Sugar Boyz taking SVG encounter seriously
Though St. Kitts and Nevis has a good chance of moving on to the final round of the Caribbean Cup qualifiers, the Sugar Boyz should not take St. Vincent and the Grenadines lightly in a must win encounter tonight, Tuesday, 7th June, in Kingstown, St. Vincent.
So reasoned the Technical Director of the National Team Lenny Lake. He said,
“I think the match is going to be keenly contested. St. Vincent over the years has not been a pushover, so I don’t think it’s really wise for us to take them lightly, and we should treat them like any other opponent. I think that they have quality. They are competitive.”
Lake is optimistic that the team will get the required result, saying, “They (SVG) do have the home court advantage…but I think our team is mature and can handle the on-the-road antagonism. I am optimistic that we will go there and get a decent result and move on to the next round.”
Lake said. St. Kitts and Nevis defeated Aruba, Antigua and Suriname in a remarkable run so far. He reasoned that St. Kitts and Nevis could still progress even if they lose to St. Vincent, but that would leave their progression to chance.
He explained that all the teams could end up with three points having defeated Suriname 1-0 last week and Suriname in their home match defeated St. Vincent.
If St. Kitts were to lose to St. Vincent, all teams would be on three points, and it would be left up to goal difference and possibly head-to-head encounters to determine which teams advance to the next round.
The St. Kitts and Nevis Senior Men’s National Football Team has been sensational in recent months and especially in the qualifiers having won all their matches to date without conceding a goal.
Lake puts this improved series of performances down to the exceptional defensive work by the team and the preparations in playing teams from Europe last year.
The technical director stated, “Having the chance to go to Europe and play some European teams, we realize that we have to be very disciplined, and, of course, very, very strong (defensively).”
Lake continued, “We cannot make silly mistakes, especially in defense.”
St. Kitts and Nevis is ranked number 92 in the FIFA International Rankings; the first time the national team has been ranked under 100.
