BASSETERRE, St. Kitts -- The Junior Sugar Boyz suffered another significant defeat in their ongoing CONCACAF Under-20 Championship Qualifiers, effectively eliminating them from progressing further in the tournament.
Despite the need for a victory against powerhouse Haiti on Sunday (Feb. 25) at the SKNFA’s Technical Center, following their 5-nil drubbing in the opening encounter, Team St. Kitts-Nevis showed marked improvements but ultimately fell short, suffering a 4-0 defeat.
The team received commendations from Coach Alexis Morris and the large fanbase that turned out on a cold evening, but goals from Bryan Destin (6’), Louis Isaie (9’), Jaylen-Andre Vilsaint (45’+3), and an own goal by Kejorn Wattley (87’) put the Haitians one step closer to the CONCACAF Championships.
Haiti’s Coach, Angelo Jean Baptiste, praised his team for the victory but acknowledged that they were not at their best due to inadequate preparations before arriving in the Federation. "We have a problem in Haiti where we did not have a championship in two years, so some of my players are from overseas: Canada, US, Portugal, France, and Haiti. It is very difficult to assemble them in two weeks; we need at least a month to build something special," noted the coach.
Alexis Morris, Coach of Team St. Kitts-Nevis, urged his players to demonstrate consistency throughout the game, rather than sporadically. This inconsistency was evident in their first match against Puerto Rico, where they were convincingly beaten in all aspects of the game. "We need to be more consistent in the way we play, not just in patches within the game. We need to be more consistent and demanding in our roles," Morris emphasized.
Meanwhile, the Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico ended in a 1-1 draw, with goals from Cayman Island’s Justin Byles (23’) and Puerto Rico’s Benjamin Donato (79’).
St. Kitts and Nevis will conclude the tournament on Tuesday evening in the feature game starting at 7:00 p.m., while Puerto Rico and Haiti will compete for the qualifying spot at 4:00 p.m.
