Women's U-20 coach: We won the match but lost the mental battle

A nervy 3-0 victory for Trinidad and Tobago’s Under-20 women over Bermuda in their opening Concacaf U20 Women’s Qualifiers on February 21 allowed head coach Dernelle Mascall to get a first-hand look at her squad’s strengths and weaknesses during competitive play.

Despite winning the match, Mascall said her players lost the mental battle, particularly in the first half. As a result, they would have to quickly remediate their mental toughness ahead of the February 23 tie against Dominica at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, from 7 pm.

A second-half brace from TT captain Orielle Martin partnered with a goal from defender Madison Campbell affirmed three points for the hosts, but not without some rustiness on display.

After a lacklustre first 45 minutes, in which TT did have chances to score but could not find the finishing touch, they returned an improved unit in the second half.

In the 66th minute, Martin latched on to a well-timed Cherina Steele pass to slide a left-footed shot past Bermudan goalkeeper Taya Rodrigues.

Twelve minutes later, Campbell lofted a long ball into the Bermuda box off a free kick close to the half line. The ball bounced a few feet in front of Rodrigues and over her head into the goal. She tried to parry the ball out to safety but her flailing hand guided it in the net to send TT 2-0 up.

In the 90th minute, Martin was fouled in the box and successfully converted her penalty with a hard, right-footed shot to seal the win.

“If you look at the composition of our team, this is their first time at Concacaf,” Mascall said in the post-match interview.

“Clearly, first half, nerves were blaring and we weren’t able to put down the ball and play like we trained. It’s all a part of the game and it’s a learning experience, and we move forward towards Dominica.”

Between the opener and Dominica tie, TT had one day (February 22) to rest and recover, and Mascall said she would have used that time to build on their resilience.

“They’ll spend a little more time with the mental coach because confidence was the word for (today). We saw a little immaturity at times when we first started but the cohesiveness of the team, especially bringing in the U17s players who are accustomed playing with one another, we saw where that worked for us. (It’s) back to the drawing board and we’ll spend time trying to build better relationships on the pitch.”

Twenty minutes into the first period, defender Mikaela Yearwood got injured after she was toppled by Bermuda’s Breanna De Silva. She was replaced by Campbell.

At the half-time break, towering attacker Natalie Penniston-John was also substituted and replaced by Ty’Kaiya Dennis.

Forward Mariah Williams also replaced Rasheda Archer in the second half, and the three new players brought some life to the TT attack. Winger Ariana Borneo also showed some fight on the wing but her efforts all went wide.

Overall, Mascall was satisfied for a positive start and wants to continue in good stride for the remaining matches against Dominica and Canada (February 25).

Only the group winner advances to the Concacaf U20 Championships, and TT will have to bring their A-game against the North Americans to seal top spot.

Before TT’s Bermuda win, Canada thumped Dominica 22-0.

Looking ahead, Mascall wants her team to be “dynamic.”

“They (opposition) shouldn’t be able to predict how we want to attack because we have Madison who is excellent and very technical with the ball so we use that as an asset. We have Orielle who we see is very cunning. Ty’Kaiya is another who is very smooth on the ball but we make sure and emphasise that we’re a dynamic team. There’s not going to be one or two ways in which we’ll attack. We plan to use our strengths and use it as best as we could.

“Rasheeda did well, we made sure and reminded them to give 100 and allow us to manage the game. She did what she had to do first half, Borneo was excellent as well, and then Mariah came in and she was a game changer.”

Mascall could not confirm the severity of Yearwood’s injury but expressed confidence in her medical staff to have her “back and ready to go in no time.”