By Jay Hipps
     Internetsoccer.com editor
     San Diego, Cal. (February 20) - On a day that featured both sudden downpours and
     sunny skies, it turned out to be a beautiful day for Trinidad and Tobago as they
     defeated Costa Rica 2-1 in extra time in the Gold Cup quarter final. The day offered all
     the emotions ranging from joy to frustration and, for the Trinidadians, joy again.

     The action started early as Costa Rica created the first scoring opportunity in just the
     second minute. Wilmer Lopez played a through ball which Pablo Wanchope ran onto
     in the right side of the penalty area. His low shot to the far post beat the keeper but
     went just wide.

     Trinidad and Tobago didn't wait long to challenge the Costa Rican goal, though. They
     worked the ball through the midfield, moving the ball out to defender Angus Eve,
     making an overlapping run into the corner. His hard shot was too much for Costa Rica
     goalkeeper Hermidio Barrantes to handle, but he was able to punch it out of play to
     end the threat. Barrantes was called into action just a minute later when Jerre Nixon
     was freed in a similar manner, this time on the left side. His angled shot was parried
     dangerously by Barrantes, the ball deflecting straight up the middle of the penalty area.
     It came tantalizingly close to Arnold Dwarika, but the Trinidadian couldn't get off a shot
     as defenders converged on him. The ball squirted out across the top of the box and
     was fired back in, but a Costa Rican defender blocked the shot.

     The action continued end to end throughout the opening 25 minutes, with both teams
     alternating in their dominance of midfield. The game was shaping up to be quite an
     offensive display, the question being not if a goal would be scored but how soon and
     how often.

     Russel Latapy, Trinidad's "Little Magician," nearly broke the deadlock in the 24th
     minute, taking a free kick from 25 yards out just about 10 yards off center. His shot
     rocketed off his boot and over the wall, bound for the upper reaches of the Costa
     Rican net. Only an athletic leap by Barrantes kept the match scoreless.

     Costa Rica's reprieve was a short one, however. Just three minutes later, Latapy made
     a run down the left side, crossing the ball into the area about 15 yards out. Barrantes
     rushed out to field the ball only to have it headed away by one of his own defenders,
     Pablo Chinchilla, and the ball landed at the feet of Dwarika as though it had been
     passed to him. With the goalkeeper out and only a defender to beat with his shot,
     Dwarika finished with ease to give Trinidad and Tobago a 1-0 lead.

     The goal led Costa Rica to redouble their efforts and, combined with Trinidad's desire
     to protect their lead, created some good opportunities for the Ticos. The 32nd minute
     saw a buildup into Trinidad's penalty area, giving Wilmer Lopez an open shot from just
     12 yards out. His first-time shot was mis-hit, however, and goalkeeper Clayton Ince
     easily stopped it. The Ticos threatened again in the 34th minute, but Harold Wallace's
     hard, bending shot from the right side curled just wide of the near post. Despite their
     chances, though, Costa Rica was unable to score and the half ended 1-0.

     Costa Rica again pressed forward after the interval. Though the Ticos were able to find
     space down the wings, their crosses failed to connect with their front runners. A
     sequence in the 51st minute was typical, where Austin Berry was freed down the left
     wing. He first put in a low cross that was cut out by a defender, but the ball deflected
     back to him. He took it deeper into the area and floated in a cross, but it was
     misplayed and sailed over the heads of his teammates in the box. Hernan Medford ran
     it down on the right side, but his cross landed in a cluster of Trinidadian defenders and
     was cleared easily.

     T and T saved its offensive efforts for counterattacks which, though infrequent, looked
     dangerous. In the 58th minute, Latapy, Dwarika, and Jerren Nixon led a rush up the
     field, with Latapy squaring up and walloping a shot from the edge of the 18 that went
     over the top. They scored a goal in the 63rd minute when Dwarika took a through ball,
     dribbled the keeper, and put it home, but the linesman's flag held aloft made it all for
     naught.

     The back-and-forth action continued in the 64th minute when Wanchope nearly
     converted Costa Rica's best chance yet. This time, the Ticos' interplay in the area
     clicked, sending Wanchope in on the right side. Wanchope got everything he wanted
     out of the shot with perfect placement and power, but Ince's reflex dive to his right got
     enough of the ball to slow its momentum and cause it to trickle across the goal and out
     of play.

