A double strike from Brenda Ceren confined the T&T women football team to their first defeat 2-0 in Group F of the Concacaf W Championships, and Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers, which officially ended the T&T campaign at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo on Friday night.
T&T was off to a flying start when Elise Franco rattled the El Salvadorian goal from a thumping shot that came less than a minute into the game.
Coach Damian Briggs handed Asha James the starting position that allowed her join forces with Nikita Gosine up front.
The El Salvadorians, known for their short-passing game, settled and posed severe problems, particularly as the T&T midfield went quiet.
And in the 16th minutes, the visitors could have taken the lead when Danya Gutierrez dashed into the box to connect on a leftside freekick. However, goalkeeper Simone Eligon was on spot to push her attempt wide.
Despite the quick start, Damian Briggs’ charges were lackadaisical in the midfield, and sought more to invite the visitors to constrict their space and move.
However, James provided Nikita Gosine with the best chance at an opener in the game. The stocky James, from the centre, released to Gosine who broke the El Salvador offside trap, but still with the goal at her mercy, she hit a left footed shot that goalkeeper Riley Melendez tipped over acrobatically in the 27th minute.
The home team was later made to pay for that missed chance in the 37th minute. This time, Brenda Ceren raced on to a Danielle Fuentes’ through ball and struck the ball beyond the outstretched grasp of Eligon for the 1-0 advantage.
A minute before the interval, Fuentes was picked out from a Danielle Gutierrez pass, but after she cut inside to avoid a Victoria Swift collision, her left footed attempt saw Eligon going fully stretched to push wide Fuentes’ shot.
Briggs had it all to do at the half, as his charges walked off the pitch, knowing the game was still within their grasp.
In the stands, the relatively small crowd proved to be anything but ineffective, as they made up for in noise what they lacked in numbers.
Still though, there was no letting from the visitors, who entered the game as the top team in Group F with six points and unblemished record.
F ive minutes after the restart, Ceren reinforced their position.
Unmarked in the T&T penalty area, Ceren took the ball wide left before cutting inside to shake loose of Swift, and then skilfully curling the past Eligon last post for a 2-0 lead.
Both teams failed to score in the fluctuating affair that followed, and the El Salvadorians assured themselves of the winning position in the group, while the Calypso girls made their exit.
