Sealy strikes, but T&T U17 Women close tourney with 2-1 loss to feisty Honduras

The Trinidad and Tobago Women’s National Under-17 Team closed off their 2025 Concacaf Championship campaign with their third straight loss at this stage and their fourth consecutive defeat in total, as the young Women Soca Warriors fell 2-1 to Honduras at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.

There was only pride at stake for both nations, who had no mathematical chance of progressing to the Morocco 2025 Fifa Women’s U-17 World Cup. But the match was anything but half-hearted, as the two nations picked up where they left off—after Honduras edged Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 in an ill-tempered clash at Couva on 31 January 2025.

Three months ago, a physical, cynical Honduras team edged the Women Warriors in a bruising affair that Guatemala referee Glenda Lopez never quite got a hold of.

At the end of that contest, Lopez was pelted with ice cubes and a plastic water bottle by some unruly spectators.

Last night, Concacaf sent another Guatemalan referee, Dilia Bradley, to officiate, and it was another frustrating night for the host players and supporters.

The game was one minute and 55 seconds in when Bradley gifted Honduras with a penalty. It was not clear what the infringement was, even after replays.

Nicaraguan assistant referee Mayling Chavarria, who should have had a clear view, signalled for another Honduras corner, and both sets of players seemed okay with that. One can only assume that Bradley felt Trinidad and Tobago defender Mikaela Yearwood had handled the ball.

Honduras forward Alexandra Merriam swept home the penalty kick to give the Central American nation the lead.

Trinidad and Tobago, suddenly keen to pass the ball on the ground, levelled scores in first half stoppage time.

From a short corner kick routine between forward Orielle Martin and midfielder Diem Sealy, Martin glided past opposing left back Evelin Ordonez and drove the ball towards the six-yard box.

Combative Honduras defender Yensi Ferrera inadvertently deflected Martin’s cross onto her own post and, as players from both teams chased after the loose ball, Sealy—whose father, Scott Sealy, was a former Trinidad and Tobago international striker—was in the right place to convert her first international goal.

It was the Women Warriors’ first goal at this stage, after failing to score against the United States (0-3) and El Salvador (0-4).

Coach Ayana Russell suggested that her players tilted too much of their efforts towards defending in their earlier matches, which might be somewhat understandable when their first fixture was against the USA.

“One of the things that I put into their brain [for this competition] is we need to love to defend,” said Russell, at the post-game press conference. “At this level, we have always struggled to stay organised and disciplined. But with that I think they forgot that they need to love to attack also.

“I think it was just to give them that reminder and belief… Sometimes you have to put the ball down and play. They just seemed more like themselves, and we got to see what they could do a little bit more.”

Trinidad and Tobago did not exactly attack as a unit, though. Russell’s four defenders almost never ventured beyond the halfway line, and there appeared to be no repeat offensive patterns.

Instead, it seemed more a case of the team trying to get the ball to Martin, Sealy or their two wingers and attempting to play off whatever they came up with. To their credit, Trinidad and Tobago midfielders Cherina Steele and Mia Lee Chong did a lot better at finding their attackers last night.

Martin was in full twinkle-toes mode, too, and there was a distinct possibility that Trinidad and Tobago could nick a win.

After the interval, Honduras reached in their bag of dirty tricks though—and Martin was the main target.

In the 49th minute, right back Nohemy Meza went down in apparent agony, and the Honduran players insisted that Martin struck her off the ball. Martin did nothing of the kind.

Then, four minutes later, Meza shoved Martin from behind. Bradley warned the Honduran, but did not produce a card.

Ten minutes later, Meza engineered a confrontation and then ran up to Martin and shoved her from in front, which sparked a mass flare-up between the teams. Bradley reached for her pocket this time—and she booked both players!

It would be an understatement to say that Martin and the supporters present were as incensed by the official’s decision as they were confused.

Trinidad and Tobago’s attacking momentum was broken, as Russell’s attackers tried to predict where the next sly kick would come from while Bradley operated in blinkers.

Winger Jazlyn Sanchez, who somehow was not booked for slamming into the back of Trinidad and Tobago defender Hackeemar Goodridge, might have put her team ahead in the 66th minute but fluffed a sitter.

And, in the 87th minute, home fans had another scare as Honduras flanker Dennise Madrid’s cross pinged around in the Trinidad and Tobago penalty area but somehow did not produce a goal.

One minute into stoppage time, Honduras did get their winner—and it was simultaneously bizarre and heartbreaking.

Bradley awarded a drop ball to Honduras near the half line. And, on the bounce, right back Allanys Santos volleyed the ball into the opposing area towards Trinidad and Tobago custodian Zaira Aimey.

Aimey misjudged the flight of the ball and, with no opponent in sight, pushed it onto her own bar. Rather than rebound to safety, the ball hit the field and treacherously spun back into the goal.

