Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 20/Nov 04:22

Yorke: Trinidad and Tobago need killer instinct

NOT for the first time in this Fifa 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, TT men's football team coach Dwight Yorke was left to rue the finishing of his charges as they drew 2-2 with Bermuda at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on November 18, to close off the qualifying series. TT finished third in group B of Concacaf's final round on seven points, with four of their six matches in this phase being draws. Critically, all three of the team's home matches in the final round were drawn. At the post-match briefing, Yorke said it was a disappointing end to the campaign as he felt the team left their worst performance of the qualifiers for last. What was ideally supposed to be a dazzling farewell to send off stalwarts Marvin Phillip and captain Kevin Molino, turned out to be a scrap to the finish as the hosts eventually grabbed an equaliser in the 66th minute through Nathaniel James after Bermuda scored two goals in five minutes to take a shock 2-1 lead. "I think the whole team has been incredible (for the duration of the campaign)," Yorke said. "I think the effort we put in – bar tonight – which was probably our worst performance under me. I take full responsibility for that. "I really can't think of too many players in that group who have let me down to this point until tonight...Certainly, I know we have an unbeaten run at home. And that's a good positive, but we have to kill teams like Bermuda and them off, and those are the kind of killer instincts I have to bring to the team to get those players to understand we can't pick and choose games we feel like (showing up)." GOAL CONFUSION Even before the final blow of the whistle, there was confusion among the 7,000-plus fans who showed up in Mucurapo for the dead rubber, as well as the fans who watched from home, as many thought Bermuda's second goal had been ruled out as the scoreboard reflected a scoreline of 2-1 in TT's favour for some minutes before it was appropriately fixed. And after the final whistle from referee Jose Torres, the confusion was spread even further as several online football sites, including Concacaf's, showed a 2-1 score to the hosts. Yorke, match commissioner and match coordinator Yohannes Worede, as well as TT assistant coach Russell Latapy all confirmed the 2-2 scoreline to clear up any doubts. [caption id="attachment_1191300" align="alignnone" width="892"] Head coach Dwight Yorke looks on during his team's World Cup qualifier against Bermuda, on November 18, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain.[/caption] A TT Football Association official said the miscommunication stemmed from Concacaf's live TV broadcast, which went ahead with the notion that Bermuda's second goal had been ruled out by VAR. In truth, it was a chaotic and somewhat bizarre end to a campaign which promised so much but saw TT falling short of qualifying for the World Cup. In group B, Concacaf's automatic qualifying spot went to Curacao (12 points), who played to a goalless draw with the Reggae Boyz (11 points) on November 18, while Haiti and Panama also booked their spots at the World Cup after topping groups C and A, respectively. Jamaica and Suriname will move on to Fifa's intercontinental playoffs after finishing the final round as the two-best second-placed teams. After the match, Molino and Phillips were presented with special tokens by TTFA president Kieron Edwards and Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Phillip Watts, while fans stayed back to pay homage to the pair who donned the national colours for the last time. "There are two things that could happen in these types of games. You can have a long night or an easy night. And I think we chose the long night," Yorke said. "The warning sign we told them about it. There were still a lot of mistakes in there when it should have been a really high ending to the campaign with the likes of Molino and Marvin (Phillip) coming to the end of their careers. We wanted to give them a really good send-off, and in the end, it was a bit of a lacklustre performance from our end." ONE DRAW TOO MANY, BUT FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT Reflecting on the final round, Yorke said the team played well and dominated most of their games. However, he said a victory was needed against Curacao or Jamaica to really put them in World Cup contention. "I think it's clear in this campaign, as much as I'm relatively happy. I won't say I'm totally happy about the results. There was an unbeaten run at home, but these are the games where we need to be ruthless and make sure we win in the future. "Like I said to the players inside, 'if you want to be the number one team in the Caribbean again, these are all the things we need to understand and learn.'" Yorke said he has six to eight months left on his contract. And although he said he and the TTFA are yet to have talks concerning a possible extension, he believes the current crop of players can be a force in the region in a few years. "This job, it hasn't been an easy ride. But what we've been able to do up to this point from where we were when we walked through the door 12 months ago, anybody who's looking in from the outside will say, 'there's some potential there.' "They certainly aren't the complete article yet. They're still learning, but I strongly believe that we've got a nucleus of players...and with the Grandparent Act, there are windows for recruitment. I think the future looks bright. But, it's about the preparation and what you do, and not 12 months before trying to qualify for the World Cup." He said striker Levi Garcia was one of the standouts of the campaign, while he also heaped praises on players such as Molino, Rio Cardines, Kobi Henry Deron Payne, Andre Rampersad and Jerrin Jackie, who he deemed the find of the campaign. "This experience of playing in the Gold Cup and playing in major competition will bring the team along and bring the players to that level, but if I were to be honest about it, I think you'll see the best of this team in the next two to three years. And everybody will mature along those lines as well."   The post Yorke: Trinidad and Tobago need killer instinct appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.