New and exciting doesn't always produce the desired results.
Reaction from Port-of-Spain
Recap
Grahame takes a look at Torres and congratulates Bradley
Showing posts with label Trinidad and Tobago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trinidad and Tobago. Show all posts
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
U.S./TnT WCQ running blog
Clinching means new faces and starters for the U.S., including Torres.
----------------Guzan----------------
Hejduk---Califf---Orozco---Pearce
---------Edu--------Torres-----------
Kljestan-------Adu------Beasley (c)
--------------Altidore-----------------
Harkes and Dellacamera wax nostalgic over the "Shot heard 'round the world" by Paul Caliguri.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" actually sounds really awesome played by a calypso band. The bandleader exhorts the crowd to sing along to TnT's anthem. A few of their players also comply.
Jozy and Stern John are interviewed about the importance of the match. Jozy wants to make a good impression, SJ wants to take his country to the World Cup.
Kickoff!
1 - I've switched to Galavision, by the way. Jozy goes down wincing - he's back up, though. Don't know if he was trying to gain a little ref sympathy or was hurt.
2 - Torres tries to reach Bease with an over-the-top pass, but it's too far.
3 - Torres gives up a FK right at the edge of the box. Torres tosses his hands up, but this is going to be a tough one for Guzano. He punches the ball out, but it rebounds back in and Orozco finally clears it.
4 - On the counter, Sacha tries to lay ball back for Adu, but it gets cut off for a corner. Adu sends it in, Edu trips going backward for it, falling awkwardly as the ball skips merrily by.
7 - Captain Bease tries to take the ball on the wing on his own - doesn't work there.
8 - Torres is lively in the midfield, though playing it a bit safe. The announcers note U.S. nerves as Califf gives up a corner.
Yorke tries to shoot, but he's well covered and can't hit the ball clear - wide.
9 - Adu with a cute flick, but it misses Altidore.
10 - Guzan stops a shot from distance - gives up a bit of a rebound, but no TnT players are there and he scrambles to catch it. The announcers give him guff for that.
12 - The U.S. gets the ball off a bad touch of a TnT defender. Adu then gets fouled. Sach sets up the FK. It doesn't clear the first man, but Hejduk kills the counter by putting the ball out.
14 - Nice to see Torres confident, asking for the ball back from Sacha. Adu send ball wide to Hejduk gets there and his cross is out for a corner. The corner comes back to Adu, the U.S. scrambles to shoot, while TnT defends desperately and finally holds the young Americans off. They looked lively there, though.
16 - Bease gets shoved down. Torres tries a nifty through-ball. It doesn't make it, but the announcers praise him anyway.
17 - The announcers now complain on Heath Pearce's behalf - he was shielding the ball out when it looked to them that he was clearly fouled, but TnT get the ball. And then they nearly score, but the shot is high over the goal.
19 - The U.S. is playing little-guy defense, running everywhere to poke the ball away, but not really retaining any possession.
20 - Bease with a great cross.
23 - The announcers have fun with Edu/Adu passes. Torres loses the ball in a bad spot but chases his man to slow down the attack.
25 - This time Bease loses the ball in midfield and it leads to a shot Guzan has to dive for. Altidore tries a pass to a charging Bease, but DaMarcus is called offside. The announcers replay the move and disagree with the call.
27 - The anthracite shirt makes B.Bradley look more severe than ever.
28 - Orozco with a nice play kills a TnT attack.
29 - Adu is ragged by the announcers, who say he's there to be "the Donovan of the team" and he's not doing it. They note that Adu has a move here and there, but the U.S. isn't controlling the midfield.
32 - Now the announcers speculate that Bradley will be pissed at his midfield at halftime.
33 - Edu's pass doesn't make it to Adu.
34 -Hislop is down and being taken off the field. No, Hislop is coming in, I got that backwards.
35 - TnT break on the counter and Adu pulls a player. The crowd and announcers want a card for that. Doesn't happen.
37 - Torres from distance - way over. Not as close as his attempt against Cuba.
38 - Guzan with a poor clear gives up a close throw. A handball goes uncalled, but the TnT cross is poor and out for a goalkick. Guzan escaped a bit there.
39 - The announcers don't like the Edu/Adu combo for anything but comedic rhyme. They want to see Danny Szetela come in.
40 - Adu way overshoots a breaking Torres. Ugh.
41 - Hejduk gets his cross off, but right to the goalkeeper.
42 - Sacha falls over twice. Half the US team has mud and dirt all over their white uniforms. They look pretty grubby. They're not playing much better, either. Hejduk slips after reaching an Adu pass.
