Vincy heats up St. Kitts

St. Vincent and the Grenadines increased their points tally to six in Group C of the CONCACAF Zone for the 2006 World Cup Qualifiers. The match came off last Wednesday evening at Warner Park in St. Kitts with the Vincentians winning 3-0.

Late arrival of the team bus, a power failure that delayed the start of the match by half an hour, did not distract the Vincentians from their mission. {{more}}

SVG continued their upward move on their performance curve. A trend which rose sharply despite their 1-0 loss to Mexico last Sunday at Arnos Vale Playing Field.

Picking up from where they left off last Sunday, as early as the third minute, the Vincentians made their intentions clear. Shandell Samuel who partnered Renson Haynes up front made a hash of an easy chance after being sent clear by Alwyn Guy who was put in the attacking midfield position.

Midfielder Kendall Velox made no mistake in the 19th minute rocketing a left foot shot in the roof of the net.

Wesley John and Jamal Ballantyne, the other midfielders were too much for the opposition. The Kittitians looked lethargic and bankrupt of ideas, but the Vincentians failed to capitalize on their dominance.

The Kittitians though kept the score 0-1 at the interval.

The second period started as the first had ended with Vincy Heat dictating the pace of the match.

Determined to accomplish their mission, the Vincentians made forays after forays on the Kittitians goal. Spurred by the vocal support of their compatriots living in the Federation of St. Kitts/Nevis, who turned out with their replica jerseys, flags and bandanas, it was just a matter of time before SVG found the net again.

Haynes could have put his name on the score sheet but his shot skimmed the far post with the Kittitian goalkeeper beaten. This happened in the 63rd minute.

Six minutes later resulting from a Velox corner ‘Vincy Heat’ went two up. His in swinging cross hit the head of Captain Ezra Hendrickson, then onto the head of Samuel into the back of the net.

St. Kitts, virtually out of it, and with little support, the Vincentians had it all their way.

Hendrickson then had two more strikes after being sent clear, but the Kittitian custodian denied him.

The Vincentian contingent had their proudest moment in the 85th minute. Velox took on the defence, turning them inside out, then beat goalkeeper Kayian Benjamin, to easily tap the ball home.

Once more the four defence of the Vincentians was like a stone wall thwarting whatever the hosts had to offer. Hendrickson, Burton Forde, Wesley Charles and Cornelius Huggins made work for custodian Melvin Andrews very easy.

A buoyant Head Coach Zoran Vranes said at the end of the match that he was pleased with the team’s performance.

He however thought that his squad played well enough and should have come away with a wider margin of victory.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines may well regret not making use of the opportunities that were presented to them, as the race for the second spot will be determined by goal difference.

SVG has four goals and had ten scored against them, with a difference of minus six.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ final match is November 17 against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain.