"I have been dreaming of this moment for years," said striker Jamaal Gay, after he scored his first senior goal at international level on Sunday night to see Trinidad and Tobago to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Barbados at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya.

Picked out by Keon Daniel's well-weighted chip over the Bajan defence, Gay, a Lower Six Form pupil at El Dorado Senior Comprehensive, got around keeper Adrian Chase and rolled the ball into an empty net, giving T&T a 1-0 advantage in the 41st minute.

Gay also assisted on the home team's second goal in the 87th, providing the cross which Devon Jorslyn, playing only his second game for Trinidad and Tobago, headed home.

And Aklie Edwards, another with just two international matches under his belt, also found the net, banging in a rebound in added-on time, after coming on as a 90th minute substitute.

As has been the recent case, T&T head coach, Colombian Francisco Maturana, gave several new and inexperienced players a tryout on the national team.

Gay was having just his third game, having featured against Jamaica and El Salvador earlier this year, while Caledonia AIA midfielder Stephan David, Jerrol Forbes (United Petrotrin), Kern Cupid (W Connection) and Kevon Carter (Defence Force) all started, and Ancil Farrier, a university student in the US, was given a debut at left back. In the absence of injured Aurtis Whitley, veteran Anton Pierre captained the hosts from central defence.

Trinidad and Tobago were most times well in control of the match. Maintaining possession for long periods and moving the ball from side to side, they kept the Bajans unbalanced and created enough first half chances to be further ahead than by Gay's lone goal.

Early on, Gay hit a low effort just wide of the dive of Chase after being sent clear by Daniel. And when another Daniel chip found Khaleem Hyland, the Barbados goalie was again on spot to turn the ball into the side netting.

Chase later pushed over a header from Hyland, stopped right back Cupid from scoring, and also tipped over a scorching 25-metre shot from powerful T&T striker Forbes. And, without the keeper's help, Forbes also headed Daniel's corner kick over the bar.

Trinidad and Tobago assistant coach Anton Corneal felt the missed chances were all part of the learning process.

"Though we squandered one or two opportunities, we had good chances at goal," said Corneal. "But, you don't talk about missing goals when you scored three...but we probably could have converted a few more."

The situation looked far more grim for Barbados with the upcoming World Cup qualifier against the United States on June 15. It would be an upset of the greatest proportions should Barbados get by the Americans as, except for captain Norman Forde and goalkeeper Chase, they look woefully short of quality.

The introduction of a couple England-based players did nothing to improve their play. However, they did have a couple of scoring chances. Jonathan Straker had Barbados' best first half chance on the half hour, cutting in from the flank and testing T&T custodian Marvin Phillip with a curling shot. Strikers Kieren Crichlow and Walton Burrowes also both had dangerous runs through the centre of the Trinidad and Tobago defence in the second half, but lacked the composure to convert. And substitute striker Brent Carrington also could not find a way past Phillip even after Pierre missed his attempt to cut out a cross ball.

Despite the occasional chance, Corneal felt Barbados were generally disorganised.

"They didn't bring a lot of experience to the game and you could see they are trying to find their way," he said.

"They don't even have the experience of our inexperienced team. One or two times they did get behind our backs, but were not a threat. They really were not a threat," Corneal declared.