43 - Ha, the announcers aren't sure that the halftime highlights will be - nothing stand out as very good so far this match.
45 - TnT mounts a charge on goal - Orozco clears, then Pearce.
45+ TnT is controlling the ball for the last shot. And here it comes, as the U.S. defense is split, but the shot is wide.
Halftime - well, so far, not one of the newbies is really making a case to move on the the main team for the matches that really matter.
48 - Midfield play looking better for the U.S. early on in the second half.
49 - Yorke to Edwards - could have been dangerous, but Edwards faffed it up.
53 - Corner for TnT. It's headed away, but comes right back and Yorke nearly gets a shot off, then Scotland - wide.
55 - I'm back to watching ESPN during the second half, but I imagine the Spanish announcers were yelling on that last play.
56 - The crowd is increasing in noise - especially the insistent drums.
59 - Edu works hard to get the ball back, but Sach gives it away twice as quickly there.
61 - GOAL! TnT has overcome the youngsters! Edwards leads it out and dinks a cross in. The shot from Latapy rebounds off the post and rebounds in off Guzan. 1-0 TnT leads.
63 - Harkes and JP tell us at least 40 times that Latapy is forty.
69 - Davies is in for Adu - why does poor Charlie always gets sent in during a loss?
70 - Can't believe Jozy got that corner, but now the U.S. has a chance - or did - foul in the box negates the play.
75 - GOAL! Ok, that's why they send Charlie in. Jozy is like a bull in a china shop, banging off bodies in the box to keep the play going and finally slots a ball through that Charlie puts away for his first senior team goal. 1-1
76 - Latapy is out to a big cheer.
77 - TnT attacking hard now.
78 - Penalty! Hislop is pulled in the box. Guzan sets up against Yorke.
79 -GOAL! Yorke stuttersteps, getting Guzan to dive and miss his low shot. 2-1 Trinidad and Tobago are up again. JP reminds Harkes that he played against Yorke and Latapy in his day. Harkes is probably thinking, "Heck, I could go down there right now and do better than the U.S. midfield at present."
81 - Bease FK. Bounces around and Hislop goes in hard against his CDCUSA teammate. Sach overthrows Hejduk.
84 - The U.S. nearly gets another goal - Sach with a great header creates a chance, but Jozy hashes up the put-away.
87 - A flurry near the TnT goal, but the U.S. can't get a shot through the forest of defenders.
88 - Rolfe is on for Pearce. Torres came out earlier, with Szetela finally in.
90 - Szetela with a great low cross, but no one from the U.S. is able to get on to it. too bad. Tasty-looking ball.
90 + Harkes waxes nostalgic about playing versus the TnT coach.
Final whistle - TnT wins.
I'm not sure what sort of impression Jozy left today - his hustle helped create the U.S. goal, but then he grabbed Hislop for the penalty. Basically, it was what one might expect from young players, scrappy play, but a lot of mistakes.
----------------Guzan----------------
Hejduk---Califf---Orozco---Pearce
---------Edu--------Torres-----------
Kljestan-------Adu------Beasley (c)
--------------Altidore-----------------
Harkes and Dellacamera wax nostalgic over the "Shot heard 'round the world" by Paul Caliguri.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" actually sounds really awesome played by a calypso band. The bandleader exhorts the crowd to sing along to TnT's anthem. A few of their players also comply.
Jozy and Stern John are interviewed about the importance of the match. Jozy wants to make a good impression, SJ wants to take his country to the World Cup.
Kickoff!
1 - I've switched to Galavision, by the way. Jozy goes down wincing - he's back up, though. Don't know if he was trying to gain a little ref sympathy or was hurt.
2 - Torres tries to reach Bease with an over-the-top pass, but it's too far.
3 - Torres gives up a FK right at the edge of the box. Torres tosses his hands up, but this is going to be a tough one for Guzano. He punches the ball out, but it rebounds back in and Orozco finally clears it.
4 - On the counter, Sacha tries to lay ball back for Adu, but it gets cut off for a corner. Adu sends it in, Edu trips going backward for it, falling awkwardly as the ball skips merrily by.
7 - Captain Bease tries to take the ball on the wing on his own - doesn't work there.
8 - Torres is lively in the midfield, though playing it a bit safe. The announcers note U.S. nerves as Califf gives up a corner.
Yorke tries to shoot, but he's well covered and can't hit the ball clear - wide.
9 - Adu with a cute flick, but it misses Altidore.
10 - Guzan stops a shot from distance - gives up a bit of a rebound, but no TnT players are there and he scrambles to catch it. The announcers give him guff for that.
