TT U20 women footballers face Puerto Rico in must-win match

Under-20 women’s football team are one win away from booking a spot in the 2023 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championships.

Victory is mandatory for the young Women Warriors on Wednesday as they gear up for their final Group D clash against an in-form Puerto Rico squad at the Rignaal Jean Francis Stadium in Curacao from 6pm (TT time).

Puerto Rico and TT are tied atop the Group D standings on six points each, having both won their opening contests on Saturday and Monday respectively. TT, however, are second since Puerto Rico hold a superior goal difference.

Only the winner of each group advances to the Concacaf Women’s U20 Championships. TT need a win to seal qualification while a drawn result goes in favour of Puerto Rico.

There are six competing groups in the ongoing qualifiers. The six progressing teams join already qualified USA and Mexico.

The Concacaf tournament kicks off in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on May 24 to June 3. The eight-team competition will qualify its top three finishers (finalists and third-place match winner) for the 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.

On Saturday, TT’s U20 women opened their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 triumph over the Cayman Islands. Two goals from Talia Martin and one from Nikita Jackson got them over the line.

And on Monday, a hat-trick from Tobagonian J’eleisha Alexander notched a 3-2 win over Guadeloupe to keep TT’s U20 World Cup hopes alive.

However, Puerto Rico have shown more attack up front as they drubbed Guadeloupe 5-0 in their first fixture and then swept Puerto Rico 6-1 in the second.

Speaking after Monday’s victory, TT U20 women’s head coach Dernelle Mascall said that despite Guadeloupe proving to be a physical test, her squad persisted and was successful in breaking them down.

“We predicted this one to be more challenging that the first mainly because Guadeloupe has some natural athletes who really are not afraid of the physical game.

“But we also knew that they were weak technically so we planned to put the game out of their reach as early as possible. But we squandered a lot of chances which kept them in the game,” Mascall said.

She lauded the team’s all-around performance and anticipates another tough test against Puerto Rico.

“All in all, this one (Guadeloupe match) called for some grit and heart and in the end the girls had a desire for the result. We had Alexander who came up big for us. She is the best one we have, in terms of, finding the back of the net, and she came up big for us with a hat-trick.

“The girls showed a lot of character and we got the desired results. I can’t stress enough of how proud I am of these girls.”

Group D will be decided on Wednesday but other final-round matches continue daily until Saturday.

TT U20 Women's Team: J'eleisha Alexander, Sadiel Antoine, Rasheda Archer, Jeniceia Benjamin, Sharika Charles, Carissa Cowan, Kaitlyn Darwent, Jada Graham, Jessica Harrigan, Athena Jackson, Nikita Jackson, Sophia Keel, Orielle Martin, Talia Martin, Anastasia O'Brien, Kanika Rodriguez, Cicely-Ann Spencer-Wickham, Cherina Steele, Marley Walker, Mariah Williams, Mikaela Yearwood

Staff: Dernell Mascall (Head Coach), Simone Edwards (Team Manager), Ayana Russell (Assistant Coach/Trainer), Rajesh Latchoo (Assistant Coach), Declan Squires (GK Coach), Raquel Russell (Equipment Manager), Kern Meloney (Physiotherapist), Kristin Fung (Doctor)