Sunday, October 17th 2010 – Andre Kamperveen Stadium, Paramaribo, Suriname: These two sides are not that far away from the standard required for qualification to Group C, both have young teams so are building for the future so we would not be surprised to see at least one of these feature more prominently in the 2012 Digicel Cup. They played an entertaining match today and were very close against the two sides, Suriname and Guyana who have qualified.
On their previous two performances Netherlands Antilles might have been slight favourites going into this match. However, in the first half they did not perform like the better side as St. Lucia started where they left off on Friday by taking the game right to their opponents. Their reward came as early as the 7th minute when Zacchaeus Polius finished a good St. Lucian attack. Polius demonstrated great confidence with the finish, obviously feeling good after his goal on Friday.
Netherlands Antilles came back into the match as they started to find some more rhythm to their play. On 30 minutes Lisandro Trenidad drew the score level.
Straight away St. Lucia responded, and it was that man Polius again who popped up with his second goal on the night. Polius has been an impressive player in this Digicel Cup, it is a pity we will not get to see more of his attacking talents. In a fast paced first half, St. Lucia had the edge with a 2-1 lead.
Netherlands Antilles came out on the offensive in the second half, they had the vast majority of possession but did not manage to covert the chances they created. St. Lucia defended very well with their entire back line and goalkeeper Cassius having an excellent match.
The best chance of the half fell to Guy George the St Lucia captain who sent his shot wide when the goal was at his mercy, a glorious chance saw his shot go wide when it, this surely would have been the winner for St. Lucia. Another chance came the way of St. Lucia when the Netherlands Antilles keeper made a mess of a kick out, however they were not alert enough to convert the opportunity.
Netherlands Antilles kept coming forward seeking the equalizer and mounted enormous pressure on St. Lucia who had done very well to stand firm. In the 89th minute from maybe their last chance, Netherlands Antilles were awarded a penalty when Kenneth Kunst was brought down. Kunst had also been a very bright attacking talent and would be difficult for any defense to contain. Bryan Anastatia took the responsibility and netted the penalty for the equalizer.
It was fitting that both of these teams took points in the Group C as it would not have been a fair reflection of their play had they been sent home on zero points. We look forward to seeing how they develop in two years time.
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For more information, access to match images and live score updates, visit www.digicelfootball.com.
Netherlands Antilles: 1. Marcello Pisas (Capt) 2. Bryan Anastatia 3. Huloybert Delando 4. Genaro Cicilia 6. Vilyson Lake 7. Everon Espacia 9. Kenneth Kunst 12. Giandro Staba (10, Mirco Colina)14. Liasandro Trenidad (8. Rilove Janga) 15. Lacey Pauletta (13. Shurwendel Roosje)16. Glenciene Gregoria Coach. Henry Caldera
St. Lucia: 1. Iran Cassius 3. Fabian Joseph (Capt) 4. Kurt Frederick 5. Pernal Williams (9. Andreas Willie) 6. Nathan Justin 8. Vernus Abbott 10. Guy George (14. Rickson Augustin)11. Enderson George 12. Hiram Hunte 13. Zacchaeus Polius 20. Troy Prosper (15. Magnam Valcin) Coach: Alain Prosper
Referee: Bryan Willet – ANT & BARB
Assistant Referee 1 – Swanson Owen – CAY
Assistant Referee 2 – Dwayne Ebanks – CAY
Commissioner – Dale Spencer – JAM