12 - The U.S. gets the ball off a bad touch of a TnT defender. Adu then gets fouled. Sach sets up the FK. It doesn't clear the first man, but Hejduk kills the counter by putting the ball out.
14 - Nice to see Torres confident, asking for the ball back from Sacha. Adu send ball wide to Hejduk gets there and his cross is out for a corner. The corner comes back to Adu, the U.S. scrambles to shoot, while TnT defends desperately and finally holds the young Americans off. They looked lively there, though.
16 - Bease gets shoved down. Torres tries a nifty through-ball. It doesn't make it, but the announcers praise him anyway.
17 - The announcers now complain on Heath Pearce's behalf - he was shielding the ball out when it looked to them that he was clearly fouled, but TnT get the ball. And then they nearly score, but the shot is high over the goal.
19 - The U.S. is playing little-guy defense, running everywhere to poke the ball away, but not really retaining any possession.
20 - Bease with a great cross.
23 - The announcers have fun with Edu/Adu passes. Torres loses the ball in a bad spot but chases his man to slow down the attack.
25 - This time Bease loses the ball in midfield and it leads to a shot Guzan has to dive for. Altidore tries a pass to a charging Bease, but DaMarcus is called offside. The announcers replay the move and disagree with the call.
27 - The anthracite shirt makes B.Bradley look more severe than ever.
28 - Orozco with a nice play kills a TnT attack.
29 - Adu is ragged by the announcers, who say he's there to be "the Donovan of the team" and he's not doing it. They note that Adu has a move here and there, but the U.S. isn't controlling the midfield.
32 - Now the announcers speculate that Bradley will be pissed at his midfield at halftime.
33 - Edu's pass doesn't make it to Adu.
34 -Hislop is down and being taken off the field. No, Hislop is coming in, I got that backwards.
35 - TnT break on the counter and Adu pulls a player. The crowd and announcers want a card for that. Doesn't happen.
37 - Torres from distance - way over. Not as close as his attempt against Cuba.
38 - Guzan with a poor clear gives up a close throw. A handball goes uncalled, but the TnT cross is poor and out for a goalkick. Guzan escaped a bit there.
39 - The announcers don't like the Edu/Adu combo for anything but comedic rhyme. They want to see Danny Szetela come in.
40 - Adu way overshoots a breaking Torres. Ugh.
41 - Hejduk gets his cross off, but right to the goalkeeper.
42 - Sacha falls over twice. Half the US team has mud and dirt all over their white uniforms. They look pretty grubby. They're not playing much better, either. Hejduk slips after reaching an Adu pass.
43 - Ha, the announcers aren't sure that the halftime highlights will be - nothing stand out as very good so far this match.
45 - TnT mounts a charge on goal - Orozco clears, then Pearce.
45+ TnT is controlling the ball for the last shot. And here it comes, as the U.S. defense is split, but the shot is wide.
Halftime - well, so far, not one of the newbies is really making a case to move on the the main team for the matches that really matter.
48 - Midfield play looking better for the U.S. early on in the second half.
49 - Yorke to Edwards - could have been dangerous, but Edwards faffed it up.
53 - Corner for TnT. It's headed away, but comes right back and Yorke nearly gets a shot off, then Scotland - wide.
55 - I'm back to watching ESPN during the second half, but I imagine the Spanish announcers were yelling on that last play.
56 - The crowd is increasing in noise - especially the insistent drums.
59 - Edu works hard to get the ball back, but Sach gives it away twice as quickly there.
61 - GOAL! TnT has overcome the youngsters! Edwards leads it out and dinks a cross in. The shot from Latapy rebounds off the post and rebounds in off Guzan. 1-0 TnT leads.
63 - Harkes and JP tell us at least 40 times that Latapy is forty.
69 - Davies is in for Adu - why does poor Charlie always gets sent in during a loss?
70 - Can't believe Jozy got that corner, but now the U.S. has a chance - or did - foul in the box negates the play.
75 - GOAL! Ok, that's why they send Charlie in. Jozy is like a bull in a china shop, banging off bodies in the box to keep the play going and finally slots a ball through that Charlie puts away for his first senior team goal. 1-1
76 - Latapy is out to a big cheer.
77 - TnT attacking hard now.
78 - Penalty! Hislop is pulled in the box. Guzan sets up against Yorke.
79 -GOAL! Yorke stuttersteps, getting Guzan to dive and miss his low shot. 2-1 Trinidad and Tobago are up again. JP reminds Harkes that he played against Yorke and Latapy in his day. Harkes is probably thinking, "Heck, I could go down there right now and do better than the U.S. midfield at present."
