Trinidad & Tobago and Derby County’s on-loan striker Stern John is the new hero for the Caribbean team of Trinidad and Tobago.

With three goals in the last two games of Trinidad & Tobago’s CONCACAF qualifying matches, he has almost single-handedly earned the ‘Warriors’ a play-off place against Bahrain for a place in next Summer’s World Cup Finals in Germany.

John, currently on loan to Derby County from Coventry City, scored twice to lift Trinidad and Tobago to a 2-1 victory over regional powerhouse Mexico on Wednesday, keeping Trinidad and Tobago’s ‘Soca Warriors’ in the running for a 2006 World Cup Finals berth.

The victory on the final day of qualifying in the CONCACAF region means Trinidad and Tobago finished fourth in the group, earning a play-off with Asian Zone contenders Bahrain, for a ticket to the Finals in Germany next year.

On Saturday, the T & T 'Warriors' kept alive their previously slim hopes of reaching the World Cup finals through the play-offs, after Coventry City’s Stern John’s 62nd-minute strike gave Trinidad and Tobago a 1-0 victory in Panama City.

Their rivals for fourth spot, Guatemala, who were leading Trinidad and Tobago by one point before the matches on Saturday, lost their match to Mexico in a thrilling 5-2 score-fest, which saw T & T leapfrog Guatemala into fourth place.

With the United States, Mexico and Costa Rica already assured of the three direct qualifying berths from the region, Trinidad went into the final match lying in fourth place, two points ahead of Guatemala, knowing that a win over Mexico would be enough for them to earn the play-off spot.

But the Warriors started the game poorly, and Mexico took the lead in the first half. It took just five minutes Stern John replied, slotting home a ball from Captain Dwight Yorke to take it into the break 1-1.

It was in the 60th minute that John delivered his second, and the vital win the hosts needed to progress.

Guatemala, even though they had a convincing 3-1 victory over Costa Rica on Wednesday failed to progress.

Trinidad and Tobago’s ‘Warriors’ will be hosting Bahrain in the first-leg in the Port of Spain on the 12th of November, with the Warriors travelling to Bahrain for the second-leg, to be played four days later in Bahrain’s National stadium in Riffa.

From the heady heights of International football, Stern John returns to Earth with a bump, with his next match a slightly less glamourous encounter...A home game for his on-loan team Derby County against Stoke City. A far cry from Mexico!

Bookmark/Search this post with:

delicious | digg | google | yahoo | technorati