By:Curtis Morton
All players of the Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Under 17 Football team have left St Kitts/Nevis and are now back in Trinidad and Tobago or at their other respective destinations (one player in United States and three in Canada)
Team manager Lyndelle Hoyte-Sanchez and two other members of staff are the only members of the contingent left on those islands and will return home on the next set of available flights. Following their 4-0 victory over St Kitts/Nevis last Wednesday, the contingent remained in St Kitts for a couple additional nights due to the Tropical Storm warning. The players and staff members departed St Kitts in two batches on Saturday and Sunday.
The team will now shift its focus on the CFU Finals in Puerto Rico slated for November 13-18th, 2015. T&T joins Cuba Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Barbados in the Final Round of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Women’s Under 17 Qualifiers. Hosts Puerto Rico automatically qualified for the Final Round.
These eight teams have been divided into two Groups A and B. From this Final Round, four teams will go through semi-finals and the two finalists will join hosts Grenada at the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship.
T&T, the CFU defending champions, are in Group B alongside Haiti, Dominican Republic and Barbados. Group A comprises Cuba, Bermuda, hosts Puerto Rico and Jamaica.
Three teams from CONCACAF will advance to the 2016 FIFA Under 17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan from September 30-October 21.
During the completed CFU preliminary games Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica topped their respective Groups 1, 2 and 4, in the same order, in the preliminary round group stage which ran from July 15 to 19 in three countries.
In Group 3 which started on August 22 it was Trinidad and Tobago topping that group with nine points from three games.
T&T head coach Rajesh Latchoo, who returned home on Sunday, said he was pleased with the showing of the team in their opening group phase.
“I was quite pleased with the way the players handled everything, They adapted well to the conditions and despite some of the challenges with the weather and the delay in matches, they kept it together and really demonstrated that they were the best team in the group,” Latchoo told TTFA Media.
“Nia Honore had a fabulous tournament and has a very bright future. The captain Kelsey Henry was solid as usual and deserved her goal. Laurel Theodore played her role well as our impact player in the final game, coming on and getting many strikes on goal. Arianna Campbell was most effective in midfield during first half. Our back four and goalkeepers were consistent, they completed our objective on keeping a clean sheet. And I couldn’t have asked for more.
“The support staff has been tremendous in making the girls comfortable off the field. We thank God for keeping us safe during the first storm, Danny, being able to come through the second one without any problems, “Latchoo added.
“Now we’ll settle down again and start to refocus on the next phase which is crucial as we need to remain consistent and take this all the way into the CONCACAF Finals and then the World Cup in Jordan next year,” he stated.
Before leaving Nevis, Latchoo commended the St.Kitts-Nevis host team for the aggression they showed in the final encounter versus his team. He stated that the girls from the host country were very aggressive and defended well in the early stages of the game and that forced her girls to up their game.