T&T’s senior footballers succumbed to a 3-0 defeat to Russia in their second international friendly match at the Kaliningrad Arena in Russia on Tuesday. And had it not been for the heroics of goalkeeper Denzil Smith between the posts, the margin of defeat would have been even wider.
FIFA’s 102nd-ranked T&T suffered a 5-0 loss to World Cup-bound South Korea on May 30th in the United States and had hoped to use the experience to better their display.
But though the teams were meeting for the first time, the 35th-ranked Russians quickly found their stride and posed early problems for the T&T team from the start. Coach Derek King’s men held their own for the early moments against the South Koreans, but this time their struggles were intensified by the fast-moving, short-passing game that caught them off guard early in the encounter.
From a build-up that started down the right flank, Aleksei Batrakov slipped the ball to Alexey Miranchuk, storming into the T&T goal area on the right side, and his center was met with a one-time shot from Ivan Sergeev, only for TT goalkeeper Denzil Smith to fist it wide.
Three minutes later, Smith again stood in the way of a right-side centre between the same two players. This time, with Smith the lone body standing between Sergeev and the goal, the latter’s attempt deflected off the forehead of the diminutive T&T custodian before bouncing to the safety of the touchline in the 7th minute.
However, there was no stopping the home team, who, supported by a large crowd, despite their exclusion from the FIFA World Cup to begin tomorrow in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, benefited from the resulting corner, as Justin Garcia failed to get distance from his defensive header, and Mingiian Beveev connected with a one-time volley that beat Smith at his first post for the 1-0 advantage.
King’s men struggled to cope with the early onslaught, but as they settled thereafter, it was either a lack of early support or their decision to hold on to the ball for long spells that prevented a better game.
At the quarter mark of the first half, the T&T footballers were down 2-0. The Russians’ increasing confidence in attack saw the consistent Alexey Miranchuk deliver a right-side cross to be headed as far as Alexander Silyanov on top of the T&T goal area to unleash a thumping shot that beat Smith for a second time for a 2-0 lead.
Trailing 2-0, T&T’s Ryan Telfer missed a golden opportunity to reduce the scoreline midway in the first half. Daniel Phillips slipped the ball to the unmarked Telfer, who had been recalled for the match, at the edge of the Russian goal area, and after using his speed to get inside the box, he somehow hit the ball wide of a gaping goal, with goalkeeper Anton Mitryushkin standing in front of him.
King’s constant rise to his feet signaled his call to tighten his defensive structure, which the T&T team did to curb the flurry of attacks, as the teams returned to the dressing room with the home team leading 2-0. Upon their return, Smith again was forced into action to preserve the T&T scoreline.
Miranchuk used his speed to get Garcia on the right side and lifted the ball to the unmarked Sergeev to hit it one time inside the penalty area, but Smith still denied him at point-blank range in the 51st minute. However, there was no denying the Russians nine minutes later. Michel Poon Angeron’s attempt to pass the ball inside his own goal area was intercepted by Lechi Sadulaev, who quickly picked out Aleksei Batrakov to connect with a one-time shot past Smith to take the home team 3-0 up, much to the delight of the home fans.
Undaunted by the goal, Smith rebounded and kept the T&T team in the game by pulling off multiple saves, including a double save to deny Batrakov and substitute Maksim Petrov in the 70th minute.
Still, the visitors, using the match as preparation for the coming Concacaf Nations League, which will begin in September, showed their attacking prowess.
This time striker Reon Moore raced on to a through ball from deep in the T&T midfield, and though he proved to be quick enough to get past his marker and the goalkeeper, he somehow hit the ball into the side nettings, much to King’s dismay.
TEAMS
RUSSIA
23 Anton Mitryushkin (gk), 22 Mingiian Beveev, 2 Evgenii Morozov, 24 Alexander Silyanov, 30 Ilya Vakhania, 28 Nikita Krivtsov, 27 Ivan Obliakov, 7 Aleksei Batrakov, 59 Alexey Miranchuk, 13 Ivan Sergeev, 20 Lechi Sadulaev
Subs
1 Aleksandr Maksimenko (gk), 16 Denis Adamov, 14 Viktor Melekhin, 4 Danil Krugovoi, 26 Kirill Danilov, 6 Dmitrii Barinov, 21 Anton Miranchuk, 18 Matvei Kisliak, 29 Maksim Petrov, 19 Amir Ibragimov, 9 Georgy Melkadze
T&T TEAM
22 Denzil Smith, 5 Anthony Herbert, 6 Andre Raymond, 7 Ryan Telfer, 8 Daniel Phillips, 10 Molik Khan, 13 Reon Moore, 17 Justin Garcia, 18 Andre Rampersad, 19 Michel Poon Angeron, 20 Kaihim Thomas
Subs
1 Jabari Brice, 21 Teshore Ragoo, 3 Shervohnez Hamilton, 9 Daniel David, 11 Judah Garcia, 12 Ali Kazim Nakhid, 14 John-Paul Rochford, 15 Jaheim Faustin, 16 Isaiah Lee, 23 Noah Powder
