SVG Under-20 footballers suffer humiliating defeat

Ill discipline and a list of other social problems were pinpointed as some of the problems that contributed to St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Under-20 footballers’ humiliating defeat by Trinidad and Tobago, in last Friday night’s Caribbean Football Union’s (CFU) Qualifiers.{{more}}

Head Coach Kendale Mercury gave this explanation to SEARCHLIGHT soon after Friday’s match, as to happenings on and off the field, which resulted in his charges taking an 8-nil drubbing.

“The score and the way we played are not a reflection of football per se, but a reflection of their ill discipline, the social problems that they (the players) are going through; they don’t respect anybody, elders, parents, and they simply just cannot follow instructions”, Mercury explained uninhibitedly.

He said: “In football terms, it was real embarrassment, but as we said, if we had a bad day in defence, it would have been a difficult day for us, and that is what happened.”

To strengthen his analysis, Mercury said St. Vincent and the Grenadines conceded four goals in each of the halves. He added that whenever the players carried out the instructions given, it was difficult for the Trinidadians to create goal-scoring chances.

Trinidad and Tobago opened their account in the 21st minute through Jerrel Britto’s close-range tap in.

Showing dominance in all departments of the game, and greater composure, Sheldon Bateau netted his team’s second goal in the 29th minute, although the Vincentians were showing signs of reasonably good possession.

Marcus Joseph made it number three in the 39th minute and three minutes later, Johan Peltier added the fourth.

The second half exposed the deficiencies of the home team, and with the immediate insertion of Shahdon Winchester, the Trinidadians were at their best.

With St. Vincent and the Grenadines down to 10 men after Akil Howard was ejected for violent play on Akil Clarke, the flood gates reopened.

An intended Britto’s cross was turned into a goal by Vincentian Keron Hadaway in the 52nd minute, and a goal keeping error by Tevin Griffith, allowed Winchester to score in the 56th minute.

Winchester added his second through a 65th minute header after the ball rebounded off the crossbar.

Britto completed the rout in the 69th minute, with a low right-footed shot, following a neat build up.

Looking ahead to the return leg on Wednesday evening at the Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, an obviously disappointed Mercury, said: “All we can do is pick up the pieces; it is all over now, we just have to go to Trinidad and save further embarrassment, and play some other players who did not get a chance to play here.”

The winner of the tie meets Suriname for a CONCACAF Final Round berth, where it will join already qualifying Cuba, Guadeloupe and Jamaica for the 12-day tournament in Guatemala. The host country, Canada, USA and Mexico were automatic qualifiers for the final round from April 3 to 17 next year, while Central America will also qualify three other teams. The trio of second-placed CFU second round teams, Netherland Antilles, Bermuda , Guyana and the yet to be determined Group D team will compete in a round-robin series to determine the fifth qualifier for the CONCACAF Final, ahead of the 2011 FIFA World Cup Final. (RT)