Coach: Trinidad and Tobago U20 Women 'paid for their mistakes'

Trinidad and Tobago’s women’s Under-20 team bore the cost of their errors in a 12-0 thrashing against Canada in their final Concacaf Women’s U20 Qualifier match at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on February 25.

The result kept TT (six pts) in second place on the Group E standings while Canada (nine pts) affirmed pole position and an automatic spot in the 2025 Concacaf Women’s U20 Championship.

A win for TT would have sent the young Women Warriors through, but an aggressive performance from the Canadian outfit outclassed the hosts.

A hat-trick each from captain and striker Annabelle Chukwu, and second-half substitute Kierra Blundell, combined with one goal each from Kaylee Hunter, Lea Larouche, Juliette Perreault, Teegan Melenhorst, Jeneva Hernandez Gray and Ella Kettles spearheaded the Canadian onslaught.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the result we wanted,” said head coach Dernelle Mascall in the post-match interview. “Hats off to Canada, they dominated all game.

“We wanted to stay as disciplined for as long as we could. We saw where we crumbled, in terms of making decisions, in possession, and we didn’t really keep the ball as we would have liked. In the end, at this level, against top teams, you pay for your mistakes.”

With just 11 minutes gone in the first half, Chukwu had already scored a brace while Hunter successfully converted a long-distance free kick. Their fiery start set the pace for the remainder of the match.

Mascall confirmed their tactical plans did not materialise and as a result, faced the consequences of their actions.

“We wanted to keep the ball in front of us, allow them to possess the ball in front, because they are a team that likes to possess. The idea behind it was to not allow them (Canada) to break lines and get through the team as easy as they did.

“We wanted to be more mature in our decision-making when we have the ball. And we could see where we faltered the ball a lot in that instance, and we paid for it.”

TT attackers Orielle Martin (captain), Mariah Williams and Gabriel Ramdeen did string a couple of passes together in the final third, but never got the chance to become a real threat to Canadian goalkeeper Noelle Henning.

A goal-line clearance each from Madison Campbell and Hackeemar Goodridge in the first and second half respectively kept the score from increasing further, despite Canada also hitting the crossbar twice.

TT were unable to stop wave after wave of attack from Canada’s front three of Chukwu, Gray and Hunter.

With a healthy 4-0 lead heading into the second period, Perreault, Gary and Chukwu put them 7-0 up by the 56th minute. Blundell scored the eighth in the 71st and Melenhorst got on the scoresheet three minutes later.

Blundell got a brace in the 85th and sealed her hat-trick in the 90th. Ella Kettles scored Canada’s final goal two minutes into time added on to seal an emphatic victory.

Having lost number one goalkeeper Zaira Aimey after picking up an injury in their 3-0 opening win over Bermuda, substitute goalkeeper Zofia Richards replaced her for TT’s 7-0 triumph over Dominica in their second match.

However, against Canada in the second half, Richards suffered a head injury, and third-string goalie Kenisha Taylor was charged with being TT’s last line of defence.

Despite the result, Mascall was pleased her squad gained much-needed experience against the bigger Concacaf nations. Her squad comprised of several U17 players, who are also gearing up for a March 31 clash against the US, before playing Honduras twice, on April 2 and 5.

Action will be in the Concacaf qualifiers for the 2025 Fifa Under-17 Women's World Cup, from March 31-April 6.

“This is a perfect measuring tool as I see it. When you play the giants only then you know how good you really are. Gone are the days when we compete against Caribbean teams only, we set a goal to go after the giants and mark our name in Concacaf again.

“The positive in it, when you look at the players, the majority of the U17 players were the ones you literally had to scrape off the pitch. They gave it their all. For that, we’re always grateful and it’s a nice thing to see as a coach.”

Mascall said there were lessons to be learned.

“They got a taste of what the real thing is like so now they would be more mentally prepared, mature and we hope for a good result against the US.”

Also confirming spots at the Concacaf U20 Championship were Guyana, Puerto Rico, Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Including Canada, the six nations join the pre-seeded USA and Mexico for the Championships.

From there, the top four Concacaf nations progress to the 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.