Home »

LIVE Matchtracker on Haitiwebs, start at 6:00 PM.

HAITI CHAMPION! HAITI HAITI HAITI! AMMWEEEEEE!

HAITI 2:1 T&T FT

Trinidad Warriors versus Haiti in Cup final

Monday, January 22 2007

TRINIDAD AND Tobago moved a step closer to the Digicel Caribbean Cup with a 3-1 win over Cuba in Saturday night?s semi-final at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.

The youthful home team, under the guidance of Dutch coach Wim Rijsbergen, benefited from an own goal by Cuban captain Jenier Molina, and one apiece from Gary Glasgow and captain Densil Theobald.

They move into tomorrow?s final where they will face Haiti, who also earned a similar scoreline over Guadeloupe in the earlier encounter.

The Soca Warriors played an unchanged line-up from their 3-1 triumph over Haiti three days earlier, while Cuban coach Raul Triana made one change from the side that drew goalless against Guyana, with right-back Gisbel Morales replacing Reysander Hernandez.

Kerwyn ?Hardest? Jemmott and Gary Glasgow, the two most experienced players on the young Trinidad and Tobago team, combined for the first goalscoring opportunity in the eighth minute.

The duo played a nice one-two before Jemmott?s right-footer went wide off the mark. The Cubans moved quickly off the ball and used wing-backs Silvio Minoso and Morales in overlapping positions as a means to stretch the Trinidad and Tobago defence. Trinidad and Tobago?s right-back Seon Power was caught in no-man?s land in the 16th, as Jaine Colome picked out Alain Cervantes clear on the left but his angled left-footed shot missed the target.

Jemmott, who looked more assertive than he was during the group stages, slipped in a pass for Glasgow in the 21st but the striker was unable to beat the back-peddling Odelin Hernandez in the Cuban goal.

Glasgow was at the heart of the Trinidad and Tobago forays, and he supplied Kerry Baptiste with a delightful pass on the right, and the diminutive winger squared to Darryl Roberts but the striker, under pressure by defender Jose Clavelo, shot overbar.

Three minutes later, in the 34th, Glasgow again released Baptiste and got the return ball from the right but the dreadlocked forward?s effort was cleared by a retreating Clavelo.

Cuban striker Lester More, who was expertedly marked out of the match by the promising full-back Osei Telesford, had his team?s best chance in the first half, with a right-footed drive which went wide.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 41st when Jemmott?s lay-off to Fitzpatrick on the left was squared to Glasgow but Molina?s attempted clearance skied over Hernandez and landed in the back of the net.

The visitors looked to pounce on typical Trinidad and Tobago?s post-interval lethargy, and their midfielder Osvaldo Alonzo saw his shot parried by TT?s custodian Jan-Michael Williams in the 52nd.

After missing to connect to a cross from Power in the 57th, Glasgow responded, seconds later, with his sixth goal of the tournament, beautifully heading a Baptiste?s centre over the lunging Hernandez.

Wing-back Nigel Daniel was forced to make a timely block to deny striker Alain Cervantes in the 59th, after he caught Williams out of position, while Glasgow (from a Baptiste cross) and Roberts (from a Fitzpatrick centre) were unable to convert headed chances in the 61st and 71st minutes respectively.

Theobald, the lone member of the 2006 World Cup squad in the 18-member Trinidad and Tobago Digicel Cup outfit, linked up with his former Malick Senior Comprehensive schoolmates Jemmott and Glasgow to seal the win in the 73rd.

After Jemmott wrong-footed defensive midfielder Pedro Faife, the enigmatic playmaker crossed to Glasgow who calmly teed up Theobald to drive his left-footer, via the leg of a defender, past Hernandez. Cuba pulled a goal back three minutes later when substitute Leonel Duarte was at the receiving end of a Minoso centre and he tapped his left-footer past the outstretched Williams, while Power had to head out Duarte?s cross to More in the 81st.

And referee Courtney Campbell of Jamaica had the last say in stoppage time, as he was oblivious to the fact that he showed Alonzo his second yellow card for an illegal challenge of Jemmott before signalling for play to continue.

The referee was then told of his oversight by fourth official Rudolph Angela of Aruba before he whipped out the red card for the Cuban midfielder.

Teams:

CUBA: Odelin Hernandez; Jenier Molina (capt), Jose Clavelo, Silvio Minoso, Gisbel Morales; Jaine Colome, Pedro Faife (Yordanis Alvarez 83rd), Osvaldo Alonzo, Ariel Martinez (Leonel Duarte 61st); Alain Cervantes, Lester More.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: Jan-Michael Williams; Osei Telesford, Makan Hislop, Nigel Daniel, Seon Power; Densil Theobald (capt), Leslie Fitzpatrick (Kwame Wiltshire 79th), Kerry Baptiste (Hayden Tinto 79th), Kerwyn Jemmott; Gary Glasgow (Joel Bailey 86th), Darryl Roberts.