T&T senior national football team beat the Caribbean Football Union’s number one team, Cuba, 3-1 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Saturday to advance to the final of the 2007 Digicel Caribbean Cup.
By Jovan RavelloThere was little in the way of a feeling out period as the teams got down to business from almost the first minute. Cuba was spoiling for a fight and the local boys appeared to be fully up to it. In the 8th minute, T&T got off its first shot after Leslie “Tiger’ Fitzpatrick, fought off his marker, chipped the ball to Gary Glasgow, who laid off the ball to Kerwyn “Hardest” Jemmott, his shot stretched Odelin Hernandez but was just wide.
Cuba’s sublime short passing promised to wreak havoc and the T&T midfield and defence remained vigilant, ever aware of their opponents guile.
T&T dodged a bullet when Alain Cervantes was allowed to control Ariel Martinez’s chipped pass from the right wing in the area, with time and space however, his low shot was on the wrong side of Jan Michael Williams’ far post.
Glasgow had a clear cut chance in the 21st minute when Jemmott played a smart through-ball into space but with Hernandez at his mercy he put his shot into his body.
In the 41st, T&T’s pressure produced the match’s first goal. Glasgow controlled the ball in the middle of two Cuba defenders, one of them Jenier Marquez Molina, the captain, swung to clear the ball, instead it took a meaty deflection, looped over Hernandez and bounced over the line.
Williams was called upon for the first time in the 50th when he had to hit the turf to save Osvaldo Alonso low shot.
T&T was piling on the pressure from the wings with Kerry Baptiste first and then Fitzpatrick sending in well weighted crosses. It was Baptiste’s second aerial ball into the box that found Glasgow’s head and gave T&T its second in the 57th.
With the crowd now fully behind it, the T&T team became more relaxed in all areas of the pitch.
Nigel Daniel supported Williams well to take the ball off the line after the T&T custodian was beaten by Cervantes in the 59th.
Cuba, for the most part, was being put off its rhythm every time its midfield tried to re-establish itself.
T&T captain Densill Theobald scored T&T’s third in the 73rd.
Jemmott crossed to Glasgow who controlled the ball and cut it back on top to Theobald, his shot took a deflection which wrong footed Hernandez on its way into the net.
Leonel Duarte, on for Ariel Martinez, gave Cuba a consolation goal.
Inside time added on T&T’s midfield began to toy with their opponents, frustration set in and Alonso put in a rash tackle on Roberts.
It was his second bookable offence and following a moment of confusion referee Cortney Campbell showed him the red card and gave him his marching orders.
The sending off was met with the usual jeers and the final whistle was met with the jubilant cheers of a satisfied sea of red white and black.
