Despite three goals from striker Shahdon Winchester and a battling performance overall, the Soca Warriors missed out on a chance to qualify for the next phase of the Concacaf Gold Cup when they were beaten 4-3 in extra-time by Haiti in yesterday's crucial CFU Concacaf Gold Cup football play-off at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva.
Needing to win by two clear goals to advance, the Warriors got off to a flying start when Nathan Lewis stormed down the right flank and delivered perfectly for Winchester to fire past Romondt Guerry into the Haiti goal with less than a minute gone in the match.
The goal signalled the intentions of Tom Saintfiet's men which they lacked in the opening match against Suriname last week. The large crowd which included Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith and ex-national coach Zoran Vranes looked on with anticipation as the T&T men were later denied a second goal by a finger-tip save by Guerry in the 15th minute.
Defender Radanfah Abu Bakr taught he had scored when he raced in to head a Lewis left-side corner past Guerry, but the custodian somehow flung himself to the right to tip Bakr's attempt wide.
T&T lost captain and defender Carlos Edwards to injury in the 19th minute, and a minute later the Haitians equalised. Lewis whose shirt was being tugged at just outside the T&T penalty area, was given a surprise when referee Ricangel De Leca of Aruba awarded the infringement to the Haitians. And Belfort Kervens Fils quickly picked out an unmarked Etienne Derrick, who shot beat Adrian Foncette at the far post in the 20th for placement.
However, their celebrations were short-lived as Guerry received a headed back pass from his defender Jerome Mechack before he illegally held on to it inside his area in the 26th minute.
The referee's call was met with stern resistance by the Haitians, as Lewis quickly released the ball to Winchester, who slot the ball into an empty net, for his second, as the Haitians challenged the referee's decision.
Haiti coach Jean Claude Josaphat was later sent off the bench as he vented his disgust. The visitors would later take control of the game as they pressed for the equaliser a second time and would not be denied.
Striker Kervens Fils found himself unmarked in the box to head home a pin-point corner by Charles Herold in the 39th minute to send the teams to the break at two-apiece.
Saintfiet opted for more fire-power at the resumption, bringing in Cornell Glenn for Tyrone Charles, but it was the Haitians who looked more likely to score. In the 79th the visitors squandered a golden opportunity when Jean Baptiste Andrew picked out Derrick, all alone in the box, but with the goal at his mercy, he fired against the outstretched legs of Foncette to send the match into extra-time as the scored stayed locked at 2-2.
The Warriors were stunned when Herold's left side corner was headed in by Kervens Fils in the 111th minute. But for a third time Winchester gave his team hope when he pounced on a lose ball inside the area and helped himself to his third which was his hat-trick in the 117th minute.
As the match headed for penalties, Baptiste Andrew headed home Kervens Fils cross from the left side in the goal for the winner, despite an attempt by Andre Boucaud to stop it.
The defeat was Saintfiet's third in four matches since taking over from sacked coach Stephen Hart, as he prepares for two World Cup qualifiers at home in March.
 
Starting 11: 1.Adrian Foncette (GK); 11. Carlos Edwards (captain), 6.Radanfah Abu Bakr, 17. Maurice Ford, 2. Aubrey David; 19. Kevan George, 14. Andre Boucaud, 15. Hughtun Hector; 8. Nathan Lewis, 18. Aikim Andrews, 7. Tyrone Charles; 10. Shahdon Winchester.
Substitutes Used: 16. Alvin Jones replaced 11. Carlos Edwards; 13.Cornell Glen replaced 7.Tyrone Charles; 20.Trevin Caesar replaced 18.Aikim Andrews
Unused substitutes: 21. Glenroy Samuel (GK), 5. Hashim Arcia, 9. Akeem Roach
Unavailable: 4.Curtis Gonzales, 12.Carlyle Mitchell,
Head Coach: Tom Saintfiet