81 - Bease FK. Bounces around and Hislop goes in hard against his CDCUSA teammate. Sach overthrows Hejduk.
84 - The U.S. nearly gets another goal - Sach with a great header creates a chance, but Jozy hashes up the put-away.
87 - A flurry near the TnT goal, but the U.S. can't get a shot through the forest of defenders.
88 - Rolfe is on for Pearce. Torres came out earlier, with Szetela finally in.
90 - Szetela with a great low cross, but no one from the U.S. is able to get on to it. too bad. Tasty-looking ball.
90 + Harkes waxes nostalgic about playing versus the TnT coach.
Final whistle - TnT wins.
I'm not sure what sort of impression Jozy left today - his hustle helped create the U.S. goal, but then he grabbed Hislop for the penalty. Basically, it was what one might expect from young players, scrappy play, but a lot of mistakes.
Monday, October 13, 2008
TnT takes on U.S. young 'uns
Play the pundit. What do you think about Bradley's moves lately? Has he been too conservative? Is it too late for TnT? Will the fringe players and newbies perform well?
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Fueling the national team?
Okay, I know league and international team aren't necessarily one in the same. You can have a strong national team but a crappy league, it's possible.
But does the Joe Public-New England score mean the US national team should worry for their match against Trinidad & Tobago on Sept. 10?
I mean, come on, how many of you predicted a lopsided rout in the Joe Public-Revolution match? And if you did, surely you would have figured that it would have been the hosts who would have put away the four goals.
I suppose this result reflects a couple of things. New England has had a busy, busy, busy schedule. By winning SuperLiga and reaching the final four of the US Open Cup, the Revs have played many games this summer. It's natural to expect a dip in form, and the Revs have won just one of five league games since returning to league action after more than a month off.
Also, Joe Public was probably motivated for the match. For Joe Public, the opportunity to participate in the Champions League and carry the Trinidadian flag in the tourney was not something they likely overlooked.
So will this possibly energize the Soca Warriors ahead of next week's game in Chicago? Perhaps. If Trinidad enters the match with the right mentality, they could certainly be a more-than-dangerous foe. I don't know, though. If I'm betting on the game, I'm taking the US and the points... not that any Vegas casino would have the game up for wager or anything...
Still, given what Joe Public did to the Revs, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised if Trinidad goes in and does some damage.
But does the Joe Public-New England score mean the US national team should worry for their match against Trinidad & Tobago on Sept. 10?
I mean, come on, how many of you predicted a lopsided rout in the Joe Public-Revolution match? And if you did, surely you would have figured that it would have been the hosts who would have put away the four goals.
I suppose this result reflects a couple of things. New England has had a busy, busy, busy schedule. By winning SuperLiga and reaching the final four of the US Open Cup, the Revs have played many games this summer. It's natural to expect a dip in form, and the Revs have won just one of five league games since returning to league action after more than a month off.
Also, Joe Public was probably motivated for the match. For Joe Public, the opportunity to participate in the Champions League and carry the Trinidadian flag in the tourney was not something they likely overlooked.
So will this possibly energize the Soca Warriors ahead of next week's game in Chicago? Perhaps. If Trinidad enters the match with the right mentality, they could certainly be a more-than-dangerous foe. I don't know, though. If I'm betting on the game, I'm taking the US and the points... not that any Vegas casino would have the game up for wager or anything...
Still, given what Joe Public did to the Revs, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised if Trinidad goes in and does some damage.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Whimsy thoughts
Trinidad & Tobago coach Wim Rijsbergen's post-match quotes following the United States 2-0 win over T&T on Saturday:Wim was asked about the situation with the World Cup players and the squabble with the federation over monies owed them from last year's tournament:
"It’s very difficult but it’s tough for me to talk about it because the federation is upset if we mention it. For a coach, of course you want to play with the best team. On the other side, it’s a good experience for the boys we have here and hopefully they realize that they have to do a lot of work to try to reach the next level... We use this as a good experience for the boys to see what it is and hopefully they understand that as an individual and as a team, there is more than this."
Wim was also asked about his thoughts on the U.S. team.
"One thing from all the U.S. players that their fitness is good. The coach is using new players and looking for a new team. They are organized. They know what they want. Physically they are fit and the skills, I think every team can improve on that side. He has enough players to choose from. I think the U.S. has 280 million people and in Trinidad & Tobago we have 1.8 million so there is a little difference but we keep trying."
Friday, February 16, 2007
Greetings Trinis!
Glad to see Sideline Views getting a mention in the Soca Warriors Football Forum. Go T&T! Together we aspire, together we achieve!
