Trinidad and Tobago’s women’s Under-20 team bore the cost of their errors in a 12-0 thrashing against Canada in their final Concacaf Women’s U20 Qualifier match at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on February 25.
The result kept TT (six pts) in second place on the Group E standings while Canada (nine pts) affirmed pole position and an automatic spot in the 2025 Concacaf Women’s U20 Championship.
A win for TT would have sent the young Women Warriors through, but an aggressive performance from the Canadian outfit outclassed the hosts.
A hat-trick each from captain and striker Annabelle Chukwu, and second-half substitute Kierra Blundell, combined with one goal each from Kaylee Hunter, Lea Larouche, Juliette Perreault, Teegan Melenhorst, Jeneva Hernandez Gray and Ella Kettles spearheaded the Canadian onslaught.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the result we wanted,” said head coach Dernelle Mascall in the post-match interview. “Hats off to Canada, they dominated all game.
“We wanted to stay as disciplined for as long as we could. We saw where we crumbled, in terms of making decisions, in possession, and we didn’t really keep the ball as we would have liked. In the end, at this level, against top teams, you pay for your mistakes.”
With just 11 minutes gone in the first half, Chukwu had already scored a brace while Hunter successfully converted a long-distance free kick. Their fiery start set the pace for the remainder of the match.
Mascall confirmed their tactical plans did not materialise and as a result, faced the consequences of their actions.
“We wanted to keep the ball in front of us, allow them to possess the ball in front, because they are a team that likes to possess. The idea behind it was to not allow them (Canada) to break lines and get through the team as easy as they did.
“We wanted to be more mature in our decision-making when we have the ball. And we could see where we faltered the ball a lot in that instance, and we paid for it.”
[caption id="attachment_1141137" align="alignnone" width="1024"] TT's Cherina Steele (R) battles for the ball against Canada during the Under-20 Concacaf Women's qualifier match, on February 25, 2025, at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva. - Photo by TTFA Media[/caption]
TT attackers Orielle Martin (captain), Mariah Williams and Gabriel Ramdeen did string a couple of passes together in the final third, but never got the chance to become a real threat to Canadian goalkeeper Noelle Henning.
A goal-line clearance each from Madison Campbell and Hackeemar Goodridge in the first and second half respectively kept the score from increasing further, despite Canada also hitting the crossbar twice.
TT were unable to stop wave after wave of attack from Canada’s front three of Chukwu, Gray and Hunter.
With a healthy 4-0 lead heading into the second period, Perreault, Gary and Chukwu put them 7-0 up by the 56th minute. Blundell scored the eighth in the 71st and Melenhorst got on the scoresheet three minutes later.
Blundell got a brace in the 85th and sealed her hat