     Costa Rica threatened again minutes later when, in the 72nd minute, Medford beat his
     man on the left corner and moved in to fire a rocket from 10 yards out. His aim was
     off, though, and the ball dented only the side netting.

     With time running out, the Ticos' desperation was building and Trinidad's counter
     attacks became more frequent. Latapy again showed off his powerful shot in the 76th
     minute, ripping a ball from 22 yards out that Barrantes could only parry. The 81st
     minute saw an opportunity for Dwarika, who held up the ball at the edge of the area in
     a two-on-two to fire a carefully-aimed shot off the far post. Costa Rica was still alive,
     though, and their assault on the goal continued.

     Time and again, the Ticos would play the ball into the area, only to see it cleared by the
     tenacious defense, shot with little power, or simply fired close, but wide. It looked as
     though Costa Rica was simply suffering from a jinxed effort, one of those games where
     no matter how many chances are created, the ball will simply not go in.

     Just before the final whistle, however, they finally broke through. With what seemed
     like every player on the field in the Trinidad penalty area, William Sunsig booted a low
     shot from about 16 yards out. Ince dove to his right but the ball was deflected before it
     reached him, and he was lying on his stomach as the ball rolled, seemingly in slow
     motion, behind him and into the net. The referee blew the whistle immediately after the
     restart and the teams took a moment to catch their breaths before extra time.

     It was going to be a difficult tast for Trinidad, due both to the crushing last-second goal
     and to the fact that their midfield genius Latapy had been substituted in the closing
     minutes of regulation time as they sought to protect their lead.

     Costa Rica created the first real opportunity of extra time, when Wanchope received
     the ball with his back to goal just 12 yards out. He fired a low shot on the turn, but
     placed the ball directly at the goalkeeper whose heart must have skipped a beat before
     making the stop.

     Following the narrow miss, Trinidad began to take a more conservative approach,
     often playing with Dwarika as a lone front runner. It was clear that they were playing
     for either a counterattack or favored the idea of taking the match to penalties.

     It turned out to be the counterattack. Dwarika took a long ball at the edge of the area
     and flicked it sideways to Trotman, who held off a challenge by Mauricio Wright,
     turned, and shot. The kick probably would have been an easy save for Barrantes, but
     the ball took a deflection off of Victor Cordero as he attempted to block it and
     bounced into the net past a helpless keeper. Trotman, in celebration, sprinted off the
     field and into the players' tunnel, his jubilant teammates following him.

     Trinidad and Tobago will meet the winner of this afternoon's match between Mexico
     and Canada in the semifinal to be played Thursday night in Los Angeles. The game,
     along with the rest of the Gold Cup, will be broadcast live on internetsoccer.com.

     Costa Rica: Hermidio Barrantes; Harold Wallace, Mauricio Wright, Victor Cordero,
     Pablo Chinchilla; Austin Berry, Walter Cente?o, Wilmer Lopez; Hernan Medford,
     Pablo Wanchope, Jeaustin Campos.

     Trinidad & Tobago: Clayton Ince, Angus Eve, Ansil Elcock, Stokely Mason, Russell
     Latapy, David Nakhid, Anthony Rougier, Arnold Dwarika,

     FANTASTIC, remarkable, spirited. All three words can describe Trinidad and
     Tobago's 2-1 victory in sudden-death extra time over Costa Rica in a Gold Cup
     quarter-final before about 13,000 fans at the Qualcomm Stadium yesterday.
     Mickey Trotman's strike with four minutes remaining in the first half of the added on
     time, put the Soca Warriors through to their first ever semi-finals of the Football
     Confederation tournament.

     On Thursday T&T will face Canada in one semi-final. Canada beat Mexico in similar
     fashion, 2-1 in sudden-death extra-time in their quarter-final clash in Los Angeles.
     Coach Bertille St Clair held his head in disbelief when in the 69th minute substitute
     William Hidalgo snatched an injury time equaliser.

     Then the Tobagonian embraced team manager Richard Braithwaite in joy when
     Trotman, who replaced Jerron Nixon (in the 60th minute) received a pass from Arnold
     Dwarika to rifle home the Golden Goal in the 101th minute of the match.

