FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, CMC – A couple of daring saves from their captain and goalkeeper Julani Archibald enabled St Kitts & Nevis to upset Curaçao 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time in the first round of the preliminary stage in the Concacaf Gold Cup on Friday in the United States.
Archibald blocked the first and four penalties from Kevin Felida and Vurnon Anita, respectively, before Leandro Bacuna shot the fifth and final for the Concacaf 14th-ranked Curaçaoans over the crossbar to spark celebrations in the camp of the Sugar Boyz, as the Kittitians are known, appearing in the tournament at this stage for the first time.
For St Kitts & Nevis, Romaine Sawyer had his penalty blocked. Still, Mervin Lewis, Carlos Bertie, and Tyquan Terrell, their scorer in regulation time, were infallible. They earned their 21st-ranked side a famous win in the night capper of a triple header at the DRV PNK Stadium.
Earlier, Concacaf No. 19 Guadeloupe quickly eliminated No. 20 Antigua & Barbuda 5-0, and No. 12 Martinique had to dig deep to shake off No. 24 St Lucia 3-1 in the second match.
The results meant that St Kitts & Nevis, Guadeloupe, and Martinique move onto the second round of the preliminary stage to be played on Tuesday at the same venue.
Curaçao had only themselves to blame after taking the lead in the 22nd minute when Jurgen Locadia let loose a low strike from the top of the penalty area that barely made it past the fingertips of Archibald to secure his first international goal and gave the Dutch side a 1-0 lead at halftime.
The Sugar Boyz played with a sense of purpose in the second half, and Omari Sterling-James almost found the equalizer in the 49th minute from long range, but Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room parried the ball away.
Curaçao maintained control of the match, but they broke down St Kitts & Nevis’s defense. Archibald proved to be rock between the uprights, intercepting several crosses and chances that may have challenged a player of lesser caliber.
The Kittitians soaked up the pressure and got their breakthrough in the 83rd minute when Tiquanny Williams cut the ball back toward the penalty spot. Terrell rocketed it straight into the top corner of the net for a dramatic late equalizer.
Once the final whistle sounded, the match proceeded to a penalty shoot-out, and the heroics of Archibald extended a lifeline to St Kitt’s & Nevis in the single elimination preliminary stage of the tournament.
In the second round, they will face the winner of the match between French Guiana and St Maarten playing on Saturday.
In the day’s opener, five players scored for the Gwada Boyz to prove the closeness of the two sides in the ranking was grossly misleading.
Steven Solvet directed a corner kick into the back of the net with a towering header in the 28th minute to give Guadeloupe the lead. They were ahead 2-0 at halftime after Jordan Tell pounced on a loose ball following a free kick from Andrew Gravillon that curled around the Antigua & Barbuda wall and off the post mere seconds before the break.
In the second half, it was practically one-way traffic after a nifty chip from Steven Davidas extended the lead for Guadeloupe in the 55th minute.
Luther Archimede, with his first international goal in the 70th minute, and Matthias Phaeton, in stoppage time, completed the rout.
In the second round, Guadeloupe will meet the winner of the match between Guyana and Grenada playing on Saturday.
Martinique followed up with a hard-fought win, needing two items in the final 15 minutes to send the St Lucians packing.
Karl Fabien gave Martinique the lead when he received the ball a little inside the penalty area and calmly finished past St Lucia netminder Vino Bartlett into the side netting by the far post before looping corner kick presented Reeco Hackett-Fairchild with a chance to equalize, and he took his opportunity expertly in the 40th minute.
The two sides battled hard to separate themselves. Still, Martinique proved their pedigree when Anthony Labeau tidied up a cross from Enrick Reuperne and put them ahead again in the 75th minute before Patrick Burner sealed the deal with five remaining.
In the second round, Martinique will play the winner of the match between Puerto Rico and Suriname playing on Saturday.
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