Soccer Salute
in the Community
Soccer
Salute in Toronto 2006
Soccer
Salute in Toronto 2006
Invitational vs
Invitational
Soccer
Salute 2006 was played before a large
enthusiastic crowd at Allan Lamport
Stadium in Toronto last Sunday with
Trinidad and Tobago defeating Jamaica
1-0 on a goal scored by Kevin Jeffery in
the 75th minute of play. After the two
teams warmed up the atmosphere was very
electrifying when the fans of the two
teams started singing, chanting and
making noise with anything in their
possession in anticipation of the
friendly rivalry.
For the promoters this
must have been a welcomed change compared to earlier
reports that some people could have left the venue after
it was alleged that they were misinformed the time of
the game but later found out that the time of the
featured Invitational game (of the three games
scheduled) was 7pm. If this was the case then
unfortunately those people would have missed a level of
soccer that has not been seen in the Caribbean community
for quite some time.
The game started at a fast pace which favored the
youthful T&T Invitational team who strung together
several combinations of passes, while running into
spaces to utilize the enormous size of the Lamport
field. However their impressive start was stalled
somewhat by the solid play of the Jamaican defense that
shutdown their early advances without giving T&T a shot
on their net.
At that point in the game the Jamaican midfielders lead
by Reggae Boyz superstar Theodore Whitmore
systematically took control of the game but as a payback
they found the Trinidad and Tobago defense also were a
tough bunch although the Jamaican attacks were
potentially more dangerous due to their close proximity
to the Trinidad net. The Jamaicans however could not
capitalize on their territorial advantage due to a high
percentage of their shots going high and wide or their
lacked of awareness or aggressiveness around the goal
area.
T&T Invitational withstood the pressure and showed the
characteristics of the real Soca Warriors by not only
staying competitive but battling back to have more
direct chances on goals from headers from crosses that
forced Reggae Boyz goalkeeper Barrett to come up with
brilliant saves. On the flipside the dominant Reggae
Boyz Invitational team had only a couple of direct shots
on net: One a classic Whitmore low curving free kick
that forced goalkeeper Ross Russell to make a full
extension save to push the ball around the post.
Although the half ended goalless the game was full with
excitement and the level of play was definitely at
International football/soccer standard. The large crowd
was full with enthusiasm and the supporters of the teams
were thrilled with their moments of scoring anxieties
mixed with defensive scares.
Heading into the second half the game was delayed for
over half an hour due to a lengthy halftime show.
Needless to say this was not a popular decision with the
players of both teams. The delay seemed to affect the
Jamaica team as the second half started slowly with T&T
having the first possession and from the touch off T&T
seemed a little more settled after withstanding the
dominant play of the Jamaican team in the latter stages
of the first half. T&T was more deliberate in their
build up and play selections which balanced of the run
of play and time of possession. However although
the game was more competitive the slow precision
build up of the Jamaican team could not be flawed or
matched.
From my vantage point as
T&T
coach
our
defense had to be patient
and continue to work hard to utilize the age advantage
and cut down the space of Jamaica midfielders. As the
game progress to the later stages Reggae Boyz goal
keeper Warren Barrett was put to the test and was forced
to make at least three big stops to keep his team in the
game. In the meantime the Jamaican team continued to
hedge goal wards but without the urgency needed to
capitalize on their potential scoring chances.
In the end the T&T
Invitational team perseverance was rewarded when the
Jamaica Invitational defense was caught out of position
as T&T midfielder Kevin Jeffery broke free all alone on
goalkeeper Barrett to tap in a bouncing ball over the
keeper right shoulder into the goal. The T&T supporters
went into a World Cup frenzy and with that momentum T&T
created a few more scoring opportunities but found
goalkeeper Barrett a difficult man to negotiate around
whenever his defense went shopping for the tying goal.
After the game the Soccer Salute 2006 Challenge Trophy
was presented by Jamaican Consulate General Mrs.
Annemarie Bonner to the T&T Invitational team captain,
goalkeeper Ross Russell, while the runner up trophy was
presented to the Jamaican Invitational captain
goalkeeper Warren Barrett by the Trinidad and Tobago
Consulate General Mr. Michael Lashley. Soccer Salute
closed off with some music and the mingling of the
players of both teams and their fans.
T&T Invitational Team: *Ross Russell (Capt), *Kwesi
Smith, *Kevon Carter, Claude Adams, Dexter Pacheco, *Devorn
Jorsline, *Conrad Smith, *Christopher Durity, Steve
Salim, *Sherron Joseph, Kevin Jeffery, Rene Martin, Todd
Oliver, Henry John, Marcus Marshall, Kerry Llewellyn.
Coach: Aldwyn McGill, Asst: Dixon Modeste
Jamaica Invitational Team : Warren Barrett (Capt),
Markino Gillins, Theodore Whitmore, Winston Griffith,
Daniel Ricketts, Byron Earle, Trevor Gragam, Gladstone
Richards, Jeffrey Caine, Kevin Rose, Ronald Nicholas,
George Salesman, Mario Osbourne, Kevin Mc Intosh, Andre
Steward. Coach: Winston Duhaney
Caribbean
Football in Toronto
Therefore it was
understandable that everyone automatically assumed back
then that the visiting Invitational team was the Soca
Warriors. However this was one time that everyone was
believing the hype, and as a result the promoter/s had
to attend radio shows to inform the public that the
Invitational T&T team would not be the Soca Warriors.
Invitational vs
Invitational