     "I have been saying over the years that Trinidad and Tobago has an abundance of
     talent. What we lacked was the attitude and the discipline and the organisation.
     "We have now begun to focus on that and are beginning to see the rewards. Now we
     will be force to be reckoned with," said St Clair after the match.

     The victory was certainly one of the hardest won by a T&T team in top class
     competition for quite some time.

     Captain Anthony Rougier and his men absorbed almost non-stop pressure after
     Dwarika had put them ahead in the 26th minute.

     Similar to their first-half display against Mexico, T&T outfitted in white and playing their
     first match of the competition without Dwight Yorke, enjoyed the better of exchanges
     for much of the 45 minutes.

     T&T will look forward to the return of Yorke who sustained a injury which is not fully
     known, in action for United against Leeds yesterday.

     Dwarika finished the game with a swollen ankle and Latapy with a groin strain.
     However, both are expected to be ready for Thursday's "semi."

     From the word go, skipper Rougier came out gunning against the Central Americans.
     FC Zurich striker Jerren Nixon, making his first start in place of Yorke, had the Costa
     Rican defence on their toes with his agility and speed.

     Nixon, in the 13th minute, powered a shot against goalkeeper Hermidio Barrantes from
     a acute angle on the left and Dwarika lost his footing going for the rebound.
     Five minutes later, after at least eight passes were strung from the centre of the field,
     Nixon fired a left-footer wide of the upright.

     Midfielder Russell Latapy cracked a free-kick which had Barrantes pushing out.
     Then the Little Magician played a ball into the box and Barrantes and Pablo Vega got
     into a mix- up, allowing the on-spot Dwarika to slam home the loose ball from
     close-up.

     That goal woke up the Central Americans and they would have at least five missed
     chances against the suspect T&T defence before the break.

     Goalkeeper Clayton Ince, who enjoyed his best performance of the tournament saved
     low an attempt by veteran Hernan Medford on the left and moments after coming on,
     Jafet Soto's left-footer flashed wide from inside the 18-yard box.

     T&T were pressed into half of the field from the start of the second period.
     Wanchope headed overbar from Medford's right- side cross and for most of the
     opening ten minutes the 1990 World Cup finalists lived around the T&T goal area.

     After 48 minutes, T&T almost got the item to hold off the Costa Ricans when Dwarika
     intercepted a pass by Mauricio Wright and found Latapy, who body-shook the same
     player and left another one skating before hitting over from the edge of the box.

     The T&T backline continued to resist pressure and Ince had to pull off his best save in
     the 62nd minute when Soto's close-range effort had the tall custodian pulling off a reflex
     save.

     Wilmer Lopez then saw his left-footer from the six-yard box squirm wide and Soto's
     header saved.

     Medford then broke down the right and luckily for T&T, he shot into the side netting.
     Rare second-half tries by Latapy and Dwarika's shot which rebounded off the right
     post was all T&T could see off the Costa Rican goal.

     As the clock ticked away, T&T came under more pressure but they stood up like
     giants.
     Just when it seemed T&T were through to the semifinals, Hidalgo buried a low drive
     from the edge past Ince for a dramatic equaliser.

     T&T, who had Brent Rahim replacing "Latas" and Wise for Angus Eve, started the
     extra-time rejuvenated, while Costa Rica ran out of gas.

     After Victor Codero headed into the path of Dwarika, the dreadlocked player found
     Trotman, whose shot deflected off Codero into the net.
     Trotman led the victory charge into the dressing room, while midfielder David Nakhid
     knelt with outstretched hands praising his god.

     "The feeling was just so unbelievable, I just felt like celebrating with a difference. I
     knew it was a victory so it was like 'Let's go home.' I have to thank the coach Bertille

     St Clair and manager Richard Braithwaite and the players for believing in me.
     "I knew when I went on the field that something special was in the air," an elated
     Trotman, who also scored in T&T's 1-2 loss to the same opponents last month, said
     afterwards.

     T&T are expected to move to Los Angeles on Tuesday for their semi-final outing.
     About 100 Trinidad and Tobago supporters watched the game live.