SVG Under-20 female footballers out of CFU Qualifiers

St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Under-20 female footballers failed in their bid to advance to the next phase of the Caribbean Football Union’s Qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Canada.{{more}} However, head coach Andrew Bramble said his charges gave a good account of themselves, despite losing all three matches.

Contesting Group 3 in Suriname last week, the Vincentian lasses were beaten by Grenada 3-0; Dominica 3-1 and Suriname, 3-0.

However, Bramble is of the view that the players grew in confidence as the competition progressed.

“…The team woke up late,” is how Bramble described the team’s efforts.

The head coach said in the last match versus the host, his team was able to hold the Surinamese to 0-0, until injury time in the first half, with the second goal registered over fifteen minutes into the second half.

“In that match, we played with a lot of intensity, a lot of heart and we believe had we shown that in the earlier matches, things could have been different,” Bramble opined.

“The team gave a good account of itself… It was not a case in which we were run over; in all of the matches we had chances. In fact, against Grenada and Dominica, we had a penalty each, unfortunately, but failed to finish …We may look at the results , 3-nil, 3-1 and 3-nil and say you were badly beaten, but in the context of the game, it was not so…,” the head coach commented.

And, it was a whole new world of experience for most of the players.

“… It was the first time the players were travelling and playing in a competition of this nature. It was a situation where you had 12 and 13-year-olds coming up against 18 and 19-year-olds as with the other teams,” Bramble advanced.

Bramble thought that the deficiencies of the team, which manifested themselves in Suriname, are directly the results of the lack of a proper development programme here in St Vincent and the Grenadines..

“… We have to take the game here most seriously in terms of preparation … The Under-19 programme was a mere skeleton … Most of the girls on the team were the ones who were coming to training and practising regularly, so it was a case of really no competition for the places,” Bramble stated.

He is however looking at continuity to take the players to the next stage of their football development.

“We need to keep this team together… It is such a pity that the Federation (SVGFF) did not see the need to enter this team in the Under-17 competition which is coming up …The experience is what they want.. You can’t be playing one game per month or one tournament per year with four teams, three games .. They need more competition, they need to be playing more… They need to tour more,” Bramble advised.

Bramble said that there are other issues which need to be addressed with the current team, which he hopes the current executive of the SVGFF will attend to with urgency.

Host Suriname advanced to the CFU final which is set for Puerto Rico in December, as they also recorded a 3-nil win over Grenada and whipped Dominica, 4-1.

Grenada also advanced as they finished second, having defeated Dominica 3-2.(RT)