Vincy Heat finishes luke warm campaign

St. Vincent and the Grenadines senior male Football team Vincy Heat ended their 2014 World Cup campaign last Tuesday at the Arnos Vale Playing Field, going under to Belize two goals to nil.{{more}}

Playing for pride in front of their home fans, and the consolation of finishing second in Group E of the CONCACAF Zone, neither of the goals was met.

A spirited start by the home team, a feature of all their matches in this year’s outing, soon petered out into a battle for mid field supremacy, with the host getting the better of their opponents.

Both teams created chances of their own, but neither was clinical enough, as the first stanza finished 0-0.

The second stanza began as the first ended, with the battle confined to the middle of the park.

Stand in Captain, the teenaged Myron Samuel, almost put the home team ahead about midway in the second half, but after doing all the hard work, his solo effort with only the goal frame and Belizean custodian Woodrow West in sight, Samuel put the ball onto the left upright.

This miss proved to be a costly one, as the Belizeans made good of their next opportunity.

The visitors breached the Vincentians defence and allowed the talismanic Deon Mc Cauley to pinch in and score in the 75th minute, as Belize scored much against the run of play.

Three minutes later, Mc Cauley stroked the ball past goal keeper Dwaine Sandy, from a penalty awarded by Jamaican Referee Kevin Thomas, who called a foul committed by Vincentian defender Reginald Richardson.

The Vincentians had dropped shoulders and bended heads as they awaited the final rites of Referee Thomas.

It was a good win for Belize, who travelled here with only thirteen players.

Both St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Belize met in the first leg last Friday, November 11, and played to a one all tie in Belmopan.

The win allowed Belize to leap frog St. Vincent and the Grenadines to copp the second spot, with seven points from their six matches, gained from two wins and a draw.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines finished with five points from their six matches, compiled from one win and two draws.

Grenada ended with four points from their six matches, notching up one win and a draw.

Guatemala ended with 18 points winning all their six matches.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines, however, had the worst goal difference in the group, that of minus eight. The Vincentians scored only four goals and conceded twelve.

Guatemala had a plus sixteen goal difference; Belize, a minus one, and Grenada, minus seven.

Last Tuesday saw other matches in the CONCACAF Zone, closing out the second round of matches among the confederation teams.

The results showed Guatemala beating Grenada 4-1; Antigua and Barbuda lost to Haiti 2-1; Trinidad and Tobago defeated Guyana 2-0, while Canada outscored St. Kitts and Nevis four nil. Curacao beat up the US Virgin Islands 6-1, El Salvador stopped Suriname four nil, and Panama defeated Dominica 3-0.

In earlier matches on Monday, Bermuda beat Barbados 2-1 and the Cayman Islands and the Dominican Republic drew one goal each.

Advancing from this round were Guatemala, Antigua and Barbuda, El Salvador, Guyana, Panama and Canada.

The next round which begins in June 2012 sees in Group A, the USA, Jamaica, Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda.

Group B comprises Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guyana, with Group C made up of Honduras, Cuba, Panama and Canada.(RT)