Trinidad and Tobago’s senior footballers returned home on Friday evening after a tiring 20-hour journey from Monterrey following their creditable performance in Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier against Mexico.
Head coach Leo Beenhakker and his “Warriors” had to undergo added strain with flights through Dallas, Washington and Miami as original flight arrangements to take the team to London had to be shuffled due to the late cancellation of the Unity Cup which would have seen them traveling direct to London.
Aside from the long hours though, the team returned home to an unusual good reception from locals at the Piarco International Airport particulalyr after a 2-0 loss. But it was evident that they realized the fighting display by the team and there was a general feeling of optimism ahead of the matches to come.
Glasgow Rangers defender Marvin Andrews, striker Stern John, defender Dennis Lawrence, Atiba Charles, Aurtis Whitley, goalkeepers Kelvin Jack and Duarance Williams, Glenton Wolfe, Kenwyne Jones, Anton Pierre, Densill Theobald along with team administrators Bruce Aanensen and George Joseph and other members of staff were among those arriving home while skipper Dwight Yorke and other overseas-based pros returned to their respective clubs.
Not only was Beenhakker able to see positives from the game despite the loss, but Mexican coach Ricardo Antonio Lavolpe also paid his respects to the “Warriors as did the Mexican media and some of their fans who were in the airport in Monterrey prior to the team’s departure on Thursday evening.
“I think they gave us a much stronger fight than we expected. Even though we won, we must credit them because we were at home and the fans here saw us work hard for our victory. This is something they may not have seen for a while,” Lavolpe told TTFF Media via a translator following the result. “The results is very good for us but I think Trinidad and Tobago has something
to look forward to,” he added.
Goalscorer Jared Borgetti also spoke well of the performance by T&T.
“We had to work hard in the end. They kept playing the game and they didn’t allow the game to get far away from them and this meant we had to keep the pressure up. They also had some chances for us but we came away stronger in the end and the win was ours,” he said.
Mexican defender Jaime Lozano said defensively T&T held firm. “Trinidad were strong in defense and it helped their game because it meant we had to work harder.” Beenhakker is expected to resume training around June 27 ahead of the CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign which begins on July 6 against Honduras in Miami.