National captain and striker Kenwyne Jones believes his team is still within reach of qualifying for the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia despite two defeats from as many matches that has left them second from bottom on the six-team standing with no points.
Jones led the contingent of players and staff on their return home from Honduras on Thursday night minus their overseas- based players, all of whom had returned to their respective clubs. They were beaten 3-1 by the home team after a sub-par performance at the Estadio Olympico Metropolitano on Tuesday night.
Coach Stephen Hart was also among the contingent which was accompanied by head of delegation, TTFA vice president Ewing Davis. Also returning was goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams who suffered a concussion in the first half of Tuesday’s match and had to be rushed to the Cemena Hospital in San Pedro Sula where he underwent an emergency CT scan on the head and neck that showed no evidence of a fracture or bleeding on the brain.
Williams, the Central FC custodian, was evaluated by consultant neurosurgeon Dr Chang, whose diagnosis revealed a moderate concussion. The talented goalkeeper was re-evaluated 24 hours after the incident and cleared to fly to Port-of-Spain. He has been advised to avoid all sporting activities for two weeks. It means the custodian could be out of action for about 3-4 weeks before he can resume training.
However, Jones, aware of the criticisms leveled against him, said he was confident the T&T team will pull itself out of the slump it finds itself in.
“It is disappointing but I am optimistic as in reference to the 2006 campaign, we are in a similar position to what we were in back then before we qualified. Knowing the way the games have gone so far and how the teams are standing, it’s far from over. We have eight games to go and I believe for a lot of the players, getting the experience so far is a good one which will serve them well for the upcoming games. There is still time to fix the situation,” Jones said.
He noted: “At the end of the day there is no substitute for experience. This final round of qualifying takes something different. If you look at all the games played in the group I don’t think we have been seeing much football but more about scraping for victories and points. It’s something we have to get to.”
The former Cardiff striker who has signed with Atlanta United for the 2017 Major League Soccer (MLS) tournament added: “We have had so many instances where we played football to get out of trouble, either by winning or coming back to draw. We didn’t have too much games to scrape to save or get a victory. We need to fight to get those points on board. It is something we will have to get to quickly.”
Only last year T&T endured a similar situation after their quarter-final finish at the Concacaf Gold Cup, where they later defeated Panama 2-1 in Panama City, drew 3-3 with Mexico in Salt Lake City, edged Guatemala 2-1 and held the USA to a goalless draw in Port-of-Spain. In speaking about the change in the way the team handled its assignments over the past few months, said: “It’s maybe a place of complacency for some of us. This is not a one-day thing. It’s been happening for quite a few games now but it serves as a good example for us to look back and see what we need to do to get out of the situation.”