Vincy Heat looking to rebound after US rout

Vincy Heat will be looking to rebound this afternoon here at the Arnos Vale Playing Field, when they face Guatemala in the semi-final round of Group C in the CONCACAF Zone from 3:30 p.m.

This, after the Vincentians were routed 6-1 by the USA last Friday evening at the Busch Stadium in St Louis, Missouri.{{more}}

It was the first meeting between the two, with the Americans ranked 33rd and St Vincent and the Grenadines, 129th on the FIFA world rankings.

St Vincent and the Grenadines could not have asked for a better start when in the fifth minute, Oalex Anderson side-stepped three defenders, then raced in the USA’s penalty area to score from about 14 yards.

This goal gave Vincy Heat that glimmer of hope, but this hope soon evaporated, as the host replied with three goals in the space of 21 minutes, to virtually take the sting from the visitors’ tail.

Bobby Wood got the equalizer in the 11th minute with a header; then Fabian Johnson’s free kick deflected off a Vincentian defender Kevin Francis in the 30th minute, after which an unmarked Jozy Altidore headed in the 32nd minute.

There on in, it was one-way traffic, as the Vincentians were wedged in their own half, resorting to an almost ultra-defensive approach.

But the walls of resistance were not strong enough as Geoff Cameron in the 51st minute, Gyasi Zardes in the 58th minute and Altidore completed his brace in the 73rd, to complete the lopsided score sheet in favour of the USA.

With the USA defeat behind them, the records have been made harder for the Vincentians’ task of overcoming the Guatemalans.

When both teams met in 2011, Guatemala won the first leg 4-0 in Guatemala and 3-0 in the reverse fixture here.

Tracking back to the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the USA in 1996, Guatemala handed St Vincent and the Grenadines a 4-0 beating.

Going into today’s match, like St Vincent and the Grenadines, Guatemala is coming off a 1-2 loss to Trinidad and Tobago on home soil.

The Trinidadians scored through Khaleem Hyland (67th minute) and Kenwyn Jones (80th minute), while Carlos Mejia netted for the host in the 90th.

Other results last Friday, in Group A, Mexico at home beat El Salvador, while host Canada edged out Honduras one-nil. In Group B, Panama humbled Jamaica 2-0 at the Jamaica National Stadium and Costa Rica defeated the visiting Haiti 1-0.(RT)