Soca Warriors defender David: We have to get back to the drawing board

TRINIDAD AND Tobago defender Aubrey David described as “disappointing” his team’s 2-0 defeat to El Salvador on Wednesday evening, in their second Group A match of the Concacaf Gold Cup.

At the Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, United States, El Salvador got goals from Jairo Henriquez, in the 30th minute, and Walmer Martinez, in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.

El Salvador lead the group with six points, followed by Mexico (four), TT (one) and Guatemala (zero).

El Salvador booked a spot into the quarter-final round, while TT will have to defeat Guatemala on Sunday, and hope for a massive win for El Salvador over Mexico, to finish second in the group, and also advance to the knockout stage.

“It was a disappointing result for us,” said David, during a post-game interview. “It’s not one that we wanted for sure. We went with the aim to get three points and be comfortable in the group.”

David continued, “It didn’t happen that way. I think we could’ve gotten more from the game. It was a complicated game but we played (better) in the second half. We have to get back to the drawing board and look forward to the next game.”

TT held defending champions Mexico to a goalless draw on Saturday but suffered a serious setback against an El Salvador team coached by former US midfielder Hugo Perez.

Defensive midfielder Neveal Hackshaw said, “We went loose once or twice, and they got a couple of chances. We also had chances, but we didn’t take them.”

Asked about the tactics employed by TT coach Angus Eve, Hackshaw responded, “We wanted to play in the first half on the break with (captain Kevin) Molino and (Ryan) Telfer. In the second half, we wanted to utilise the wing-backs to get in behind (them).”