T&T and Jamaica will be looking to round off their Caribbean Football Union (CFU) women's qualifiers in style tonight when they meet in a match to determine the top position in the tournament, at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya from 6 pm. Both teams have already qualified for the Concacaf Final which will be played in January in Guatemala. Cuba and St Kitts/Nevis will battle in the first match of a double header, from 4 pm for the right to be the third team from the CFU in Guatemala. The local girls earned one of the spots with a hard fought 2-1 win against Cuba on Friday night while the Jamaicans romped past St Kitts/Nevis 2-0.
The Soca Princesses were put to the test by Cuba with its quick, short passes. A threatening shot on goal just 56 seconds into the match that brought T&T keeper, Kimba Forbes into action, let the home team know very early that victory was not going to be easy. But the local girls responded positively and soon got two early goals, much to the delight of the small crowd. The first came from T&T's dependable captain Mariah Shade in the 6th minute, following a flawless delivery from 15-year-old, Kayla Taylor.
Four minutes later, Karissa Rodney found Cuban keeper, Katherine Hidalgo in no man's land and maintained her composure to easily lob the ball over her head and into the net to make it 2-0. The Cubans, to their defence, did not lie down and die and fought back gallantly. They pulled one back in the 39th minute, largely through sloppy defending and a bit of luck. The Soca Princesses seemed to collapse thereafter and never really settled down, while the Cubans pressed and were brutally aggressive, much to the oblivion of referee Dianne Ferreira-James.
Shade in particular, left the field battered and bruised, as it seemed the Cubans were given a mandate to stop the prolific striker at all cost. It was not until Natasha St Louis, who surprisingly, did not start, was introduced with just over ten minutes to go, T&T picked up the pace of the game and looked composed. In her short spell, St Louis launched four menacing shots on goal while helping Taylor to a couple that brought the best out of Hidalgo. Given the rivalry between T&T and Jamaica, the local side will have to pull itself together today if it expects to finish with a win.
