Trinidad and Tobago will be aiming for a breakthrough victory against Panama Wednesday evening in their second game at the COMCACAF Men’s Beach Soccer Championship. This is after they delivered a strong performance and came close to a historic result on Tuesday’s opening night against defending champions USA.
The “Sand Warriors” left Malcolm Park to a standing ovation after twice coming from behind to hold the US to a 2-2 draw at the end of extra- time in Nassau, Bahamas.
Unfortunately, it was not enough. With tournament rules dictating that each match must have an outcome, the teams were split via spot kicks, where the Americans triumphed 4-1 to take the points, with T&T’s only scorer being Jordan Riley.
American goalie Christopher Toth proved the difference by saving two spot-kicks, one each from midfielder Kevon Williams and defender Anderson Peters, while all four Americans converted at the other end.
Even in defeat, T&T’s chances of moving past the group stage increased, since with the Americans only getting a single point for the shootout win, rather than a full three points had they won outright, all teams in Group B are still in contention going into today’s second match-day.
With few expecting them to beat the Americans , T& T head coach and former player Chad Appoo would likely have hedged his team’s chances of getting out of the group on the results of Wednesday’s match against Panama (6 p.m.) and Thursday’s final preliminary encounter against the Bahamas (8 p.m.). T&T have had close results against both teams in the past.
However, their results against the Americans have never previously been close. The US defeated T&T 5-1 in 2017; 5-2 in 2021, and 6-2 in 2023 on the way to winning the title. Additionally, the US has clinched the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship title three times, while T&T’s best finish is fifth, although they have reached the quarter-finals over the last three tournaments.
However, as with any sport, surprises are always possible
Facing far more resistance than T&T had ever previously provided, the USA only led 2-1 with four minutes left in the third and final quarter, but still looked on course for victory, until T&T forward Akinola Gregory stripped the ball from pivot Alessandro Canale and scored with a low shot to level the score at 2-2. That was
the second of two goals for Gregory on the night. Extra-time also failed to separate the teams, leading to the eventual shootout, won by the Americans.
T&T had some chances early on, most notably when 38-year-old veteran Kevon “Showtime” Woodley, shot to the far corner, where running in, 25-year-old Jordan Riley got a poor connection and re-directed the shot over, from almost under the crossbar. The Americans then scored. With his back to goal and probably given too much space by Williams, Canale scored for a 1-0 USA lead. However, T&T equalised before the first quarter ended, Gregory grabbing the rebound from Riley’s effort, and showing real strength to hold off heavy tugging from defender Antonio Chavez to score with a low shot.
Veteran goalkeeper Jabari Gray kept T&T in the match with a series of fine second-quarter saves. However, Riley’s inexperience saw him forcefully push away striker Gabriel Silveira in a very wide position, and concede a penalty kick. Silveira converted to put the USA up 2-1, before Gregory’s late heroics almost gave T&T the chance at a historic upset.
Meanwhile, other opening night results saw 2021 champions El Salvador hammer Costa Rica 6-1, and Guatemala cause the first major upset with a 4-3 win over Mexico, the four –times winners and beaten finalists two years ago, when the Championship was last staged.
2025 CONCACAF BEACH SOCCER RESULTS:
USA 2 T&T 2 (USA won 4-1 on kicks from the penalty spot)
Guatemala 4 Mexico 3
El Salvador 6 Costa Rica 1