Vincy Heat spill Caribbean Cup chances

A sixth-minute goal from St Kitts and Nevis’ Javeim Blanchette last Tuesday at the Arnos Vale Playing Field was enough to end St Vincent and the Grenadines’ hopes of advancing to the third round of the Scotia Bank senior men’s Caribbean Football Cup.{{more}}

Blanchette made good of a left side cross, and with help from lead footed St Vincent and the Grenadines defence, roofed the ball past goal-keeper Lemus Christopher.

But the hosts, who were placed in a must win situation, having lost to Suriname 1-2, last Saturday at the Andre Kamperveen Stadium in Paramaribo, Suriname, have themselves to blame, as the players were guilty of muffing several opportunities.

The missed opportunities irked technical director Keith Ollivierre, who was the stand-in head coach for this round of matches.

“We had done all the preparation in terms of analysing, looking at the strengths and weakness of both teams…. At the end of the day, if the players do not carry out the instructions and finish the chances they get, we will end up losing games,” Ollivierre said, following the match.

He described his team’s predicament this way: “We were this close to heaven, but we are in hell.”

Last Tuesday’s loss counted eight on the trot, the number of international defeats which Vincy Heat has notched up since last September.

Instead it was St Kitts and Nevis that stayed perfect in the competition to top Group Five and secure a place in the third round.

Also trumping on Tuesday were Antigua and Barbuda, who at home swatted Grenada 5-1 in Group One, while in Group Two, Dominica, playing at home, lost to Martinique in Group Two.

In Group Three, Curacao, in front of their home supporters, swamped the USVI seven-nil and in Group Four, the Dominican Republic, at home, had the better of French Guiana 2-1.

The five group winners – Puerto Rico, Martinique, the Dominican Republic, Curacao and St Kitts and Nevis, along with the four best runners-up advance to the third round.

Joining the nine will be defending champions Jamaica, as well as Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti.(RT)