Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Jamaica's Tyrone Marshall (front) celebrates his goal against Trinidad and Tobago with teammates on Wednesday night. The friendly match at the National Stadium ended 2-2. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

THE TECHNICAL director of Jamaica's Reggae Boyz, René Simoes, held up a guilty hand to take the blame for the national team's second-half collapse which led to a disappointing 2-2 draw with Trinidad and Tobago's Soca Warriors at the National Stadium on Wednesday night.

However, the Brazilian stressed such games were, in a sense, growing pains and necessary as the team prepares for the start of World Cup qualifiers against either the British Virgin Islands or the Bahamas on June 14.

"The team didn't play well in the second half, but it was my decision to make changes," Simoes said. "In the second half maybe I didn't make the changes at the right time, the right way, the right persons, but it's to me that everybody has to look," he said at the post-game press conference.

"This is my responsibility. I already told the players they have to learn from the mistakes we did, but when things do not go good it's me. I am very proud of the players.

"This is the time to watch the players, to take decisions. It will take some games like this."

Bitter pill

Judging from the reaction in the National Stadium on Wednesday night, it would be easy to surmise that the Reggae Boyz had lost the game and, after enjoying a comfortable 2-0 lead, the general sentiment around the ground seemed to be that a 2-2 draw with the much younger Trinidad and Tobago team was a bitter pill to swallow.

Marlon King scored a spectacular goal to put the Jamaicans ahead in the 34th minute and when Tyrone Marshall broke away from the Trinidad and Tobago backline to fire into the back of the net six minutes later, the second half seemed to promise greater things for those on hand.

However, that never materialised as King and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts were substituted at halftime and, after other substitutions, which included Luton Shelton, Oneil Thompson and Omar Daley, the Boyz seemed to go flat.

Trinidad and Tobago pulled a goal back in the 74th minute through Osei Telesford before getting the equaliser through captain Aurtis Whitely in the 90th minute, to send the small section of Trinidad fans into frenzy and looking more as if they had won the game.

"Today, I taste what it means to coach the Jamaica team on Jamaica soil and not get the result you deserve," Simoes said.

"The result was a bit was little bit hard for the supporters ... After seeing the first half, they expected us to kill Trinidad and Tobago in a good way, but we didn't," he said.

T&T pleased

T&T assistant coach Anton Corneal was pleased with the effort of his team, which lacked several first-string players.

"We came into this game with a very young team - we had 16-year- olds and 18-year-olds. I thought in the first half it was difficult for the players to match up, but in the second half we stepped up," Corneal said. "It took a lot from our young players to come back from two goals down and we are very proud of them."

Trinidad were without several players including Kenwyne Jones and Carlos Edwards of English Premier League outfit, Sunderland.