T&T GETS PAST BELIZE

T&T GETS PAST BELIZE

Trinidad and Tobago’s under-17 women’s football team got their second win in round one of Concacaf’s 2025 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers when they beat Belize by a 2-0 margin at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva on January 29.

The win took TT to six points and kept them atop the group ahead of Honduras (also six points) on goal difference.

After a resounding 5-0 victory over the US Virgin Islands (USVI) in their group B opener on January 27, the hosts again showed their attacking quality as they dominated proceedings against Belize despite missing many clear-cut chances.

Attacker Orielle Martin was the star in the first game with a beaver-trick, but goals in either half from midfielders Cherina Steele and Rori Gittens did the business for TT this time around.

In slick conditions in Balmain, TT created a host of chances early on but their finishing let them down in the initial stages.

Rasheda Archer was lively down the flanks, and she had a 13th-minute effort cleared off the line by a defender, while she also sent a tame stab at goal in the 23rd minute after a nice piece of skill in the area.

After brilliant wide play by Ty’Kaiya Dennis in the 27th minute, Martin also got a good look at goal, but she crucially slipped and missed her kick as she tried to latch onto the former’s square pass.

Three minutes later, the hosts did break the deadlock – albeit in a very scrappy fashion.

The Belize defence failed to deal with a left-side corner from left-back Hackeemar Goodridge, with the feisty Steele tapping over the line from close range after a mad scramble ensued in the six-yard box.

Steele’s goal was fitting for the sluggish start to the game, but there was nothing sluggish about the 16-year-old’s performance as she was a constant force in the midfield – breaking up attacks and swiftly getting her team into their transition game.

TT goalie Zaira Aimey was rarely troubled in the contest, but she did have a moment of worry in the 38th minute when she fumbled a long-range effort from Riann Acal.

Regular proceedings continued after the one-sighter for Belize, as TT tried their best to extend their lead before the break.

In the last two minutes of the first half, a long-range free kick from Goodridge bounced agonisingly wide, Martin thumped the bar with a wicked left-footed shot and Gittens missed a chance from close range after smart wing play from Archer.

Seconds after the resumption, the frustration continued for coach Ayana Russell’s team when Dennis hit the base of the post after being freed down the left.

In the 49th minute, though, TT finally got their second goal when Gittens sent a deft volley past goalkeeper Angelica Lopez after Martin beat her marker effortlessly down the right flank.

Just after the hour mark, TT continued their love affair with the woodwork when captain Kanika Rodriguez struck the bar with a powerful right-footed shot after a set piece sequence.

TT’s second goal took them past Honduras’ +6 goal differential after the latter’s 4-0 victory over USVI earlier in the evening.

Try as they might, TT couldn’t widen their margin of victory against Belize, as Gittens fired over from point-blank range in the 73rd minute and substitute Madison Campbell followed suit after being set up by the tireless Steele in stoppage time.

From 8 pm on January 31 at the Couva venue, TT and Honduras will battle for group B honours and passage to the next round of qualifying.

The top team in each of the six first-round groups will advance to the next round, along with the two best second-placed teams.

T&T U-17 Women blast USVI 5-0

Trinidad and Tobago’s under-17 women’s football team got the perfect start to their 2025 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign on January 27, when they got a 5-0 win over US Virgin Islands (USVI) in their opening Concacaf matchup at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva.

The hosts were in a relentless mood in front of goal, particularly with ace attacker Orielle Martin, who punished USVI with two goals in each half to net a beaver-trick.

Martin opened the scoring in the 27th minute when she danced past defender Lauren Jones before firing a low left-footed shot past goalkeeper Kyliz Osorio.

Two minutes later, Martin found the bottom corner in clinical style yet again, as she drilled a right-footed shot past a hapless Osorio after a turnover from USVI in the defensive third.

The hosts threatened to blow USVI out of the water in the first half, with flanker Rasheda Archer coming close to scoring on several occasions and midfielder Cherina Steele being denied by a desperate save from Osorio in the 26th minute.

In a game that USVI rarely threatened the TT defence, Martin put the game beyond all reasonable doubt after the hour mark with a pair of powerful efforts from outside the area to give TT a 4-0 lead by the 67th minute.

TT coach Ayana Russell was in high praise for Martin and also credited her ability to be a team player.

“Orielle is locked and ready to go. She knows the task at hand just like everyone else. Orielle Martin is a special kid and has a very bright future,” Russell said, at the post-match briefing.

“But if you’ve listened to her speak, she’s focused on the team also. Even though she is the one scoring, it’s a team effort.”

Martin looked set to get a hat-trick in the 58th minute when TT were awarded a penalty, but she had her right-footed spot kick stopped by substitute keeper Isabella Quezada.

Martin wasn’t to be denied for long, though, and she fired past Quezada in the 61st minute after a neat piece of skill outside the area. Six minutes later, she had the Couva crowd on their feet when she got her fourth goal of the game with a wicked long-range shot which looped over the goalkeeper after a deflection.

Russell was pleased with the team’s efforts, but she knows the job is far from finished.

“The girls met all the objectives in all areas of the game. We wanted a little more goals but five goals, we will walk away with that, reflect and get ready for Belize.”

TT’s final goal was a fine one too, as substitute Mia Lee Chong rifled in a right-footed shot from a tight angle in the 88th minute after tricking her way past Vigga Tyson in the area.

TT will play Belize in their second game from 8 pm in Couva on January 29. In their first game on January 27, Belize were beaten 2-0 by Honduras. However, Russell is not about to take them lightly.

“It’s not going to be a walkover. We know what we can do…every game we have some type of different game plan, but in terms of the objectives, we will stick to our objectives and go out there and look for another result on Wednesday.”

The top team in each of the six first-round qualifying groups will advance to the next phase of Concacaf qualifying, along with the two best second-placed teams.

From there, the 12 teams will be placed into three groups of four, with the three group winners and the best second-placed team qualifying for the Under-17 World Cup.