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Soca Warriors Beat USA 2-1

Russell Latapy and skipper Dwight Yorke are the only two surviving members of the Strike Squad that came within one point of making the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

The sad memory of that fateful day on November 19, 1989, was almost erased last night as the Little Magician and Yorke almost certainly secured the Soca Warriors a spot in the next round on the road to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

Carlos Edwards found Latapy in the 61st minute and he made no mistake. The almost packed Hasely Crawford Stadium went wild as the 40-year-old beat USA’s goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

Six minutes after coming on for Freddy Adu, Charlies Davies equalised for the Americans

Yorke, Latapy come good in the 75th minute. It was his first international goal.

But Jozy Altidore conceded a penalty in the 79th minute and Yoke converted.

Latapy was substituted in the 76th minute to resounding applause by the thousands who were at the stadium to witness history. He was replaced by Khaleem Hyland.

As the match drew to a close, the three minutes of stoppage time seemed like an eternity for the partisan crowd which urged the referee to blow the whistle.

T&T has only beaten the USA once, that was in a friendly international at the same venue in 1994.

But since Paul Caliguiri ended T&T’s hopes in a 31st minute goal in 1989, T&T has struggled in World Cup qualifiers against the Americans.

T&T is now second in the group, with one match left for all teams.

The Soca Warriors play Cuba at home while Guatemala takes on the USA on November 19.

The top two teams qualify for the hexagonal competition from where three winners qualify for South Africa and the fourth placed go to a play-off.

T&T is now second behind USA who has already qualified for the next round.

Keyeno Thomas had to come off in the 35th minute after sustaining an injury from an earlier tackle. He was replaced by Marcus Hislop.

Jason Scotland had a great opportunity in injury time in the first half. The USA defence allowed Scotland to turn inside the 18 yard, but he shot wide. T&T had the better possession in the first half, getting two shots on goal compared to none by their opponents. Jason Scotland shot in the 25th minute was blocked by goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

In the 11th minute, Chris Birchall had a shot from on top the box, a defender managed to get a foot to it and it was held by goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

T&T controlled the midfield for the first 30 minutes. Goalkeeper Clayton Ince had nothing to do for most of this period.

Teams

USA Brad Guzan, Frankie Hejduk, Michael Orozco, Dan Califf, Heath Pearce (replaced by Chris Rolfe in the 87th), Jose Fransico Torres, Maurice Edu, Sacha Kljestan, Freddy Adu (replaced by Charlies Davies in the 69th), DaMarcus Beasley and Jozy Altidore (replaced by Danny Szetela in the 85th). Head Coach: Bob Bradley

T&T Clayton Ince, Aklle Edwards, Dennis Lawrence, Keyeno Thomas (replaced by Marcus Hislop in 35th minute), Chris Birchall, Keon Daniel, Russell Latapy (replaced by Khaleem Hyland in the 76th), Carlos Edwards, Jason Scotland (replaced by Stern John), Silvio Spann and Dwight Yorke.

STANDINGS

P W D L

Pts US 5 4 0 1 12

T&T 5 2 2 1 8

Guatemala 5 1 2 2 5

Cuba 5 1 0 4 3

Source: Triniday and Tobago Guardian

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