Outclassed, says Carrington

“We were out of the caliber of the other teams. We did not play well. We were not good enough.”

That was the blunt assessment of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation-hired Technical Director Sammy Carrington of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Senior Women’s Football Team which participated in Group A of the Caribbean Zone of the World Cup Qualifiers which finished in Guyana last Sunday.{{more}}

St. Vincent and the Grenadines was beaten first by Suriname 1-0 last week Wednesday and by the same score line by host Guyana last Sunday.

Last week Friday, Guyana blanked Suriname 2-0 to play unbeaten in the group.

However, Carrington believed that the margins of defeat do not really reflect the disparity of the Vincentians technical and tactical abilities, especially against the Guyanese.

“Guyana was spectacular. They played a good system, with the players working their systems well,” Carrington admitted.

He said that the Guyanese did their home work, by recruiting several players from the US and Canadian college programme.

“They did their homework for a competition of that magnitude. We did not,” the Technical Director opined.

However, on the plus side of the Vincentians, Carrington felt that the team was good defensively, but was unable to string together enough passes offensively.

Carrington singled out the Vincentian captain, defender Akira Samuel, who he said was “tremendous”.

“She was a class above the others, and her knowledge of the game and strength helped to lessen the score line,” Carrington thought.

“It was good for the players to go out there to see how it is done,” Carrington said of what the players should take from the South American experience.

Willing to go back to the blackboard, Carrington suggested to SEARCHLIGHT last Tuesday evening, one day after the team’s return: “We have to put the structures in place and tell the players how to do it”.

“We should go back to basics and get the other players who for some reason or another did not make the trip back into the fold,” the TD said.

Despite the poor showing, Carrington said that there is enough material to work with, and the enthusiasm of the women adds as a springboard for future development of their skills. (RT)