Trinidad and Tobago’s National Under 17 women’s team captured the top spot in the Caribbean Football Union final round with a 1-0 victory over hosts Jamaica at the Tony Spaulding Complex on Saturday. A 65th minute goal by Diarra Simmons gave coach Stephan De Four’s team the win which pushed them to nine points from their three games with Jamaica and Bahamas finishing second and third respectively. Guyana finished bottom without a point.
Simmons goal came through a header from a Jonelle Warrick corner. Nicole Broderick had Jamaica’s best chance but she fired her shot wide of target after T&T had failed to clear from a corner. De Four later credited his team for their performances in the tournament saying: “We had to dig deep for the final win against Jamaica. The girls showed a lot of character to defeat the home team. Overall I was pleased with the way we contested the entire tournament. We had a lot to play for and the girls were inspired to come here and do well because they all want to see their country participate in another Under 17 World Cup following the 2012 tournament. Now we will regroup and focus on the final round of qualification next year,” De Four said.
Simmons finished the tournament as the highest goalscorer with five goals. T&T will contest the final round in Guatemala in May alongside United States, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, Bahamas, hosts Guatemala and either Panama or Costa Rica. The U-17 World Cup is scheduled for Azerbaijan in September.
Source: www.guardian.co.tt