Vincy Heat head to round three of WCQ

Vincy Heat, St Vincent and the Grenadines senior men’s football outfit, has advanced to round three of the CONCACAF Zone of the World Cup Qualifiers for Russia 2018.

The Vincentians earned the right on the away goals rule, after the second leg encounter with the Guyana Golden Jaguars finished 4-4 last Sunday {{more}}night at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence.

On aggregate, both teams finished 6-6, as they played to a 2-2 tie in the first leg here, last Wednesday, at the Arnos Vale Playing Field.

Reports say the St Vincent and the Grenadines team went ahead in the 16th minute, through Myron Samuel, who completed the play from a corner kick.

A header from Emery Welshman in the 40th minute equalized for the Jaguars.

However, Tevin Slater replied one minute later to keep the Vincentians’ nose in front.

On the resumption, Neil Danns restored parity for the home team with a penalty.

The humdinger then set in, when Slater, according to reports, left the Guyana defence in tatters to add his second in the 58th minute.

Oalex Anderson made it 4-2 for the Vincentians in the 67th minute.

But the Golden Jaguars made a final roar, through Welshman in the 77th minute and Danns in the 87th, as both completed their braces.

The Vincentians staved off the offensives that were thrown at them, to ensure they will be in the mix when the pairings for round three are done in St Petersburg, Russia, on July 25.

Up to press time, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Curacao were the confirmed third round qualifiers.

The 10 winners from round two would be joined by Jamaica and Haiti in round three, set for August 31 and September 8.

The United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago, then enter the fray, joining the six winners of the round three ties.

A round robin format, involving the 12 teams stashed in three groups, playing home and away, will set up round four.

The dates for group stage matches are November 7 and 17, 2015; March 21 and 29 and August 29 and September 6, 2016.

Then the top six teams will go to the hexagonal phase, with the three top finishers booking tickets for Russia and the fourth place head for a play-off with the intercontinental, as CONCACAF pursues a fourth place to the World Cup final.

Like the third round pairings, the fourth and semi-finals set-ups would be revealed in the St Petersburg draw next month.