Boyce: Smaller Caribbean nations have closed gap; T&T fans are ‘misinformed’

Gone are the days when Trinidad and Tobago’s football supporters could venture to the national stadia and expect a comfortable evening with smooth sailing when their teams come up against supposedly lesser Caribbean opposition.

Trips to Mucurapo, Balmain, Couva and Bacolet are now filled with trepidation, as fans are put through a range of emotions watching the national team in action.

And through 90 minutes of football at the Hasely Crawford Stadium last night, the modest crowd (officially recorded as 225 patrons) was taken on a roller-coaster ride as coach Randolph Boyce’s team eked out a 1-0 win over Saint Martin in a Concacaf Men’s Under-17 World Cup qualifier.

When forward Adasa Richardson calmly rolled his 74th-minute penalty past Saint Martin custodian Lendsey Benjamin, there was a mixture of both relief and excitement from the Trinidad and Tobago faithful as their team finally got on the board, after a surprise 1-0 loss to Barbados in their opener two days before.

Richardson’s goal aside, it was a largely frustrating night for the Trinidad and Tobago fans, as they kicked every ball, groaned at every misplaced diagonal pass, and gasped collectively when the home team’s attackers managed to miss the back of the net from inside the six-yard box on numerous occasions.

A relieved man, Boyce admitted that a lot more work was needed on the team’s finishing before their remaining matches against Sint Maarten and Concacaf powerhouse Mexico, the favourites to progress from the group.

On a bigger scale, though, the St Benedict’s College coach said Trinidad and Tobago’s football fraternity needs to come to terms with the reality that its national teams are no longer an untouchable entity in the Caribbean—even when the opposition is Barbados, rather than Jamaica or Haiti.

In fact, Boyce said the gap has closed considerably, and Trinidad and Tobago must now earn the right to dominate the region again.

“I think Saint Martin are a team that’s [improving] in terms of their development,” said Boyce, after the match. “A lot of people, in my opinion, they seem to be misinformed. They think Trinidad and Tobago are supposed to dominate the Caribbean. I would have said yes, that’s a thing of the past.

“Everybody is investing in coaching education, and then they’re going back and applying the information. And as you’re seeing, the smaller Caribbean nations are now closing that gap with us.”

Boyce claimed, conversely, that while the Caribbean minnows are catching up to the Soca Warriors, the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) is making strides to close the gap between this country and stronger footballing nations by pushing for more friendlies against South American opposition.

The National Under-17s conceded 12 goals in two matches against Peru in Lima, just last week.

“We have to keep putting in the work,” said Boyce. “The development for the kids is there, but we need to put in the work a lot more.”

Even against the so-called smaller teams, he suggested it isn’t as straightforward as it looks on paper.

“Everyone will watch a game with a different perspective… that’s all fair, and that’s okay because everybody just wants to see the victory,” he said. “When we play a game, we can’t just feel that the opponent brings nothing to the game.

“The opponent is stepping up in terms of what they do at home, and we have to pay special attention to that going forward and make sure we’re doing our homework to stay one step ahead of them.”

In Concacaf’s Men’s Under-17 rankings as of 2025, Trinidad and Tobago are ranked 15th, with Saint Martin ranked 29th out of 41 member associations.

Last night, Saint Martin coach Marcena Jasaron used an organised midfield double pivot in Yancey Gonzague and Arda Yildrim, who moved the ball smoothly but lacked that touch of creativity or turn of pace to really hurt Boyce’s team in the final third.

On a perfect day, Saint Martin number nine and halftime substitute Souleymane Aubriet may have been a threat. But his heavily strapped right knee hindered his mobility and effectively squashed any chance of him adding to the double from his team’s victory against Sint Maarten on Tuesday.

At the other end, the hosts had their own issues in the final third. And although they didn’t produce champagne football by any stretch of the imagination, they created more than enough chances to put the game away by halftime.

Richardson, flanker Jeremai Nanton, and midfielder Christian Pitt all missed presentable chances, as the trend of shoddy finishing seemed to trickle down from the Men’s unsuccessful 2026 World Cup qualification run.

“The boys played a lot better tonight. We got the first game jitters out of the way,” Boyce said. “I think we controlled the game for large periods of it. But in the final third, I think we’re still having some challenges in terms of putting the ball in the back of the net.

“[…] In the game, they’re getting the opportunities. And unfortunately, we’re not putting them away.”

Boyce explained that finishing is a fine art. And as much as the Trinidad and Tobago faithful pleaded and tried to will the ball over the goal line, the artists with those distinct qualities didn’t show up in Mucurapo on the night.

“Finishing is a very special area,” he said. “We have coach Keith Williams working with them daily. The more reps you do, the better you get.

“They have been getting reps since November or December, […] but it’s definitely something that has to come from inside a person to be able to be clinical and mindful of where they are and how their angles are.

“I think we need a lot more in terms of the development of finishing in the final third.”

Boyce’s charges will have three days of downtime before returning to action on Monday against a Sint Maarten team that was hammered 10-0 by Mexico yesterday. They then have their own dance with Mexico this coming Thursday.

“I will look at [Mexico’s] game versus Sint Maarten. But first, I will have to look at the game at hand,” said Boyce. “We took notes, and we’re mindful of it, but we have to pay attention to the next Sint Maarten team.

“[…] We have to be mindful of winning these games against probably the smaller countries that are now closing the gap against us.”

It remains to be seen if and how Trinidad and Tobago’s Under-17s improve their finishing over the next few days. But should you venture to the Hasely Crawford Stadium, it might be best to keep a pressure kit handy.

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Roneil Walcott

Roneil Walcott is an avid sports fan and freelance reporter with a BA in Mass Communication from COSTAATT. Roneil is a former Harvard and St Mary’s College cricketer who once had lofty aspirations of bringing joy to sport fans with the West Indies team. Now, his mission is to keep them on the edge of their seats with sharp commentary from off the playing field.