T&T’s Soca Princesses earned their first medal at a major tournament on Sunday, copping silver in the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games.
Team captain, Maylee Attin-Johnson believes, the medal at the inaugural CAC Women’s football competition is the beginning of great things to come.
“This is history for the women’s programme, this is the first CAC women’s tournament and the first tournament we came out with a medal,” said Attin-Johnson.
Although the team was beaten only by host Venezuela, it was understrength with key players Arin King, Danielle Blair, Dernel Mascal and Mariah Shade missing because of injuries.
While the fit players did not have it any easier, they were asked the tall order of playing five matches in just ten days, losing just one match to the hosts—a defeat which cost the team the gold medal.
The Soca Princesses will now be looking towards the Gold Cup in October, which will also serve as a World Cup qualifier, and Attin-Johnson is of the view that T&T can be successful, given the right support and with the right attitude from the players.
“There are a lot of things we need to work on for the Gold Cup, like our tactical awareness,” said Attin-Johnson. “The Central American teams are more tactically disciplined than us and we need to work on that going into the Gold Cup.”
The striker, who scored T&T’s winning goal in its encounter with Guatemala, added: “We need a little more preparation, and if we can get some assistance that would be great.”
Attin-Johnson said teams like the US play top teams at least once a month, and if T&T are to be competitive when they meet the best teams in October, they need the same support.
She also pointed out that women’s football in T&T has come a long way with the competition to make the team being a lot stiffer. She alluded to the fact that there could be a very different squad for the Gold Cup, from the one which played in the CAC Games.
“There may be a whole different group of players for the Gold Cup, as there will be a lot more players available, especially with the U-17 World Cup finished.
Some of those younger players will be eligible for selection as well and this makes the final selection very difficult for the coaches.”
Competition, she explained, will be good for the team, as it will raise the level of play, forcing players to step up.
“It was not like that in the past, girls knew they were going to make it, due to the lack of available players, but every year, the pool is growing.”