Trinidad and Tobago had lost again.

“I believe in the team and I know what they can do,” said Russell, “[…] with Honduras and El Salvador [in our group], I believe we could have come out victorious.”

The Trinidad and Tobago coach suggested better preparation might have made the difference.

“We definitely need more games,” she said. “We never got a practice before the test, so their first real game was the US—and I thought we did an excellent job.

“So, I think moving forward it is just a matter of really giving them the best chance… We need to play a little more, especially these [sort of] teams. That’s the only way we are going to grow.”

Russell said her players have a “bright future” and cooed about their growth, via the TTFA High Performance programme, “from the technical and tactical perspective and also from a fitness perspective”.

“I saw more of my team tonight—I’m really, really proud of them,” she said. “We knew what we could do and we settled in early. I just want to use this opportunity to say I’m very, very proud of the effort and fight that we finished off the campaign with.”

Russell also offered praise to her gifted number 10, Martin, whose close control, technique and dribbling prowess were a welcome source of solace over the campaign.

“[Martin] is one of the most technically gifted players in this region, not just in her age group but even at the senior team level,” said Russell. “It is just a matter of her getting a little bit fitter, so she can do it for 90+ minutes in the ‘10’ or the ‘9’ role.

“She is very, very intelligent, so it is just a matter of her understanding where she is and what she needs to do to get to the next level.”

Last night, Trinidad and Tobago mustered 301 passes to 230 from Honduras and enjoyed 55.7 per cent possession. It was easily their best showing of the final round.

Still, the hosts’ passing accuracy in opposing territory stood at just 39.8 per cent while they were outshot by 13 shots to six. It was not a slick offensive performance by any stretch.

Trinidad and Tobago’s six results in two rounds of U-17 Concacaf competition read: USVI, win (5-0), Belize, win (2-0), Honduras, loss (0-1), USA, loss (0-3), El Salvador, loss (0-4), and Honduras, loss (1-2).

It was, to be blunt, a forgettable campaign.

(Teams)

Trinidad and Tobago (4-2-3-1): 1.Zaira Aimey (GK); 15.Kanika Rodriguez (20.Jessica Nesbitt 70), 2.Kaitlyn Darwent (captain), 17.Mikaela Yearwood, 3.Hackeemar Goodridge; 6.Cherina Steele, 9.Mia Lee Chong; 11.Sanni Wilson (8.Ty’kaiya Dennis 70), 4.Diem Sealy, 19.Giuliana Meyer; 10.Orielle Martin.

Unused substitutes: 18.Kenisha Taylor (GK), 21.Alexia Dolland (GK), 5.Taya Williams, 7.Rasheda Archer, 12.Rori Gittens, 13.Zyesha Potts, 14.Cherine Steele, 16.Madison Campbell.

Coach: Ayana Russell.

Honduras (4-3-3): 1.Maria Jiminez (GK); 13.Nohemy Meza (6.Stephany Mercado 79), 16.Ilsy Sevilla, 2.Yensi Ferrera, 18.Evelin Ordonez; 5.Natalia Garcia (captain), 19.Allanys Santos, 9.Chelsea Farmer (4.Allison Suazo 46); 17.Jazlyn Sanchez (11.Kasey Chirinos 67), 10.Alexandra Merriam (8.Paula Ramirez Guardiola 90+2), 7.Dennise Madrid.

Unused substitutes: 12.Mia Heyer (GK), 21.Kimberly Rodriguez (GK), 3.Emma Munoz, 15.Ashley Escalante, 20.Liz Manueles.

Coach: Mario Abadia.

Referee: Dilia Bradley (Guatemala)

Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship qualification

Group C

(Monday 31 March)

El Salvador 1 (Maya Buerger 13), Honduras 1 (Jazlyn Sanchez 61) at Ato Boldon Stadium;

USA 3 (Ashlyn Anderson 63, Micayla Johnson 78, Chloe Sadler 90), Trinidad and Tobago 0 at Ato Boldon Stadium;

(Wednesday 2 April)

Honduras 0, USA 7 (Kimmi Ascanio 45, Micayla Johnson 47, Ashlyn Anderson 51, 74, Pearl Cecil 56, Riley Kennedy 60, Jaiden Rodriguez 65) at Ato Boldon Stadium;

Trinidad and Tobago 0, El Salvador 4 (Abigail Salgado 57, Maya Buerger 61, Angie Alvarenga 85, 89) at Ato Boldon Stadium;

(Saturday 5 April)

USA 7, El Salvador 0 at Ato Boldon Stadium;

Honduras 2 (Alexandra Merriam 2 pen, Allanys Santos 90+1), Trinidad and Tobago 1 (Diem Sealy 45+1) at Ato Boldon Stadium.