Trinidad and Tobago gets its first victory in the Hexagonal of the Concacaf

Trinidad and Tobago, with the debut of former international Dennis Lawrence as coach, achieved its first 1-0 victory in the final Hexagonal of the Concacaf for Russia 2018, against Panama, in a match played at the Hasely Crawford stadium in Port of Spain.

The goal of the match was scored by Kevin Molino at 37 minutes, in a game with a dull and boring first half, and a more dynamic second half with more goal opportunities.

With this result, the 'Soca Warriors' achieve their first victory after two consecutive defeats, which allows them to continue dreaming of one of the three places that the Hexagonal grants for the World Cup in Russia, or alternatively, with the fourth place that gives the possibility of a playoff against an Asian team.

Pending the rest of the matchday, Costa Rica leads the standings with six points, followed by Mexico and Panama with four, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago with three, while the United States is at the bottom of the table with no points.

The Caribbean team will now host Mexico next Tuesday, while Panama will face the United States, in the fourth match of the Hexagonal.

But be careful with the team led by Colombian Hernán Darío Gómez: Trinidad has a new coach, trying to regroup and unite the fans around a project that started very bad, with two defeats in the first two matches of the Hexagonal.

Match Schedules

Country Time
Mexico 5:00 p.m.
Peru 6:00 p.m.
Colombia 6:00 p.m.
Ecuador 6:00 p.m.
Panama 6:00 p.m.
Trinidad and T. 7:00 p.m.
Venezuela 7:00 p.m.
Bolivia 7:00 p.m.
Uruguay 8:00 p.m.
Paraguay 8:00 p.m.
Chile 8:00 p.m.
Argentina 8:00 p.m.
Brazil 8:00 p.m.
Spain 00:00 a.m.

Channels

USA: beIN Sports en Español, NBC Universo, Telemundo Deportes (online)
Panama: GolTV Sudamérica
Mexico: GolTV Sudamérica

Away wins against Honduras (1-0) and a goalless draw at home against Mexico have Panama with four points in the table, just like Mexico, and behind leader Costa Rica (6). Honduras still has three points, while the United States and Trinidad have none. The top three teams advance directly to Russia 2018.

Panamanian goalkeeper Jaime Penedo said that the ideal thing would be to emulate Costa Rica, which won against Trinidad away and then beat the United States at home. After their trip to Port of Spain, Panama hosts the American team on Tuesday.

"We have to add six points. We must follow the path that Costa Rica has set," said Penedo, one of the veterans aspiring to take Panama to its first World Cup.

But the muscle injury that 'El Ratón' Pérez suffered this week and that left him out of the trip could complicate Panamanian ambitions. Although he has been struggling to score, Pérez can wake up at any time and, above all, he is all lungs when it comes to marking the opponent's exit.

Panama will also face a rival that needs to lift its head, although it could be a factor that plays in their favor due to the anxiety and pressure of the home team.

After those first two setbacks, Trinidad and Tobago decided to dismiss their coach Stephen Hart and entrusted the difficult task to former player Dennis Lawrence, who was part of the team that qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Lawrence immediately sought to smooth things within the team and called on the fans to support the team with all their strength, particularly a key player like striker Kenwyne Jones, who often stirs controversy and divides feelings.

"I'm trying to encourage everyone to make a positive change in this," said Lawrence, who emphasized that the goal is to earn at least four points in the two matches.

Possible lineups:

Trinidad and Tobago: Jan-Micheal Williams; Alvin Jones, Sheldon Bateau, Aubrey David, Danaeil Cyrus; Joevin Jones, Kalheem Hyland, Cordell Cato, Levi García; Jamile Boatswain and Kenwyne Jones. Coach: Dennis Lawrence.

Panama: Jaime Penedo; Adolfo Machado, Román Torres, Roderick Miller, Luis Ovalle; Edgar Bárcenas, Gabriel Gómez, Amílcar Henríquez, Alberto Quintero; Luis Tejada and Gabriel Torres. Coach: Hernán Darío Gómez.

Referee: Melvin Matamoros (Honduras).