GIRONA, Spain, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago netted once in each half, to romp to a comfortable 2-0 victory over United Arab Emirates in their international friendly here yesterday.
Playing at the Estadio Municipal de Montilivi, the United States-based Ataulla Guerra struck in the 37th minute to give T&T a 1-0 half-time lead before Nathan Lewis found the all-important insurance second goal near the hour mark.
“I thought we did really well. I’m really, really pleased with the boys … and I give them full credit, looking at the game and the effort they put in,” head coach Dennis Lawrence said afterwards.
“They worked together as a group and they deserved the victory.”
Up against a side ranked 14 places higher in the FIFA rankings, T&T saw Ahmad Khalil volley over the cross bar inside the first 10 minutes following an Omar Abdul Rahman free kick.
Joevin Jones shot straight at goalkeeper Khalid Eisa soon afterwards but a defensive mix up nearly saw T&T fall behind on the stroke of the half-hour but Khamis Esmail failed to make the most of Abdul Rahman’s cut back.
However, T&T went ahead with half-time beckoning through Guerra who stroked into the bottom left-hand corner following Lewis’s squared pass on the edge of the area.
UAE tried to hit back just before the break but yet again failed to find the target as Ali Mabkhout shot wide.
T&T kept up their strong tempo on the resumption and were rewarded when Jones’s cross into the box found Lewis who tapped home on 58 minutes.
Goalkeeper Marvin Phillips preserved T&T’s margin when he forced Mabkhout’s shot wide with 20 minutes to play, and Ismail Al Hammadi and Mohammad Abdul Rahman also missed chances late on.
