Stern keeps T&T alive - 06/23/08

John, a week after scoring  in T&T's 2-1 loss to Bermuda at the Marvin Lee Stadium, came off the bench at half time to score the 65th minute goal in T&Ts 2-0 win over the Bermudans in Hamilton. His goal was the second goal T&T needed to seal its place in the semi-final round where it now has to face Cuba, USA and Guatemala. The Soca Warriors are on the road to face Cuba on August 20.

The Francisco Maturana-led squad had to dig deep to beat the home side with goals on either side of the half by Darryl Roberts (10th) and substitute Stern John (65th) did the trick with T&T advancing  3-2 on aggregate.

Roberts fired home and turning near the six yard box and  John met a quickly delivered left side cross from Keon Daniel.

The team now advances to the four-team semi-final stage to face Cuba, Guatemala and United States from which the top two nations will advance to final round of six which begins in February.

Maturana expressed hopes of even more progress after the win despite admitting that there is room for improvement before T&T continues its qualifying journey.

“It was a very good result to win away from home under the circumstances with which we came into the game,” Maturana said.. “But I feel we could have done better. I never like to have to go so close for a result. I think we showed a lot of character and that is good for any team but I hope we can learn from this experience which means that we sometimes end up in situations which we maybe didn’t need to find ourselves in/

“I think Bermuda gave us a good fight but we must be able to kill of teams when the opportunity is there (especially) when they fight you this way. In the end we were the winners but there were some areas for concern and we know what we have to look at closely and what areas we need to work on before the next round starts. But at this stage the most important aspect was to get through this phase and I think everyone is happy about that. Now we must continue the work…” Maturana added.

Maturana would have noticed that of the regulars of  CONCACAF teams, with the exception of Costa Rica, which usually progress to the semi-final and final rounds, only T&T had to go down to the wire to secure its passage to the next round.

“Yes it is there for us to see. You see some of the other teams winning by six and seven goals and it’s good for them but we have to observe our situation and focus on that. When we face those other teams… those are the matches we have to prepare for and to look ahead to.”

The Colombian reverted to the 4-4-2 system and opted for younger, quicker legs in attack starting the Jerol Forbes and Darryl Roberts up front and the move paid off with the latter given T&T just the start they needed. And then the experience of John came at the right time as the Southampton striker clinched the semi-final spot with his finish in the second half. He also missed a couple further chances as T&T tried to take the game further away from the frustrated Bermudans.

Bermudan goalie Timothy Figuerido had to be at his best to prevent the lead from increasing.  But at times though T&T looked edgy when the Bermudans came forward and the 500 odd T&T fans in the stadium were on the edges of their seats even after John’s goal. Skipper Aurtis Whitley also went close with a free kick while Roberts and Dennis Lawrence caused some nervous times in the back for the Bermudans. Sunderland midfielder Carlos Edwards also lifted his game in the second half and was unfortunate when Figuerido denied his attempt at goal. Generally all of the T&T players dug deep to pull off the result.

Stern nets in Shocker at Macoya

Bermuda surprised Trinidad and Tobago 2-1 in a CONCACAF World Cup qualifying match at Marvin Lee Stadium on Sunday.

Bermuda opened the scoring on a counterattack in the eighth minute when John Barry Nusum connected on a pass from Reginald Lambie.

In the 23rd minute, Trinidad's sustained pressure paid off as Stern John, the home squad's top scorer, collected a long pass in the box and netted the equalizer.
But Bermuda went a goal up through Nusum again in the 39th minute when he shot home from outside the box with the T&T goal unprotected after goalkeeper Clayton Ince went down following a clash. Ince remained on the ground for a while but the match referee never stopped play.

T&T wasted several chances in the first half and also late down the stretch.

Now they must beat Bermuda by two clear goals or more to advance to the semi-final stage