Trinidad and Tobago head coach Dwight Yorke continues to search for a formula to get his side firing from the start, but his team has shown marked improvement in the second halves of matches under his tenure.
It was no different on Friday night at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in the opening match of the Final Round of the CONCACAF Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. T&T rebounded from a subdued first half to impress in the second, earning a 0-0 draw against a strong Curaçao side that had held Canada and El Salvador to draws at the CONCACAF Gold Cup just two months ago.
Yorke suggested the expectation of winning in front of a sell-out home crowd may have affected his players early on. “Second half shows that once we get a foot in the game, that we have quality going forward. We were unfortunate not to get maximum points,” he said. “We need to be at our best. We weren’t at our best in the first half, but second half we proved that we can play and create the opportunities.”
Curaçao head coach Dick Advocaat shared the assessment. “First half, I think we did well. We were a little bit better. We created a few more chances than Trinidad. But the second half was totally different. Trinidad was the much better side, created enough chances,” he stated. “We were lucky they didn’t score a goal because they had the possibilities. So first half I am pleased with what I saw, second half we have to improve.”
Yorke stressed the importance of viewing the result positively. “We have to take the positives. We did not concede,” he said. Europe-based Spartak Moscow striker Levi Garcia, who missed T&T’s two best chances, echoed the sentiment.
“We have everything in our hands still. There are still five games to go and we have to get the most out of these,” Garcia said.
Despite some criticism over his late substitutions, Yorke defended his approach. “We were really pushing Curaçao back. The goalkeeper made a couple of good saves, as well as Curaçao clearing off the line. You don’t really want to disrupt that too much. Sometimes you are reluctant to change that because you think in those moments you might just nick a goal. Unfortunately, we did not.”
Yorke also praised his team not conceding a goal, as teenage right-back Rio Cardines, utility player Noah Powder on the left, and the centre-back pairing of Josiah Trimmingham and debutant Cobi Henry all put in a solid shift.
“I thought Cobi Henry had an excellent debut,” Yorke said, of the USA-born player who has only been with the team for four days. Twenty-one-year-old Henry is grandson of the late Ken Henry, the former T&T assistant-coach.
Henry was delighted with his performance.
“I thought we did a good job. Unfortunately, we did not get the win, but very happy with the clean sheet. Next game we’ve got to start quicker and hopefully get the goal,” he said.
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO:
22.Denzil Smith (GK); 19.Rio Cardines, 5.Josiah Trimmingham (6.Jerrin Jackie 90), 3.Kobi Henry, 23.Noah Powder; 8.Daniel Phillips, 18.Andre Rampersad (vice-captain); 10.Kevin Molino (captain) (7.Steffen Yeates 83); 15.Dante Sealy (12.Ryan Telfer 83), 11.Levi Garcia (16.Justin Obikwu 83), 13.Tyrese Spicer. Unused substitutes: 1.Marvin Phillip (GK), 21.Jabari St Hillaire (GK), 2.Darnell Hospedales, 4.Isaiah Garcia, 9.Nathaniel James, 14.Wayne Frederick II, 17.Justin Garcia, 20.Kaïlé Auvray. Coach: Dwight Yorke.
CURAÇAO:
1.Eloy Room (GK); 2.Shurandy Sambo, 3.Jurien Gaari, 20.Riechedly Bazoer (15.Ar’jany Martha 66), 4.Roshon Van Eijma, 5.Sherel Floranus; 16.Jearl Margaritha (14.Tarith Chong 62), 8.Livano Comenencia (9.Jurgen Locadia 62), 10.Leandro Bacuna (captain), 11.Jeremy Antonisse (17.Tyrese Noslin 86); 7.Juninho Bacuna (6.Godfried Roemeratoe 86). Unused substitutes: 22.Leandro Merencia (GK), 23.Trevor Doornbusch (GK), 12.Joshua Zimmerman, 18.Jurich Carolina, 19.Gervane Kastaneer, 21.Kevin Felida. Coach: Dick Advocaat.
Referee: Katia Garcia (Mexico).
CONCACAF Group B standings
Team GP W D L GD PTS
Jamaica 1 1 0 0 +4 3
T&T 1 0 1 0 0 1
Curaçao 1 0 1 0 0 1
Bermuda 1 0 0 1 – 4 0
Lawanda Damron
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