FRANCIS JOSEPH
San Pedro Sula
There is a saying–it is not over until the fat lady sings. Well, the fat lady has sung on the T&T Soca Warriors. That 4-1 drubbing on Saturday night at the hands of host, Honduras, effectively ends the Warriors' road to South Africa 2010 campaign.
With three hard matches remaining, some supporters may feel there is a mathematical chance of reaching South Africa, by being the fourth place finisher in this group, and getting the chance of playing the fifth place finisher in South America.
Honduras, by this win, now has 13 points. The United States defeated El Salvador 2-1 in Utah to reach 13 points. Mexico climbed to 12 points with a 3-0 victory over a deflated Costa Rican team. Costa Rica still has 12 points (See full table on Page A42).
Both T&T and El Salvador are locked on five points each.
The Soca Warriors, playing in front of a huge crowd at the Olympic Metropolitan Stadium needed the three points to stay in contention.
But defence blunders and poor judgment by goalkeeper Clayton Ince, pushed the Warriors on the back foot very early. The team made mistakes at the back and it cost T&T dearly.
In the 19th minute, Carlos Pavon pounced on a loose ball and hit home to give Honduras a 1-0 lead. Eight minutes later, Pavon made it 2-0, again benefiting from a defence blunder.
In the 35th minute, the Warriors came close to scoring when Carlos Edwards' throw fell on the head of striker Kenwyne Jones. The header struck the cross bar, however, and rebounded into play.
The score remained 2-0 at half time.
In the second half, diminutive striker Hayden Tinto replaced a disappointing Silvio Spann. His entrance brought the game alive for T&T on the right wing, but he got no assistance. Both Jones and Cornell Glen had a rough game, not being able to control things up front.
For yet another match, Jones failed to get his name on the score card.
The Sunderland striker has not yet scored for T&T in the World Cup campaign.
In the 61st minute, Amado Guevara sent the 45,000-strong crowd wild when he scored Honduras' third goal. David Suazo made it 4-0 in the 83rd, through another defensive blunder.
Kerry Baptiste came on as a substitute and immediately showed why he is the leading scorer in the Pro League. He netted in the 85th minute, this time from a Honduras blunder. The score was now 4-1 and the Warriors came alive. But it was a case of too little, too late.
One thing was evident on the field –T&T was leaderless. Although Andrews wore the captain's arm band, he did not lift the spirits of the players after the first goal.
The T&T team will certainly remember the mistakes of this campaign. After being up 2-0 against El Salvador in February, skipper Dwight Yorke allowed Stern John to kick the second penalty of the match. The first was scored by Yorke, and he decided to give John a chance. That shot went over the bar, and El Salvador was able to tie the game, 2-2, in the later stages of the match.
In the next match, T&T allowed Honduras to share the points at Hasely Crawford Stadium. In June, after opening the scoring against Costa Rica in Tobago, the Warriors lost the game 3-2.
A disappointed Concacaf President, Jack Warner, said the dream of reaching South Africa 2010 was over. "It would be difficult from here for the players to qualify for the finals. They did not play good football tonight," Warner added.
