(CMC) – Trinidad and Tobago were eyeing an early exit from the group stage of the CONCACAF Gold Cup after crashing to a 2-0 defeat to El Salvador on Wednesday night, to remain winless after two games.
Goals from Jairo Henriquez in the 30th minute and Walmer Martínez in the first minute of injury time at the end of the second half at Toyota Stadium here, were enough to ensure the demise of the Trinidadians while booking the Central American side’s passage to the next round.
T&T lie third on a point from their opening draw last weekend against Mexico, who rebounded with a 3-0 defeat of Guatemala also on Wednesday.
“We’re disappointed in the result obviously but I think there is a lot of encouragement in the performance of the team, against one of the teams who would’ve qualified proper for the Gold Cup and probably they were a bit fresher than us,” said T&T head coach, Antgus Eve.
“In the first half it showed. I thought it was a much improved performance in the second half and probably we deserved to get a little bit more out of the game, but it augurs well for the work that we have been doing in a short space of time.”
The warning signs were there from as early as the fifth minute when an unmarked Joaquín Rivas shot wide from the edge of the box, and Narciso Orellana also sent a speculative long range effort wide in the ninth minute.
And T&T were even closer to conceding in the 26th minute when Joshua Pérez raced down the right and squared for Rivas who forced a diving save out of goalkeeper Nicklas Frenderup, low to his right.
However, Frenderup, replacing veteran Marvin Phillip who was outstanding against Mexico, was powerless four minutes later as Henriquez opened the scoring.
Full back Bryan Tamacas was allowed a free run down the right and picked out Henriquez just outside the 18-yard box, the forward spinning swiftly off his marker Jelani Peters and firing a right-footed volley out of Frenderup’s reach low at the far post.
Henriquez then forced yet another save out of Frenderup in injury time with Perez failing to net the rebound, as T&T went to the break 1-0 down.
There was increased enterprise from the Trinidadians on the resumption, Reco Moore denied from close range by a lunging tackle from centre back Eriq Zavaleta in the 63rd before Ryan Telfer and Aubrey David combined to bungle a chance at the near post moments later off a corner.
Marcus Joseph, a half-time substitute, perhaps enjoyed the best opportunity in the 66th minute when he raced down the middle, split the two centre backs but then stabbed the left-sided cross onto the crossbar.
The India-based Joseph threatened again in the 70th with a left-footed effort from 22 yards, which called on goalkeeper Mario González to make an acrobatic save.
Luck followed the Trinidadians in the 85th when a sprawling Mekeil Williams denied substitute Juan Portillo in the box and Frenderup then pulled off the follow up save, before Noah Powder cleared the danger.
However, T&T’s quest for the equaliser cost them in the dying moments of the game, Frenderup saving Amando Moreno’s long range drive and Marvin Márquez and Portillo both comically failing to convert the rebound, before Martínez tapped in. T&T face bottom-placed Guatemala in their final game of Group A here Sunday.
