Trinidad and Tobago may have come away with a draw from what looked a certain win last week in El Salvador, but both Caledonia AIA coach Jamal Shabazz and former T&T captain Clayton Morris believe the result in the 2010 World Cup qualifier was a good one.
Shabazz felt that El Salvador were not given enough credit for battling from 2-0 down at the Estadio Cuscatlan in San Salvador to earn a draw and said the "Cuscatlecos" showed in that match "that they were as competitive as anyone".
In an interview last Friday, Morris also thought the 2-2 draw against El Salvador was a good outcome.
"We have our games to play at home and just as we play at home, we have to make use of it. It's always good when you come away from home, to get (at least) a point," Morris explained.
With T&T captain Dwight Yorke likely to miss the next two qualifiers at home to Honduras (March 28) and away to the United States (April 1), due to suspension--currently under appeal--after being sent off in the last match, Shabazz thinks it is a wonderful opportunity for some locally-based players to prove themselves.
He named San Juan Jabloteh's Trent Noel, W Connection's Clyde Leon and Caledonia's Densill Theobald as likely replacements.
Also out of the next match are midfielder Chris Birchall and custodian Clayton Ince.
"While they may not have the experience of a Dwight Yorke, they certainly are capable of stepping up and functioning in those roles," Shabazz noted.
The former T&T women's football coach also felt Trinidad and Tobago were too dependent on older players like Yorke.
"I think Dwight Yorke's composure and cool head, especially in the early part of the game, is a plus to the team, but while we will miss that (when he retires), the current midfielders would certainly bring more energy and legs into the midfield."
Morris reasoned: "We can't continue to call on Dwight and Russell Latapy and Stern (John) to come back and play for us."
Shabazz also defended T&T's heavy reliance on foreign-based players, despite having a locally-based squad perform well at their training camp in Argentina earlier this month.
He called the argument for more home-based players in the T&T starting XI "archaic and ancient".
"This is the reality in international football. I never look at the passport of where the guys are playing. Trinidad and Tobago's national team is for the players home and abroad."
Shabazz continued: "...If you look at it from a bigger picture, these guys have played years together. They've played the better part of 12 years together. So even though they play with different clubs in different parts of the world, after a decade or more, I don't see any strangers.
"(Having mostly foreign players is) no excuse. Poor excuse. I kick that out of the door. If you cut all of their veins, you would find T&T blood.