Trinidad and Tobago captain Kenwyne Jones and coach Otto Pfister have red-carded the outfield at the National Stadium.
They are claiming it helped limit their victory margin in Tuesday’s World Cup Group B CONCACAF football qualifier against Barbados to only two goals.
The visitors won 2-0.
“The surface that we played on is not the best, but again it was two teams playing on it and we had to make the runs. Unfortunately, a few things went against us,” said Jones, who plays professionally in the English Premiership for Stoke City.
“Football is no easy game. There are no easy opponents. Today it was a tough one for us, albeit the conditions, but I think we had to work hard enough to get the best result in the end.”
The big striker, who missed a few goal-scoring opportunities including a simple chance when he failed to capitalise on a weak back pass by central defender Barry Skeete in the first ten minutes, said it was still a good result for the Soca Warriors.
“I think [that] under better conditions, we might have had more.
The final opportunities . . . I think a lot of things let us down but we can’t be too despondent and stick on that too much,” Jones noted.
“We scored two goals this afternoon under difficult conditions. Credit to the Barbados team. They came out and fought well but at the end we came out on top and we are quite happy for that,” he said.
The German-born Pfister reckoned the Stadium pitch – which ironically looked in a much improved condition from the state it was in during the domestic season – hampered the Warriors.
“The boys had very good organisation behind and they totally dominated with 65 per cent ball possession, so I’m not concerned about the score,” he said.
“We were a little bit handicapped by the field because we missed two to three per cent of our opportunities, but I don’t blame the players because the field was not so good,” he contended.
However, he thanked the Barbados Football Association for its hospitality, noting the “hotel was perfect”.
Jones also noted they had to play a smart and strategic game, with Seon Power, Julius James and Clyde Leon keeping things tight in defence because Barbados – despite being ranked 56 places below Trinidad [147 compared to 91) – can be unpredictable.
“We had to meddle with the formation and it worked well in our favour – being away from home and considering the team that we were playing against,” said the skipper.
“Barbados has always been a tricky team for us. It is never an easy game and we had to come up with the tactics to come out on top and fortunately for us, between the last game [versus Bermuda] and this game, [the] tactics worked.”
Jones added that it was never easy playing for the Soca Warriors, who reached the 2006 World Cup Finals.
“Every time we put on the shirt to represent Trinidad and Tobago there is always pressure,” he said.
“Based on the group that we have been placed in, our country – players and everyone – would expect us to come out on top . . .
“From here on, we have four more games to try to capitalise on topping the group to progress.
“We must take the positives from this game and work hard to maintain the start that we have,” he noted.
The Soca Warriors edged Bermuda 1-0 in their opening match last Friday at home and will meet Barbados in a return game on October 11 in Port-of-Spain.