I hope Trinidad & Tobago plays in the Gold Cup matches out here. I actually covered the Under-20 team when they tried to qualify for the Netherlands 2005 tournament and they just played terrible. Felt bad for the young Trinis.
Ah, Trinidad. Loved it. Of course, the site I went with put us all up in the Hilton so that might have skewed my vision. The Pelican was a pretty cool little spot. One of the fellas from our group was going to hook up with some girl from Guyana until he found out she was a prostitute!! HA!
Anyway, the coolest name ever I saw while down there. Smokey and Bunty's Pub. Nice. Didn't get to go but I guess I'll have to save that for the next time I head to Port-of-Spain.
I hope Trinidad & Tobago plays in the Gold Cup matches out here. I actually covered the Under-20 team when they tried to qualify for the Netherlands 2005 tournament and they just played terrible. Felt bad for the young Trinis.
Ah, Trinidad. Loved it. Of course, the site I went with put us all up in the Hilton so that might have skewed my vision. The Pelican was a pretty cool little spot. One of the fellas from our group was going to hook up with some girl from Guyana until he found out she was a prostitute!! HA!
Anyway, the coolest name ever I saw while down there. Smokey and Bunty's Pub. Nice. Didn't get to go but I guess I'll have to save that for the next time I head to Port-of-Spain.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Connecting in Trinidad
The first major upset of the year - at least in this part of the world - happened tonight. Chivas lost to W Connection 2-1 in a CONCACAF Champions Cup match.
Despite my fondness for Guadalajara, I can't help but feel some joy for the Trinis. I spent three weeks there in 2001 for the FIFA Under-17 World Championship Trinidad & Tobago 2001 Presented by JVC. As a member of TEAMTalk back in the day, all of my stories ended up on FIFA's web site for the tournament and that long name was what we had to write on first reference in each of our stories. Man, that was a beast.
Anyway, Trinidad was a blast. I loved the laid-back style of the Trinidad people, the beautiful Maracas Bay and the weather of course. Highs of 86, low of 78 with a chance of rain. That's the forecast for 365 days a year there. The humidity was something odd for me. I'd never really been in a humid place like that.
Tonight's game was played in Marabella, in the Manny Ramjohn Stadium. I didn't actually get to go there. I covered games at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima and went to the Hasely Crawford Stadium a couple of times. I covered the group with Costa Rica, Paraguay, Iran and Mali. There were several interesting games and I developed an affinity for Paraguay during that tournament, especially Edgar Barreto who was a kind and gracious kid back then. I was glad to see him play in the 2006 World Cup.
Anyway, Trinidad is a great place to visit. It's a bit of a flight compared to Jamaica. It's like 4 hours or so from Miami to Port-of-Spain. But it's worth it. I've never been to Jamaica or any other Caribbean country but I did not get the feel that Trinidad was touristy at all. It is what it is and not what they think Americans would like it to be. When I went to Maracas Bay with three other colleagues, it was absolutely fantastic. I swam in the warm water and was the only person swimming there at the time.
So W Connection won and it's party time in Marabella.
Despite my fondness for Guadalajara, I can't help but feel some joy for the Trinis. I spent three weeks there in 2001 for the FIFA Under-17 World Championship Trinidad & Tobago 2001 Presented by JVC. As a member of TEAMTalk back in the day, all of my stories ended up on FIFA's web site for the tournament and that long name was what we had to write on first reference in each of our stories. Man, that was a beast.
Anyway, Trinidad was a blast. I loved the laid-back style of the Trinidad people, the beautiful Maracas Bay and the weather of course. Highs of 86, low of 78 with a chance of rain. That's the forecast for 365 days a year there. The humidity was something odd for me. I'd never really been in a humid place like that.
Tonight's game was played in Marabella, in the Manny Ramjohn Stadium. I didn't actually get to go there. I covered games at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima and went to the Hasely Crawford Stadium a couple of times. I covered the group with Costa Rica, Paraguay, Iran and Mali. There were several interesting games and I developed an affinity for Paraguay during that tournament, especially Edgar Barreto who was a kind and gracious kid back then. I was glad to see him play in the 2006 World Cup.
Anyway, Trinidad is a great place to visit. It's a bit of a flight compared to Jamaica. It's like 4 hours or so from Miami to Port-of-Spain. But it's worth it. I've never been to Jamaica or any other Caribbean country but I did not get the feel that Trinidad was touristy at all. It is what it is and not what they think Americans would like it to be. When I went to Maracas Bay with three other colleagues, it was absolutely fantastic. I swam in the warm water and was the only person swimming there at the time.
So W Connection won and it's party time in Marabella.
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