Trinidad and Tobago beat Cuba 2-1, coach anticipates tough 2nd leg

Trinidad and Tobago men’s football team coach Dwight Yorke got his first victory since taking over the team last November, as the Soca Warriors beat Cuba 2-1 in the first leg of their 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup preliminary playoff in Santiago, Cuba, on March 21.

Playing at the Antonio Maceo Stadium, TT got close-range goals from striker Isaiah Lee and Canadian-based midfielder Steffen Yeates to take a positive result into the second leg. The return leg will be played from 7 pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva on March 25. The aggregate winner will progress to the June 14-July 6 Gold Cup.

“I'm very proud of my players, in terms of having to come to a very difficult place in Santiago to get a result. Cuba are a very good team. We had to work extremely hard to get the result today,” Yorke said, at the post-match briefing.

“We knew the players were up for it mentally as well as physically. I'm so proud of my players in terms of what they have done. We knew how important this was, because we know the second leg is going to be tough.”

Yorke asked his charges to tackle the Cubans head-on, but the visitors had the worst possible start as they went behind after just six minutes.

Centre-backs Alvin Jones, Josiah Trimmingham and Darnell Hospedales had barely settled into their roles in a 3-5-2 formation when Yasnier Matos scored past Denzil Smith with a left-footed shot from a tight angle, after a slick one-two outside the box caught the defence napping.

Six minutes later, Willian Pozo tested Smith with a low curler from outside the area. However, TT soon found their footing in the contest and they equalised in the 20th minute when Lee scrambled over the line at the end of a bombarding run down the left from flanker Tyrese Spicer.

Making his Soca Warriors debut, Toronto FC’s Spicer was a regular outlet for his team down the left. And though his approach was uncomplicated, he kept Cuba honest and often drew the attention of two to three markers.

Neither team seized control as the half went on, with needless fouls often hindering the momentum of the game.

From a set piece in the 42nd minute, Cuba did create an opportunity, but striker Maykel Reyes fired a volley over the bar on the swivel from a Pozo corner.

Eight minutes into the second half, TT did damage from a corner of their own when a gleeful Yeates swept into the net after Jones cleverly redirected a right-side corner from his brother Joevin Jones.

The Cubans appealed for a potential handball call in the sequence, but none was forthcoming.

The hosts rang the changes, with as many as four substitutions being made from minutes 56 to 67.

The next big chance in the game fell to TT, though, as bulldozing midfielder Daniel Phillips thumped an effort off the bar in the 69th minute after an exchange involving Joevin and substitute striker Brent Sam.

At the next end, Cuban substitute Alessio Raballo nearly had the perfect entry to the contest but he shot wide from a tight angle in the 75th minute after running onto a long pass. Two minutes later, Raballo missed from point-blank range when he was found in the six-yard box by an intelligent Karel Perez cut-back.

With Cuba enjoying a brief spell of joy, the Soca Warriors should have jumped out to a two-goal advantage after a dangerous set-piece sequence at the other end.

Just six minutes after coming on, flanker Kaihim Thomas rattled the post with a curling right-footed free kick, only for fellow sub Ajani Fortune to volley the rebound wide with the goal at his mercy. It appeared more difficult for Fortune to miss the target, but he and his coach would hope the Soca Warriors don’t live to rue that miss in the second leg.

“I can anticipate that Cuba will think they have a very good chance of turning this tie around. We've got to make sure we're fully aware of that and prepare correctly,” Yorke said, looking ahead to the return leg.

He said it’s important complacency doesn’t step into the TT camp.

“We've got to make sure that we have our “A” game. We will also have the home advantage, so hopefully that will make a significant difference…

"This is a huge result for me, the team and the country. Hopefully, we can put the final touches on Tuesday. I want to assure everyone that Cuba is a very good team and we have to be at our best if we're to go through to the Gold Cup.”

Yorke said there were a couple of niggles picked up during the game and those players will be re-evaluated before the Couva match.