Che Benny scored two goals to lead a spirited and improved performance by the Trinidad & Tobago men’s futsal team as they were narrowly defeated 4-3 by the host team Guatemala on Wednesday night in the final Group A match of the CONCACAF Futsal Championship.
Alan Aguilar scored a double while José Mansilla Ramos and Wanderley Ruiz were the other scorers of the Guatemalan goals. The Soca Warriors scored through Benny’s brace and Jameel Neptune.
Heading into the match, the twin-island republic team needed to win by a four-goal margin to advance to the knockout stage having lost 6-2 to Dominican Republic the previous evening. Coach Constantine Konstin adjusted his started five players by including former youth player Benny instead of skipper Sean De Silva.
The home team was never allowed to dominate the encounter as the Soca Warriors took the early lead through Benny’s goal which could be considered one of the best of the tournament thus far. Benny collected in his own area and spotted goalkeeper Lester Arevalo off his line and chipped perfectly to score the opener. However, in a short space of time the Guatemalans equalized through Aguilar then took the 2-1 lead from Ramos goal. Moments before half-time, T&T levelled the score-line with a neat finish by Neptune for his second goal of the tournament.
Promptly after the restart, the home team retook the lead when Ruiz roofed a shot after a point-blank save from goalkeeper Andre Marchan. Once again, Benny came to the rescue by drilling a left-foot shot past a helpless Arevalo to tie it up at 3-3.
Despite the valiant effort from the Warriors, Skipper Aguilar had the last laugh as he sealed the 4-3 victory from a smart finish that was started on the counter-attack.
Quarter-Final matches:
USA vs Dominican Republic
Panama vs Canada
Costa Rica vs Suriname
Guatemala vs El Salvador
Squad:
Andre Marchan (GK), Kern Caeser (GK), Willis Plaza, Dwight Quintero, Mark Ramdeen, Dylon King, Aaron Lester, Sean De Silva, Jameel Neptune, Keston George, Keron Cummings, Che Benny, Adrian Welch, Darius Olliviera.
Constantine Konstine (Head Coach), Paul Decle (assistant coach), Dunstan Williams (goalkeeper coach), Nigel Roberts (manager), Stephen Bernard (equipment manager), Mark Lewis (trainer).
