Trinidad & Tobago 2 Iceland 0: Yorke inspires Trinidad to stage calypso in the cold
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Your support makes all the difference.Dwight Yorke showed he has lost none of his old Premiership goalscoring prowess as he helped Trinidad & Tobago, the minnows of England's World Cup group, to record a comfortable win over Iceland.
Sven Goran Eriksson, the England coach, did not bother to attend this friendly - at a half-deserted Loftus Road - but the reports that will land on his desk at FA headquarters will hardly fill the Swede with trepidation.
However, Leo Beenhakker, Trinidad's Dutch manager, will be pleased with the performance by his team of Football League, Scottish League and American League players.
Just nine minutes had been played when Cyd Grey's cross was only half cleared by Indridi Sigurdsson and Yorke, the Trinidad captain, sent a crisp volley into the roof of the net.
The calypso boys should have gone 2-0 ahead on the half-hour, but Stern John ballooned a chance over the bar. Iceland replied strongly and defender Hermann Hreidarsson volleyed wide before Eidur Gudjohnsen, of Chelsea, curled a 28-yard free-kick wide of Shaka Hislop's goal.
Yorke, who will try to find a loan deal with a Championship club after playing in this weekend's Australian Cup final for Sydney FC, found his goalscoring boots again on 53 minutes when he cheekily chipped in a penalty after Ivar Ingimarsson had pushed over John, the Coventry striker, in the area.
Beenhakker said: "It was an important game for us to win because it gives me some answers before I have to choose my final squad of 23 but no one needs to tell me we have work to do to be successful in Germany."
Trinidad & Tobago (4-4-2): Hislop (West Ham); Gray (Jabloteh), Andrews (Rangers), Lawrence (Wrexham), A John (New England Revolution); Edwards (Luton), Birchall (Port Vale), Whitley (Jabloteh), Samuel (Dundee United); Yorke (Sydney FC), S John (Coventry). Substitutes used: Spann (unattached) for Whitley, h-t; Shakes (Swindon) for Edwards, h-t; Warner (Fulham) for Hislop, h-t; Latapy (Falkirk) for Yorke, 57; Jones (Southampton) for S John, 65; Meaves (University of S Florida) for Samuel, 77.
Iceland (4-4-2): Arason (Valerenga); Danielsson (Oster), Ingimarsson (Reading), Hreidarsson (Charlton), I Sigurdsson (Genk); Steinsson (Alkmaar), Gudjonsson (Leicester), Gislason (FC Lyn), Hallfredsson (Malmo); Helguson (Fulham), Gudjohnsen (Chelsea). Substitutes used: Larusson (FHK) for Arason, h-t; H Sigurdsson (unattach) for Helguson, 57; Vidarsson (Lokeren) for Gislason, 57; Gunnarsson (Reading) for Gudjonsson, 69; Einarsson for Gudjohnsen, 72; K Sigurdsson (SK Bramm) for Danielsson,79.
Referee: M Dean (Wirral).
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