Unranked St.Kitts-Nevis gives Mexico(ranking 37th) a hard time at Concacaf Qualifiers finals.
St. Kitts- Nevis, “a force to be reckoned with” according to FIFA.com is now making a new name for itself. After advancing to the Concacaf final of the Futsal World Cup Qualifiers, having no experience whatsoever in this form of the game, St.Kitts-Nevis has the crowd buzzing.
CONCACAF.com
Confederation of North, Central American & Caribbean Association Football
July 3, 2012
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — Adrian Gonzalez struck for a dramatic late winner to lift Mexico to a hard-fought 5-4 win over St. Kitts & Nevis at the Domo Polideportivo.
The Caribbean nation, playing in only its second-ever international, led for most of the game and was within tantalizing grasp of an historic accomplishment.Gonzalez, though, salvaged the result for Mexico with less than a minute left on the clock by deftly flicking a Francisco Cati corner that deflected off St. Kitts’ Aiden Nurse and past goalkeeper Julani Archibald.
Both teams started the game well, but St. Kitts & Nevis got on the board first in the 7th minute thanks to a Carlos Ramirez own-goal.
Ramirez would make amends for that inadvertent error only seconds later, leveling the score with his first goal of the competition.
St. Kitts immediately went on the offensive, grabbing a 3-1 lead through goals from Jason Lake and Nurse in the 9th and 10th minutes, respectively.Nurse’s goal came as a result of a clever side-footed shot while parallel to the net from very close range.
Cati, though, narrowed the gap with an 18th minute goal from the left after an enterprising run from inside his own half.
Two minutes later, Miguel Limon equalized for the Mexicans with his third goal in two games.
St. Kitts was undaunted and regained the advantage as Travis Somersall knocked home a rebound, breaking the short-lived deadlock and giving his side a 5-4 lead at the interval.
The second half was a somewhat bumpy affair, but it wasn’t because of a lack of effort or skill.An abundance of determination was evident in the faces and actions of all the players.
The score remained in St. Kitts’ favor until the Limon brought Mexico back on level terms in the 35th minute, setting up Gonzalez’s heroics.