Vincy Heat tames the Golden Jaguars

St Vincent and the Grenadines Senior Football team Vincy Heat came out with a narrow one nil win over Guyana’s Golden Jaguars last Sunday night, in an international at the Victoria Park.{{more}}

The lone goal was scored by Wendell Cuffy in the 7th minute of the match. Cuffy pounced on a square cross from the left side of the field, to roof the ball in the net.

Despite taking the lead, the Vincentians allowed the Guyanese to slowly get into their stride, which demanded some rear-guard action by the host’s defence; but the visitors had nothing to show on the score sheet.

The second period was similar to the first, with both outfits showing glimpses of brilliance.

The speed of Vincentian midfielder Cornelius Stewart proved a handful for the Guyanese back four; however, his efforts only resulted in half chances.

The Guyanese too, had some opportunities, including a free kick that rocketed off the crossbar, with Vincentian custodian Kenyon Lynch beaten.

It was the Vincentians’ first run out as a team, since exiting the World Cup campaign last November.

Interim Coach of the Vincentian outfit Cornelius Huggins, who was presiding over his first match as head of the senior male team, expressed delight at the win to SEARCHLIGHT soon after the match.

Huggins, who captained the team during the world cup sojourn, said the victory was a good morale booster for his charges and St Vincent and the Grenadines Football as a whole.

“There are some areas we still have to work on, but it is a good feeling to win,” Huggins stated.

Huggins’ opposite number and his former coach at Trinidad and Tobago semi professional club, Caledonia, Jamal Shabaaz, stated that it was a well fought match, but that he believed his team played well enough to at least have come away with a draw.

Guyana is into the semi-final round of the CONCACAF zone of the world cup qualifiers and is on a Caribbean tour, which has already taken them to Trinidad and Tobago, with Grenada being their next stop.

Shabaaz said the swing through the region is to get the locally based players to add to the core of the team, who are based in other countries around the world.

The Guyanese will host Guatemala in a friendly international on February 29, but will feature most of their foreign-based players.

Guyana is bunched with Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador in the next phase.