Warriors chase Caribbean title
Tuesday, January 23rd 2007
HAVING improved with every game, Trinidad and Tobago's footballers go after their first Digicel Caribbean Cup title under Dutch head coach Wim Rijsbergen when they take on Haiti in the grand final from 7.15 tonight at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Earlier, Guadeloupe and Cuba contest the third-place playoff from 5 p.m.
The increase in ticket prices to $50 (uncovered stands) and $100 (covered stands) should not stop a big crowd coming out to see a T&T national team who have captured the public's attention.
At the start of the tournament, there were grave doubts whether this squad, sporting a shaky defence and made up mainly of third-string players, would actually qualify for the semi-final stage of the competition.
But since the opening 1-1 draw against Barbados on January 12, the latest version of the Soca Warriors has improved and they were impressive 3-1 winners over Cuba at the semi-final stage.
They now start as worthy favourites to give Trinidad and Tobago a ninth Caribbean title and the US $120,000 first prize.
Only three Caribbean countries have held the Cup. Trinidad and Tobago were winners in 1989, '92, '94,'95, '96, '97, '99 and 2001, while Jamaica's three titles came in 1991, '98 and '05, and Martinique won in 1993.
Coach Rijsbergen has also answered all his critics and forged a winning team from inexperienced and, in some cases, unknown players.
Along the way, young players such as stopper Makan Hislop, central defender Osei Telesford and striker Darryl Roberts have emerged as prospects for the future, while an old faces like Kerwin Jemmott seems to have at last given himself a chance to make a lasting impression at senior national level.
The Warriors also have everything going to win a ninth title. As a team, they have grown with each match in the tournament and have the psychological advantage of having beaten the Haitians 3-1 at the preliminary stage.
But don't write off Haiti, who were equally impressive when getting past Guadeloupe 2-1 in their semi-final. Last to qualify for the competition, Haiti arrived in Trinidad a full two weeks before the tournament. They too have developed from a team which looked only marginally better than local semi-pro club WASA FC to being the first team to qualify for the semi-finals.
Haiti have prepared well also, winning a total of six matches since arriving in Trinidad and Tobago earlier this month, including a pair of qualifiers against Bermuda.
Haitian coach Luis Amelio Garcia also has the element of surprise on his side. Against Trinidad and Tobago last Wednesday, he rested six of his starters when the teams met in their final preliminary match, so tonight's final is expected to be a tightly-contested one.