, Giovanni Hospedales 77, Caden Trestrail 85), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0 at the Ato Boldon Stadium;

Defence Force XI 3 (Nicholas Bobcombe 37, Jonathan Mason 74, Josiah Superville 89), Grenada 2 (Nathan McIntosh 18, 60) at the Ato Boldon Stadium.