[UPDATED] Women Warriors head coach calls Mexico loss: A baptism of fire

The Trinidad and Tobago women’s football team had a disastrous start to their 2024 Concacaf women’s Gold Cup qualifying campaign on Tuesday night, as they were beaten 6-0 by Mexico in their opening match at the Estadio Hidalgo Stadium in Pachuca.

It was coach Richard Hood’s first competitive game in his current stint as TT coach. He said it was a baptism of fire for his players.

“This was absolutely a tough assignment. I think that as a team we would have learnt a lot from the game, the players and staff alike,” Hood said.

“It was literally a baptism of fire for some of the girls who were playing at this level for the first time. As for us as a staff, we were able to identify some of those players that demonstrated the type of fortitude that we are looking for. That discipline and fighting spirit.”

The hosts wasted little time in spoiling TT’s visit to Pachuca. All six of the Mexican goals were scored in the first half by a rampant home team, as they relentlessly threatened Kimika Forbes in the TT goal.

Mexico are 36th on the Fifa rankings, compared to TT’s ranking of 75.

In the first ten minutes, the disparity was seen between the teams as Maria Sanchez and Greta Espinoza scored to give the hosts an early 2-0 lead. The 33-year-old Forbes didn’t have the best game between the sticks by her standards, and offered Espinoza an easy tap-in from close range after spilling a ball which was played into the area.

“Clearly we were a step behind the Mexicans so we have to improve our fitness levels as well as several aspects of our tactical setup. We had our plans for the game but we obviously failed to execute those plans effectively. We struggled to adapt to the atmospheric conditions.”

With TT camped in their half for the majority of the first period, the Mexicans rattled off 22 shots at Forbes’ goal. The hosts found the net with great regularity too, as Alicia Cervantes helped herself to a double. Alexia Delgado and Charlyn Corral also scored first-half goals.

Playing 2,000-plus metres above sea level, the TT team looked to be labouring as the Mexicans breached their defensive structure at will. In the second half, though, there was no further damage to the scoreline as the hosts took their feet off the pedal and strolled to the comfortable victory.

It is Mexico’s second win in their League A group, following their 2-1 comeback win over Puerto Rico on September 22.

TT’s next game in the group will be a home encounter versus the table-toppers Mexico on October 27. Hood’s TT unit will then round off the group with a pair of matches versus Puerto Rico on December 1 and 5 respectively.

“On the positive side, I think that we ended the game well, keeping the opponent scoreless in the second half. This ought to give the group some confidence going forward. We always knew that this was going to be the most difficult game and that qualification would be dependent on the games versus Puerto Rico.

“We simply have to beat them and we will prepare accordingly and get the players back into the right frame of mind for those encounters.”

At the end of group play, the top team in each of the three League A groups will qualify for the group stage of the 2024 Concacaf women’s Gold Cup. The three runners-up in the League A groups will play the three winners of the respective League B groups for a spot in the Gold Cup preliminary round.

This story was originally published with the title "Mexico hammer Trinidad and Tobago 6-0 in Women Gold Cup qualifier" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

The Trinidad and Tobago women's football team had a disastrous start to their 2024 Concacaf women's Gold Cup qualifying campaign on Tuesday night, as they were beaten 6-0 by Mexico in their opening match at the Estadio Hidalgo Stadium in Pachuca.

It was coach Richard Hood's first competitive game in his current stint as TT coach.

The hosts wasted little time in spoiling TT's visit to Pachuca. All six of the Mexican goals were scored in the first half by a rampant home team, as they relentlessly threatened Kimika Forbes in the TT goal.

Mexico are 36th on the Fifa rankings, compared to TT's ranking of 75.

In the first ten minutes, the disparity was seen between the teams as Maria Sanchez and Greta Espinoza scored to give the hosts an early 2-0 lead. The 33-year-old Forbes didn't have the best game between the sticks by her standards, and offered Espinoza an easy tap-in from close range after spilling a ball which was played into the area.

With TT camped in their half for the majority of the first period, the Mexicans rattled off 22 shots at Forbes' goal. The hosts found the net with great regularity too, as Alicia Cervantes helped herself to a double. Alexia Delgado and Charlyn Corral also scored first-half goals.

Playing 2,000-plus metres above sea level, the TT team looked to be labouring as the Mexicans breached their defensive structure at will. In the second half, though, there was no further damage to the scoreline as the hosts took their feet off the pedal and strolled to the comfortable victory.

It is Mexico's second win in their League A group, following their 2-1 comeback win over Puerto Rico on September 22.

TT's next game in the group will be a home encounter versus the table-toppers Mexico on October 27. Hood's TT unit will then round off the group with a pair of matches versus Puerto Rico on December 1 and 5 respectively.

At the end of group play, the top team in each of the three League A groups will qualify for the group stage of the 2024 Concacaf women's Gold Cup. The three runners-up in the League A groups will play the three winners of the respective League B groups for a spot in the Gold Cup preliminary round.