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28
Thu, Mar

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The Soca Warriors have reached a stage where the points are not tallying well for them and from five matches, they could only muster two points. Some may claim that the team played well enough in the last two matches in order to obtain points of some kind.
Comments from the players and the technical staff indicate that their confidence is still very high and even at the half way stage, they are convinced that qualification is a reality. Mathematically, they are certainly correct and the entire country is hoping for some magical performances over the next few months. However, to ignore the result and the quality of play is unreasonable, especially as these mistakes had been repeated in Tobago and Mexico city. The type of fight and high spirited approach which the players demonstrated must be accompanied by a well-organised pattern of play, where defenders need to be more cohesive and reduce the numerous opportunities which they have offered in recent times.

Individually, they are zesty and strong, features which sometimes make them ball watchers. It may be true to say that changing players regularly will not allow them to settle down and understand each other, hence the reasons why they expose their poor goalkeeper to the mercy of attackers on a one to one basis. The Warriors were fortunate that the Mexicans on the night were creating chances but were horrible finishers. It was not the best of Mexico and maybe this is the cause of their horrible results.

In spurts, there was some positive play but most were of individual efforts, for instance, a simple Mexican error in their defense saw young Hayden Tinto collect the loose ball, rush to the goal and before the defense could reorganise, his wonderful and timely shot was into the net. Brilliant work by the young man. In a midfield which seemed dormant, only Birchall’s workrate seemed lively but he was often chasing shadows as the likes of Medina, Pardo, Blanco and Esquival were in absolute control.

Sometimes in football, five midfielders are not necessarily a more productive option than four; and this was the case for the Warriors. After two performances, I suspect that Dwight Yorke will wish to be given another role which may suit his fitness level and his present capability. Nevertheless, the introduction of some youngsters, or better still newcomers, like Devon Jorsling, Kerry Baptiste, Makan Hislop to join Keon Daniel and Tinto is probably the best signal which was sent to the fans. Looking ahead suddenly means the thought of new faces and ideas, players with extraordinary determination to change the face of the previous picture of personnel who identified firmly during their best days.

Two months of preparation could only do us good and the first move should be to invite the likes of Jamaica, Guatemala and Panama before the end of June—a tough disciplined opponent out of Europe, such as Finland or even Russia, maybe even New Zealand who is currently at the Confederations Cup. Honestly, the defensive problems of the past few months are still ever present in our play, leaving me to wonder whether or not the vulnerability is recognised. Is the problem player-oriented or is it a faulty system through a lack of understanding?

Nevertheless, giving up will spell weakness of character, so we must get to the drawing board and produce a new picture, one which must have a mix of the energy and high spiritedness which were shown for the past two games—plus a better understanding of keeping shape, retaining possession through unselfish passing and moving into spaces. El Salvador in Port-of-Spain (or is it Scarborough) will benefit both countries, the winner of which will probably be the only one with some semblance of a chance after round six.