Vincy Heat advance to second round of Caribbean Football Cup

St Vincent and the Grenadines senior men’s football team — Vincy Heat has advanced to the second round of the 2012 Caribbean Football Union Cup, after finishing runner-up in Group 2, which ended at the Beausejour Cricket stadium in St Lucia Thursday.{{more}}

Facing Curacao in their last fixture, the Vincentians responded with a 4-nil triumph.

A brace from Cornelius Stewart and one each from Myron Samuel and Darren Hamlett accounted for the Vincentians’ goal tally.

Stewart scored the first of his double strikes in the 8th minute, then added his third of the competition when he netted in the 76th minute. Hamlett scored in the 58th minute and Samuel in the 78th.

The Vincentians had put themselves in a hole, after losing to St Lucia 1-nil on Tuesday.

On Sunday, SVG subdued Guyana’s Golden Jaguars 2-1 in the opening match of the four-team group.

Also on the opening night, St Lucia handed Curacao a 5-1 defeat.

On Tuesday, Guyana overcame Curacao 2-1, to set up last Thursday’s matches loaded with permutations.

Like SVG, Guyana did the job asked of them and silenced the home crowd, winning three – nil, leaving the previously unbeaten St Lucia to lick their wounds and exit the competition.

Guyana’s goals came from Vurlon Mills, who scored 2, and Gregory Richardson, the other.

It meant that SVG, Guyana and St Lucia, finished with six points, as all had two wins and a loss.

But it was Guyana who was declared the group’s winner, based on goal difference in the matches among the three tied teams.

Guyana ended with a goal differential of plus two, SVG, zero and St Lucia, minus two.

The Guyanese will meet host Grenada, Haiti and French Guiana in the next phase of the competition.

Coach of the SVG team Cornelius Huggins told SEARCHLIGHT last Friday morning at the E.T. Joshua airport, on the team’s return, that he was happy with the outcome.

“ … It is a good feeling and is a good Independence gift from the players to the country,” Huggins said.

In the next round, SVG will be grouped with host Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba and Suriname from November 14-18.

Huggins said: “Going forward from here, it looks good; we have to work on some weak areas and add a few players to the squad.”

Huggins named Emerald George as an addition to the squad and possibly veteran striker Marlon James.

George was originally named in the team to travel to St Lucia, but was withdrawn two days before departure, because of injury.

James, who turns 36 next month, plays in Malaysia with ATM FA, in the second tier of the Malaysia Football League.

SVG has on three occasions finished second in regional senior football finals — in 1979, 1981 and 1995, in Suriname, Puerto Rico and the Cayman Islands respectively. (RT)