Hood: TT have work cut out against Mexico

TT Under-20 women football team goalkeeper Klil Keshwar will not forget Sunday’s match-winning performance against Puerto Rico for a long time to come. However, it will be back to business, on Wednesday, as TT takes on Mexico in their Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championships quarter-final fixture at 6 pm (TT time), at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Keshwar saved Puerto Rico’s final penalty attempt to send TT through 5-4, via kicks from the penalty spot, after the scores were locked at 3-3 at the end of regulation and extra times.

“I don’t know how to describe the feeling,” said Keshwar, in a story on the TT Football Association (TTFA) website. “It was shocking but joy at the same time. We did it and it was not me alone. The entire team made it happen.”

Keshwar said sheer willpower to prove detractors wrong is what got TT over the hurdle on Sunday.

“There are times when you will be (a bit) tired but just the will to want to go on and prove people wrong was what carried us through,” she said. “I was just proud of the team that we were able to make it happen and show what we are made of. To be able to last so long in the game was great. It was tiring and it was a tough mental game for us. Thankfully we were able to pull through that part of it. “Now we have to refocus and go into the next game with good intentions and give it our best,” she added.

Coach Richard Hood said, “We have achieved the goal of getting to the quarter-finals. Now we look to see what we can do against the Mexicans.

“They are a quality team and of course we have our work cut out. I don’t think it is impossible. At this stage of the tournament, anything is possible. And if we prepare well and we recover well, have our plan and stick to our plan then anything is possible in the quarter-finals.”