Trinidad and Tobago momentarily shot up to the top of the Group C standings in Gold Cup play with an impressive 3-1 win over Guatemala. Goals from Sheldon Bateau, Cordell Cato, and Joevin Jones in the first half were enough to propel the Soca Warriors to a comfortable victory.
Trinidad and Tobago imposed their will on Guatemala early and often in the match. Despite not getting on the score sheet, Kenwyne Jones and Ataullah Guerra were both extremely powerful and fast, causing all sorts of trouble for the Guatemalan back line.
Addtionally, the Trinidad and Tobago midfield were able to boss the match and hold possession for long periods of time. Interchanges between Aubrey David and J. Jones in defense and midfield seemed to leave the Guatemalans confused on the left side of the pitch.
In the 10th minute, Trinidad and Tobago had a quick restart off a Carlos Ruiz foul. They worked it into a corner, to which the aforementioned Bateau headed home a beautiful cross from Khaleem Hyland in the 11th minute.
No more than three minutes later, the Soca Warriors doubled their lead when Cato was put through for a 1v1 opportunity against keeper Ricardo Jerez. Cato simply dribbled around Jerez and tucked the ball into an empty net to shock the Soldier Field crowd.
The first half trifecta was complete in the 26th minute when the Chicago Fire's Joevin Jones put a through ball in for Cato. Jerez met Cato and deflected the ball away, but right back on to the right foot of the Fire winger, who buried it.
There was a moment where it looked as if Trinidad and Tobago might go up by four when Atualla Guerra was put through by Joevin Jones, only to see his effort go just wide of the net.
Guatemala seemed to wake up in the 60th minute after an offensive substitution, and brought Minor Lopez into the match. Carlos Ruiz scored in the 62nd minute after a nice flick on from Lopez. The veteran made no mistake with his chance and blasted it by Jan Michael.
The Soca Warriors were on the ropes following the Guatemala goal. In the 77th minute, Jose Contreras put a perfect ball across the box, Carlos Ruiz just couldn't get to the end of. Ruiz ten years ago may have made that play, but he was a step too slow on Thursday evening.
After coming incredibly close to scoring in the final five minutes, Guatemala heard the dreadful final whistle. They looked like a side that wasn't ready for the Gold Cup to begin and finally found their feet an hour in, only to discover they'd missed their chance.
A strategy employed to perfection by Trinidad and Tobago was surrounding Guatemalan playmaker Marco Pappa as soon as he touched the ball. This effectively broke the link between the defense and forwards and made it tremedously difficult for Guatemala to even get into the match or create viable opportunities.
Both teams will fly from Chicago to Glendale, Arizona to play in the heat of University of Phoenix Stadium. Trinidad and Tobago will take on a shorthanded Cuban side on Sunday, while Guatemala needs to clean their act up as they face group powerhouse Mexico on the same day.