TT coach laments missed chances against Guyana

DENNIS LAWRENCE, TT men’s football team coach, has lamented the amount of missed chances during Wednesday’s match against Guyana, in their final Group D game at the Concacaf Gold Cup.

At the Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, United States, TT and Guyana battled to a 1-1 draw. Neil Danns put Guyana ahead after 54 minutes but another midfielder, Kevin Molino, equalised in the 79th.

During the post-game media conference, Lawrence said, “It was a very simple game. If you score and the opposition don’t score, you’ll win the game. And, for the amount of chances we had, I think the game should have been over probably in the first half. We didn’t take our chances.”

Lawrence continued, “A Guyanese team that has very good determination managed to get their noses in front and then it was uphill for us.

“If you look at all the chances that we had in the game, I didn’t think the result was fair or balanced. It’s disappointing to not come away with three points and some goals under our belt. But we didn’t lose the game, which is a credit to the boys.”

Wednesday’s result ended a streak of seven win-less matches for the TT team (including six defeats).

And Molino’s goal was the first scored by TT since their last victory – 2-0 over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Girona, Spain on September 6, 2018.

Lawrence faced criticism for his use of Levi Garcia as a lone striker during the previous two matches in the Gold Cup – a 2-0 loss to Panama last Tuesday and a 6-0 trouncing by defending champs US on Saturday.

But the ex-TT central defender sees a bright future for Garcia, who plays for Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona FC in Israel.

“I think Levi has a big role to play for TT football,” said the TT coach. “At the age of 21, he’s had experience in Europe (with Dutch clubs AZ Alkmaar and Excelsior). He’s definitely one who is going to lead our attack in some form or fashion, whether it be as a (striker) or whether it be as a winger.

“Hopefully he’s going to learn and it will help him to grow. He’s a special player for us. We need to probably build our team around players like him.”