Yorke on draw with ten-man Haiti: We were afraid to make mistakes

Soca Warriors head coach Dwight Yorke said his team showed their naivety in their 1-1 Concacaf Gold Cup draw with Haiti at the Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas, on June 19.

Playing against ten men for just under an hour after Haiti centre back Jean-Kevin Duverne was shown a straight red for a tackle on Levi Garcia in the 39th minute, TT couldn't drive home their numerical advantage and also had their blushes spared late on when Haitian striker Mondy Prunier sent an 86th-minute penalty over bar.

Compared to their opening match against the US, the Soca Warriors had a more attacking look on paper as Yorke swapped a 5-4-1 formation for a 4-2-3-1 shape, with Nathaniel James getting the nod ahead of Kevin Molino in the number ten role behind the returning Garcia, who donned the captain's armband. Still, Duverne's sending off apart, the Soca Warriors had little to show on the attacking front as it was the Haitians who dictated much of the first-half tempo, rattling off eight shots to TT's one – a snapshot from outside the box by James.

"We're working (on) a lot of systems and playing, but ultimately, the players have to go out and really play in the fashion we know they're capable of playing. We always encourage them to play on the front foot," Yorke said, at the post-match conference.

"We always try to get players to be creative going forward. In the first half, we weren't creative enough. People weren't taking on the responsibility. It's like they were afraid in many respects to make mistakes. I tried to get my players away from that mentality to be on the front foot and play in a positive way.

"The players really found it difficult to get going. We couldn't get a foothold in the game so to speak. I have to give Haiti a lot of credit for how they played first half. We knew once they had the man sent off, the advantage was slightly in our favour, although they seemed to still have a foothold in the game."

Not for the first time, Yorke knocked his players for being reactive as he felt TT should have asserted themselves before the sending-off. In the same breath, though, Yorke said it's still a learning curve for he and his players as they look for the right formula which can see them progressing from Group D at the Gold Cup and also make a meaningful run towards the 2026 Fifa World Cup once qualification resumes in September.

"I have to defend my players in many respects because they're still in a learning process. I still think I'm relatively new to the job. I'm not making any excuses for my players, but we have to grow up very quickly and be a lot more physical. When you're playing at this level, it's a lot more physical," he said.

Since taking charge of the team last November, Yorke has had 11 matches in charge with three victories coming against Cuba (twice) and St Kitts and Nevis, whom the Soca Warriors hammered 6-2 before a packed Hasely Crawford Stadium crowd earlier this month. The latter result against the Caribbean team seems long in the Soca Warriors' rear-view mirror, though.

"We've become a team who are relatively easy to play against because we're a footballing sort of team, but there's a physicality side of it and we need to be a little more aggressive. That's something we talked about and we'll have to improve on that if we're to have any chance of advancing out of this competition...it's not something these players are used to, the demands of the game."

The Soca Warriors did give an improved showing in the second half, although it took a 49th-minute goal from opposing forward Frantzdy Pierrot to give them a shot in the arm. The introduction of Molino and Real Gill certainly seemed to lift the Soca Warriors' spirit and attacking intent, with flanker Tyrese Spicer also becoming more influential down the left.

Central defender Justin Garcia, who came into the Soca Warriors' Gold Cup squad as an injury replacement for Josiah Trimmingham, headed his team back on level terms in the 68th minute when he met a Molino free kick.

A little more spice needed

TT arguably should have been up by then, as Spicer banged an effort of the post just three minutes prior, while he had a shot saved from a tight angle by Johny Placide in the 72nd minute.

Though he has been a sound outlet for TT when deployed at either left wing-back or left wing, Yorke still believes the 24-year-old Spicer has more to offer.

"Spicer is a terrific player and we could see that when he's positive and playing on the front foot. You could see the creativity and he can cause problems for defenders," Yorke said. "I think that belief needs to be a little bit more instilled in him in many respects. He's a threat and a defender's nightmare. I think those types of players need to affect the game throughout and not in spells and moments.

"Yes, there might be a moment where you could go a little quiet, but for someone of his ability and quality and what we rely on down the left side, he should be impacting the game a lot more in my opinion."

Sitting at the bottom of the group with one point and a -5 goal difference, TT have an uncomplicated task in their last game against guest team Saudi Arabia (three points) on June 22 as they must grab a win and hope Haiti (one point) don't get three points against group leaders US (six points).

"Even though we were a little fortunate with the penalty miss against us, we felt we did enough to get at least a point from the game. It would have been a little harsh on our point if we didn't come away with something, especially with the advantage in our favour in the second half.

"We know what's ahead of us in terms of the World Cup qualifiers in September...but this is the competition (Gold Cup) where we're trying to get out of the group right now. With the result tonight (June 19), it's not ideal for us but what it does is give us an opportunity to try and advance."

Last December, Yorke's first match saw his team losing 3-1 away to Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. When the teams meet in Nevada, a reversal of that Riyadh result could put the Soca Warriors back on track.