Trinidad and Tobago women’s team head coach Randy Waldrum says that his players will not lose focus and will shift their attention to the second of what was supposed to be two international friendlies against world champions United States on Thursday in San Antonio.
The TT team trained for 90 minutes on the surface on Saturday.
“I think we always have a responsibility to look out for players’ safety first, so I understand the reason for the cancellation,” Waldrum told TTFA Media.
“The field had two main areas of concern. There were some seams in the turf on each end of the field right inside the six yard box. The turf was coming up around these seams, so with the traffic that would be in these areas it would be a problem,” Waldrum explained.
As to the general feeling in the camp about the cancellation of the game which was said to have a soldout attendance of 50,000, Waldrum added: “We are disappointed not to get to play here, just as I’m sure the US Women’s national team are too.
“I think however our players understand it and of course support watching out for the safety of the teams first and foremost.” The team will move onto San Antonio within the next twenty- four hours to prepare for Thursday’s match. Meantime, another group of TT women’s players and staff members are off to Natal, Brazil for the invitation four-nation tournament where they face hosts Brazil in their opening game on Wednesday.
In a media release yesterday, US Soccer officials revealed: “Upon testing the playing surface during the Women’s National Team’s training session earlier on December 5, and after all possible options available were considered to get the field in a playable condition, the decision was made by US Soccer to cancel the match.” “We extend our sincere apologies to those fans who were scheduled to attend the US Women’s National Team match in Hawaii,” said US Soccer spokesman Neil Buethe.
“Player safety is our number one priority at all times and after a thorough inspection throughout the day, we determined it was in the best interest for both teams to not play the match. We regret not being able to play in front of our fantastic, loyal fans.” All ticket buyers were promised a full refund.
On Saturday, the TT vs Honduras CONCACAF Women’s Under 20 World Cup qualifier was also cancelled due to bad weather which made the field unplayable.
The game was expected to be played yesterday at the International School in San Pedro Sula.