… team go down 4-1 to Trinidad and Tobago
ALL’S well that ends well they say, but for the Lady Jags, it was an initiation into the world of international football they would never forget. Guyana’s national female football team closed their CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign on a disappointing note after falling 4-1 to Trinidad and Tobago at the Beto Avilla Stadium in Cancun Mexico on Tuesday evening.
Trinidad and Tobago, coming off two losses just like their opponents, were led by Kenya Cordner, Candace Edwards, Rhea Belgrave and Dernell Mascal while Mariam El-Masri netted Guyana’s lone goal of the match.
It was a beautiful evening for football and having won the support of the Mexicans, Guyana came out again looking enthused about their football but made a mistake when they decided to play the Caribbean powerhouses high on defence which they paid for in the 10th minute.
Cordner placed the Twin Island republic in the lead, when she received a lob in the six yards box from the European-based professional striker Akeela Mollon, and calmly placed the ball past the struggling Guyanese goalkeeper Catherine Kobelka.
It was by far the simplest of goals to be scored against Kobelka in the tournament, since it was an easy shot which she fumbled and helped into her net.
Meanwhile, the game continued with Guyana again pressing their opponents instead of falling back, given the fact that the Trinidadians, even though controlling the pace of the game, were seemingly tired on the pitch.
Alison Heydorn was once again superb in the midfield position, giving Guyana their first and only chance on goal in the first half when she tussled her way into the 18 yards box and did a ‘King Pele’-famed bicycle kick which was calmly grabbed by Trinidad and Tobago’s goalie Kimika Forbes.
Nothing much changed in the first half in terms of the style of play of the Guyanese, except for the continued defensive errors being made by defender Collette Hope on the left wing of her team’s half, as she seemed way out of the game and allowed the Trinidadians to have their own way with her.
The first half ended 2-0 and while the Guyanese came out playing with a bit more purpose in the second. Three minutes on, in the 48th, Edwards sent the game 3-0 thanks to a mis-kick by Hope in the defence and with a little assistance from her teammate Mollon, a volley was all the stoutly built player had to do to bore through the slippery gloves of Kobelka.
Questions were raised why back-up keeper Ronnett Cort was not chosen for a starting position since Kobelka had already leaked 15 goals in two matches and with the 4-1 result it meant that she allowed 19 goals to be scored against the Guyanese.
However, sources close to the team said that Cort was offered to take the pitch, but noted she was not ready for this stage of completion, citing nervousness and fear of failing.
El-Masri scored her second goal of the tournament in the 60th minute after Heydorn played a perfect pass in the 18 yards box which the striker picked up and manoeuvred her way around the tired-looking Trinidadian defence and placed a nicely timed shot around advancing Trinidadian keeper.
Mascal insured that her team erased all hopes of a comeback by Guyana when she scored inside the six-yard box from a deflection off Edwards shot that came from a corner kick.
In the meantime, the locals were very enthused by the effort of the Lady Jags whose average age of players is 18.
The Guyana female team has earned the respect of many national associations around the world simply because it’s rare for a country or team who started their women’s programme in 2008, and in less than 16 months reach the qualifying stage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
In every game, coach Rodrigues had no less than six players who were under the age of 17 and it’s a point to make note of that while the margin of defeat may seem great, it did not reflect the performance of the team.
It was observed that Guyana, apart from Canada, was the only team able to easily score against Mexico who beat Trinidad and Tobago 2-0.
Guyana have 11 players from their Gold Cup squad who are eligible for the next Under-20 World Cup and since they have already registered the side for the qualifying stage, that’s where their next focus will be and hoping for renewed dominance in the Caribbean.