TT, Puerto Rico face off in Florida

ANOTHER virtual must-win is the pragmatic situation coach Russell Latapy's TT charges face today when they take on Puerto Rico in both team's second Group A match of the 2018 Concacaf Under-20 Championship in Florida.

The teams will meet at IMG Academy, Bradenton, from 3 pm, with TT seeking a second win following their dramatic opening match 3-2 come-from-behind victory over St Vincent and the Grenadines, on Thursday.

Puerto Rico, meanwhile, are desperate for a positive response after their 7-1 loss to the United States.

Later this evening, the US will take on minnows, the US Virgin Islands, who were trounced 13-2 by Suriname in the only other Group A match played thus far.

With the results, Suriname hold the lead in Group A by goal-difference going into their match against St Vincent and the Grenadines.

TT will be looking for more goals from forward Jaydon Prowell, who opened the scoring against St Vincent and was one of the more lively players in their win.

The other scorers for TT were midfielders Mark Ramdeen and Judah Garcia, both of whom scored deep into injury time to prevent a calamitous start.

Latapy's squad is reportedly fully fit and will enjoy the services of promising 18-year-old Portugal-based play-maker Che Benny, who missed the first match due to apparent visa issues.

Speaking ahead of today's match, Latapy said he was grateful to have a full compliment of players to choose from.

"We’re pleased to finally have everyone together. It’s always good to get in a solid session and of course we’ll go after our next opponents looking to build on what we have coming out of the first game," Latapy said.

Team captain John Paul Rochford speaking after the opening win said he appreciated the effort from his team-mates but knows they will have to step up further to stand a realistic chance of advancing out of the Group.

"I’m grateful for the fact that the boys dug deep and we came out with the victory in the end," Rochford said.

"We fought hard for 90 minutes straight till the end and it happened that we scored two goals in one minute and I thank God for that. I thank the players for fighting for the win.

"The turning point," he added, "was when the players realised we had little time and everything was on the line. We are in a position where we are fighting for ourselves and fighting to make the country proud, as proud as we can make them. We spoke to ourselves and said we had to win don’t matter the situation."

TT Squad: Denzil Smith, Jabari Brice, Kerdell Sween, Jackie Jerrin, Justin Homer, Malik Mieres, Derron John, Judah Garcia, John Paul Rochford, Shaqkeem Joseph, Kishon Hackshaw, Jaydon Prowell, Jabarry Francis, Nickel Orr, Mark Ramdeen, Luke Singh, Matthew Beal.

Coach: Russell Latapy

Results

Thursday

Group A

TT 3 (Jaydon Prowell 39th, Mark Ramdeen 90th+2, Judah Garcia 90th+5) vs St Vincent and the Grenadines 2

United States 7 vs Puerto Rico 1

Suriname 13 v US Virgin Islands 2

Group C

Cuba 6 vs Belize 1

Antigua and Barbuda 6 vs Sint Maarten 1

Honduras 7 vs Dominican Republic 1

Group E

Haiti 1 vs St Lucia 0

Costa Rica 5 vs Bemuda 0

Group F

Guatemala 4 vs Guyana 0

El Salvador 2 vs Curacao 1

Yesterday

Group B

Aruba vs Saint Martin, 3 pm

Jamaica vs Grenada, 5.30 pm

Mexico vs Nicaragua, 5.30 pm

Group D

St Kitts vs Martinique, 12.45 pm

Canada vs Dominica, 5.15 pm

Panama vs Guadeloupe, 5.15 pm

Group F

Guatemala vs Guyana, 10.30 am

El Salvador vs Curacao, 12.45 pm

Fixtures

Today

Group A

Puerto Rico vs TT, 3 pm

St Vincent and the Grenadines vs Suriname, 5.30 pm

US Virgin Islands vs United States, 6 pm

Group C

Dominican Republic vs Cuba, 10.30 pm

Belize vs Antigua and Barbuda, 12.45 pm

Sint Maarten vs Honduras, 12.45 pm

Group E

Bermuda vs Haiti, 3 pm

Barbados vs Costa Rica, 7.45 pm