BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE much touted encounter between St. Kitts-Nevis and Antigua-Barbuda lived up to expectations last evening (Mar. 29) as Harry Panmiyatou netted the only goal to ensure victory for the home team.
The strike, which came in the 65th minute of the game, was enough to send the fair-sized crowd at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium into frenzy.
With bragging rights and the opportunity to top their group on the line, St. Kitts and Nevis started the better of the two teams in the early exchanges of the game with excellent ‘true passes’. However, none of those passes had created an opportunity to break the deadlock.
An opportunity however came deep into the opening half when a midfielder broke through the Antigua-Barbuda frontline defence but was unsuccessful in his quest as he fell to the ground in an encounter with the full-back.
“Too easy,” one of the hundreds of spectators in the stands shouted, as the referee waved off the penalty call by the Sugar Boys.
In response, Antigua and Barbuda created opportunities - showing the home crowd glimpses of why they were once the revered team in the region - but tried as they did, the athletic Sugar Boys goalkeeper was always there to thwart their efforts.
With the scoreline at the half standing at nil-all, Panmiyatou strike was the icing on the cake as the two teams used this game as a practice match for the second round of the Caribbean Cup slated for June.
St. Kitts and Nevis is grouped with powerhouses Guyana, Grenada and Suriname in a group of seven teams.
The top two from that group will qualify for the third round which would see the inclusion of the top four CFU nations - Jamaica, Trinidad, St. Vincent and Grenadines and Haiti.
