T&T U-23 Futsal men Take home Bronze

T&T U-23 Futsal men Take home Bronze

Trinidad and Tobago’s U-23 Men’s Futsal Team took home the Bronze medal in the Caribbean Games with an 8-2 victory over Martinique in the third place playoff at the Palais Des Sports Du Gosier on Sunday.

Che Benny, led the way with five goals and was later named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Match report

Location: Palais des Sport du Gosier; Date: July 3
Trinidad & Tobago 8-2 Martinique
Goal Scorers: Che Benny 5, Josiah Joseph 2, Omri Baird 1

Head Coach Paul Decle summarized proceedings.

“It was a difficult first half for us. Our boys were a bit fatigued after last night’s game against Suriname. Martinique were disciplined and well organised defensively. They made it difficult for us the way we planned to start the game, limiting our chances on goal.After going down 1-0 we equalised later down in the half with a Che Benny free kick.

We ran into foul trouble late in the half and gave up 2 penalties, the first they missed and the second Isiah Willaims made a great save low to the left. This was massive in keeping the scores level at half time. In Second half we conceded early on, going down again 2-1. It was the first time in the 3 games we were behind.

“We made some adjustments and at that moment we were able to take back control of the game and equalised again 2-2. I think with the tactical change we were able to keep possession better which suits our players and control the tempo of the game. We settled and moved the ball better with a greater intention and went up 4-2 This took the wind out of them a little more and from there the guys really dug deep to stay ahead and were able to extend our lead to a point where we dominated in the finaleight minutes sealing a good win for Trinidad & Tobago.

“Coming from behind twice tonight really shows the character of this team. I’m really pleased for the guys tonight. All along we spoke about wanting to do this for the people of Trinidad & Tobago and to be able to make it happen is a great feeling.

“Tonight we created history by winning the bronze at the Inaugural Caribbean Games. It shows really well for the future of futsal in the CaribbeanPlaying in front of crowds was really an amazing atmosphere. To top off a great evening we had our Captain Che Benny unanimously named tournament MVP.”