|
 Trinidad and Tobago's senior footballers suffered a setback in their opening match of the 2008 Digicel Caribbean Championships with a 2-1 loss to Grenada at the National Stadium in Kingston.
Grenada's Kitson Bain opened the scoring against the run of play when he nailed home from the centre of the box after Ricky Charles centred from the left on 37 minutes. Charles had picked up on a ball as the TT defence was caught flat footed awaiting an offside call.
TT dominated for long periods and had only themselves to blame for not having at least three goals on the scoreboard at half time. Cornell Glen, Khaleem Hyland and Anthony Wolfe were the chief culprits
In the second game, a Luton Shelton injury time penalty gave Jamaica a come from behind 2-1 win over Barbados.
In the earlier encounter, Wolfe had a header crash off the near right post after Keon Daniel found him from way out on the left. From the follow up play after Grenada failed to clear, Glen missed the target after Hyland laid back from inside the box on 31 minutes. Hyland also spanked one inches over in the 21st.
A minute before the break Hyland found Glen again but the striker could only direct his effort wide of the right far post from an inside left position
TT were guilty of lackluster play but still had sufficient chances to put the match away. Andre Toussaint was a second half substitute but could only manage a couple weak attempts on goal.
Four minutes into the second half, Clyde Leon's free kick effort from 20 yards out forced goalie Desmond Noel to save but the rebound fell perfectly for an onrushing Glen who somehow managed to miss from inside the six yard.
With time ticking, Glen and Aklie Edwards combined on the left with the latter making the overlapping run before playing into Glen who evaded the challenge of three defenders before burying his shot into the corner for the equalizer on 69 minutes.
Grenada lost shape after that but while TT squadered further chances to take the lead, they lost steam at the end and paid the price. Two minutes into added on time, Charles met an ordinary right side ball and sent a lunging header towards the far right post which bounced off the inside of the post and crossed the line before a scampering Marvin Phillips could clear. There was huge roar around the stadium from the 3000 odd Jamaican fans who turned up for the second game between the hosts and Barbados.
Phillips had earlier saved a first half penalty by Grenada player/coach Anthony Modeste after Keyeno Thomas was alleged to have handled inside the box
TT also went into the match without the services of striker Errol Mcfarlane after his Lebanese club Al Mabarrah requested that he take no part in the tournament and return to the club. TT next face Barbados in Montego Bay on Friday. (Photos T&T vs Grenada, Dec 3,2008)
T&T start team: Marvin Phillip, Makan Hislop, Aklie Edwards, Seon Power, Keyeno Thomas, Aurtis Whitley (Arnold Dwarika, 87th) Clyde Leon, Keon Daniel, Khaleem Hyland, Anthony Wolfe (Andre Toussaint, 64th) Cornell Glen. Subs not used - Jan Michael Williams, Julius James, Cyd Gray, Avery John, Osei Telesford
|
