TT lost 4-2 on aggregate to the US in their Concacaf Nations League A 2023/24 quarterfinal tie, but coach Angus Eve's Soca Warriors won over thousands of fans at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Monday night after getting an enthralling 2-1 win against the defending champions.
Trailing 3-0 on aggregate after the first leg in Austin, Texas on Thursday night, Eve and his team needed a herculean effort to overturn the visitors. Playing before roughly 10,000 supporters at the Mucurapo venue, the TT team had an almighty go at the challenging task. The Soca Warriors gave a gutsy performance against the US team, and tremendous goals by Reon Moore and defender Alvin Jones saw TT defeat the ten-man US team.
The US now advance to the Nations League semifinals and have also booked a spot in the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 tournament. TT still have hopes of qualifying for Copa 2024, but their route will now be a lengthier one.
With ace striker Levi Garcia being ruled out on his birthday through injury, Eve turned some heads with his starting lineup which saw the trio of Real Gill, Nathaniel James and the bustling Moore all starting in attack. Moore had the Hasely Crawford venue jumping in the 43rd minute with a right-footed thunderbolt that flew past custodian Matthew Turner from a ridiculously tight angle to tie the scores at 1-1. The Defence Force attacker latched onto a sweet through pass from Jones and his finish was even sweeter.
[caption id="attachment_1046273" align="alignnone" width="1024"] United States' Brenden Aaronson (C) fights for the ball with TT's Shannon Gomez (R) and Real Gill (L) during a Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal match, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain,on Monday - AP PHOTO[/caption]
Before that, the home spectators were yelling and shouting for other reasons, as US full-back Sergino Dest was sent off by referee Walter Lopez for a display of dissent in the 39th minute. The former Barcelona player got a pair of yellow cards within the space of roughly 30 seconds as he was firstly booked for hacking a ball into the covered stands after a call went against the US, while he got his second yellow after vigorously disagreeing with Lopez's original booking.
Dest was berated by Turner and his teammates for his petulance, but the talented flanker did have another meaningful contribution to the contest. In the 26th minute, he served up a delightful delivery from the right which was expertly headed in by Antonee Robinson to give the US a 1-0 lead.
The US had the better of the exchanges in the early stages of the high-octane match, as both Brenden Aaronson and Folarin Balogun forced fine saves from TT goalkeeper Denzil "Peng" Smith in the opening five minutes. Aaronson drew another good save from Smith in the 15th minute, after a turnover by TT left-back Andre Raymond, who had an otherwise stellar showing in defence for the Soca Warriors.
[caption id="attachment_1046272" align="alignnone" width="1024"] United States' Ricardo Pepi (L) fights for the ball with TT's Reon More, during
