Columbus Crew SC midfielder Kevan George and the rest of the Soca Warriors defeated Guatemala 3-1 in the Group C opener of the 2015 Gold Cup Thursday night. George got the starting nod for Trinidad & Tobago (T&T), which scored all three of its goals in the first half.
Crew SC Head Coach and Sporting Director Gregg Berhalter was impressed by the result.
“It’s a great win by Trinidad [and Tobago],” Berhalter said. “They came out to a great start. They caught Guatemala sleeping a little bit, and jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and that’s fantastic.”
The first goal came from Sheldon Bateau redirecting a corner to the back of the net from Khaleem Hyland in the 11
th
minute. George's fellow MLS players, San Jose Earthquakes' Cordell Cato and Chicago Fire's Joevin Jones, added two more goals within the first 26 minutes to extend the Soca Warriors' lead to 3-0.
“I think Kevan played an anchoring role in midfield, and I think he did well,” Berhalter said of his player. “His passing percentage was pretty good, and he got in some tackles.”
George played the full 90 minutes for T&T, repelling the Guatemalans’ second-half surge. Berhalter says this international experience is beneficial for George and ergo, for Crew SC.
“Kevan’s one of these players that has really improved over the course of the last year and a half, and we’ve seen tremendous strides from him,” Berhalter said. “This validates that and gives him even more confidence moving forward.”
George will take that confidence into the next match when they face Cuba in group play on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
“I think it was a good win for them and they set themselves up nicely to go into the quarterfinals,” Berhalter assessed.
