Antigua and Barbuda Football Coach lauds Arnos Vale surface

Coach of the Antigua and Barbuda senior Football team Tom Curtis has lauded the surface of the main Arnos Vale Playing Field, noting that it is one of the best in the Caribbean.{{more}}

Curtis, an Englishman, made his views known last week Sunday, following his team’s second match of a two-match friendly international series against the St Vincent and the Grenadines recently.

“We are fortunate to play in such a great venue and on such a lovely surface, one of the best that I have seen in the Caribbean, certainly,” Curtis remarked to SEARCHLIGHT at the end of the match.

“We are pleased to play on such a surface and this is what we need, and at a crucial stage of our preparation, it is fantastic to play on a surface like this,” Curtis said.

The Antigua and Barbuda team has reached, for the first time, the semi final stage of the CONCACAF Qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup, where they will meet Jamaica, Guatemala and the United States of America.

Curtis, in making the comparison with what obtains in Antigua and Barbuda, said: “In Antigua, we are really struggling for training surfaces and playing surfaces, and to be honest with you, training right now is on a really, really bad surface,” Curtis revealed.

In further lamenting his team’s plight, Curtis said, “You can’t expect to train and get good quality out of players, when you train basically on dust surfaces and that is what unfortunately we have got in Antigua.”

Curtis is, however, optimistic that the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association, will seek to get better facilities for him and him charges in the upcoming weeks.

The St Vincent and the Grenadines team, Vincy Heat, like their Antiguans counterparts, were part of the world cup qualifiers.

Unlike Antigua, St Vincent and the Grenadines had months of access to the premier sport facility here, the Arnos Vale Playing Field, during their sojourn.

St Vincent and the Grenadines was ousted in the second round of the qualifiers, in which they were grouped with Guatemala, Belize and Grenada.

Antigua and Barbuda had advanced to this phase by topping their group, which also included Haiti, Curacao and the United States Virgin Islands.

Antigua and Barbuda faces the USA in their first match of the third round, on June 8 at the Raymond James Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.(RT)