Canada ends T&T U-20 qualifying hopes

Canada ends T&T U-20 qualifying hopes

Trinidad and Tobago’s hopes of advancing to this year’s Concacaf men’s under-20 championship were dashed on Tuesday night, when they were beaten 3-0 by Canada in their final qualifier at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.

With Canada leading group D on goal difference heading into the final match day, T&T needed a victory to advance to the next phase of the competition.

Like their previous two matches against St and the Grenadines (SVG) and Dominica, the Canadian team looked a cut above their opposition, though, and goals by Myles Morgan, Santiago Lopez and Kevaughn Tavernier gave Canada a deserved three points and assured them of a place in the Concacaf under-20 championship from July 19 to August 4 in Mexico.

Canada led 1-0 at the half after a close-range tenth-minute goal by Morgan, with goals by Lopez and Tavernier further cementing the visitors’ dominance in the second half.

Haynes was delighted by the support his team received, but disappointed the campaign came to an end after three games within a five-day span. Haynes said Canada’s style of play took T&T out of their comfort zone and he felt his charges were not sufficiently prepared for the pivotal top-of-the-table clash.

“We as a group needed to work a little bit differently and a little bit harder, but it didn’t work out,” Haynes said at Tuesday’s post-match briefing. “I don’t blame the players in any way. I needed to prepare the team better and I didn’t have enough time to do that (after the second match).”

After T&T’s resounding 5-0 win over Dominica in their second group match on Sunday night, Haynes said he and his staff needed to devise a plan to outwork, outplay and outscore a “formidable” Canadian team.

Tuesday’s game saw a return to the starting XI for Russel Francois, Derrel Garcia, Levi Jones and influential playmaker Lindell Sween, who hobbled out of TT’s 3-2 win over St Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday night, just before the halftime whistle, with a calf issue. Haynes said Sween was not 100 per cent fit, but he felt the San Juan North Secondary student’s inclusion would give T&T the best chance to “go and try and make a run for it.”

There was also tinkering with T&T’s set-up, with Crystal Palace youth player Rio Cardines shifted from his attacking midfield position to a more reserved right-back spot.

Haynes said Cardines’ shift in role was designed to help T&T strengthen the defensive side of their game, and he said the hosts “were prepared to defend first and then go and take our chances.”

After just ten minutes, the visitors put a dent in T&T’s plot when Myles Morgan swept home a right-side cross with ease to silence the red-clad crowd in the stands.

Canada didn’t add any further goals in the first half. With TT sitting deep in their own half, though, Canada dictated the tempo and looked at ease with Christian Greco-Taylor seamlessly pulling strings with dangerous passes and crosses from his left back position.

“We had to change our system of play. We normally play a 4-2-3-1. But because they play with five players high, we had to change to a 4-1-4-1, a formation we have not played on a regular basis,” Haynes said. “When you don’t play something on a regular basis, it’s hard to adjust right away.”

Similar to the first half, Canada breached TT’s defence early in the second half when Santiago Lopez slammed in a shot past Ailan Panton at the end of a flowing move in the 54th minute.

Haynes tried to switch up the game with a few substitutions, but TT rarely had meaningful forays into the opposition half or penalty area.

The Canadian team, which came together just days before the tournament, were in cruise control on foreign soil and put the game well beyond TT’s reach in the 79th minute, when Kevaughn Tavernier rolled into an empty net to make it 3-0 after a mix-up at the back between Francois and Panton.

“When you are uncomfortable, you try to do things that you can’t really do. We gave away the ball a lot in open play and we missed our mark at times,” head coach Brian Haynes said. “It was difficult, because it was not a system we were (accustomed to) training and playing, and we had one day to prepare for it. Because (Canada) were playing it on a consistent basis, it made things easier for them.”

On his overall assessment of the team picked for the qualifiers, Haynes said he was pleased with the 21-man group, despite not having a more hands-on role during the screening phase.

“There were players who were selected through different screening processes. I didn’t do that, but I trusted Anton Corneal and his staff to do that before I got here.” he said.

“That is not a cop-out. I think there were very good players selected. Going forward, that’s the process we will use, and I’m okay with that. I was not upset with anybody who was not picked.”

TTFA Statement on Fans

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association would like to offer our apologies to all fans who were not able to access the Concacaf Men’s U-20 Qualifier between T&T and Canada on Tuesday 27 February 2024 due to safety and control challenges at the entrance gate.

We have launched an indepth review and will ensure that the necessary steps are taken to facilitate a smooth and friendly fan experience at our upcoming friendly versus Jamaica and World Cup Qualifiers beginning in June at home to Grenada.

There were patrons with tickets who were allowed entry on Tuesday evening and we thank you for your overwhelming support as the crowd of 7225 fans is the largest recorded at a Home Under 20 qualifier, surpassing even the matches in 2009 when T&T qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt.

If there are any ticket holders that did not get the opportunity to present their tickets to enter the match on Tuesday night, these physical and/or unscanned digital tickets will be valid for the friendly versus Jamaica. We will provide details on this game on Wednesday

We would like to thank the fans once again for their tremendous support over the recent matches.