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We came out of yesterday's game in Port of Spain with a 1-1 draw. I didn't actually see the match (thanks to it not being available on any european satellite channels) so after a mad scramble trying to figure something out- we'd been working on it for two weeks, but still no joy- we finally settled for watching a crap video feed online from the Kuwaiti sports channel KTV3.

It was mostly audio, since the video was either choppy or of unwatchable quality.. so you can imagine the tension rising along with the commentator's voice pitch. Reading the (somewhat limited, unfortunately) post-game reports online today it seems that we put in a decent performance and more than matched the T&T team. We would've taken a positive draw had it been handed to us before the game with much satisfaction, since scoring that away goal ensures that the trinis are gonna come flying at us in Bahrain. This perfectly suits our counterattacking game, and our defence showed last night that we can cope with the deadly trio of Yorke-Latapy-John and limit their influence on the events of play.

I must say however that I'm VERY satisfied that their goal was a spectacular effort rather than a lapse in concentration. A half-volley from 25 meters? I'd let them take that shot every single time. We went out and played a tactically smart 90 minutes, stuck to our gameplan and got the precious away goal. Our defence was solid and neutralized a few of the most famous soccer names to come out of the Carribbean. The only reason they're on the scoresheet is because of a slice of luck from an Englishman who just recently discovered that his mother is Trinidadian*.

You know what, it's looking really good. I can't wait until Wedensday.

*Correction: I just found out that his mother was BORN in Trinidad, and isn't Trini as I originally stated. He had never set foot in the country previous to his debut in May.