T&T turncoat plays minor US role.
There were rumours that Aaron Maund was set for a fiery reunion with his former national teammates last Friday when Trinidad and Tobago met the United States in the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship semi-finals at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya.
The versatile defender only got on the turf for the final 60 seconds, though, and did not kick in the subsequent penalty shoot-out, which the Americans won 4-3. Ironically, Maund was kept out of the US starting team by another player with roots in Trinidad and Tobago, Sheanon Williams. Williams, who was also born in Boston to Trinidadian parents, represented the US at the 2007 Under-17 FIFA tournament and played in all four games while Maund wore red, black and white strip.
Maund's father, Arnott Maund, sought to defend his son's switch on the SocaWarriors.net website through a letter in which he criticised the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) for their supposed failure to maintain contact with the player-a charge denied by team manager Chris de Silva-while he also said his son would have a better chance at combining football and scholarly ambitions as a US player.
Maund senior even suggested that his son should be congratulated for choosing the US rather than taking the "easier" decision to remain a Trinidad and Tobago player.
"He should be commended not denigrated for his intestinal fortitude," stated the player's father.
It cut little ice with some members of the Macoya crowd on Friday who booed his late arrival in the tense fixture.
United States coach Thomas Rongen insisted that Maund's late entrance was not a consolation prize for the player, who was a substitute for all four US games, and suggested that he would have been given a potentially decisive penalty kick if necessary. It might have made Maund the first player to score against a country he once represented.
"It was purely a tactical decision," said Rongen, when asked about his use of Maund. "If we had gone past five penalties, Maund would be a guy we would feel comfortable about taking a penalty. He is a very important player for us."
Maund played from the start in an experimental USA line-up in the CONCACAF under-20 final on Sunday but did not necessarily distinguish himself as they were trounced 3-0 by Costa Rica. Strong and athletic, Maund was deployed in central defence but was turned by Diego Estrada for Costa Rica's first goal while Josue Martinez beat him for pace en route to their final item.