On Thursday, June 2, Anguilla kicked off their Concacaf Nations League opener at the Raymond E. Guishard Technical Centre, where many in attendance came out in their colours to support and see Anguilla go up against Dominica. Among those in attendance was Mr. Philippe Moggio, General Secretary of Concacaf.
With a sense of pride and in front of their home crowd, the Anguillian players took to the field of play, where they showed tremendous grit and strength in frustrating and disrupting Dominica’s attacking mode of play. As such, Anguilla defensive composure and execution throughout the game elicited many cheers of support from spectators in the stands. One of the crowd’s favourite, Goalkeeper, Danniell Bailey, added to the crowds excitement with many impressive saves throughout the match. He was able to deny Dominica any goals.
Despite adding to the crowds’ excitement, and having some goal score opportunities, Anguilla was unable to secure any, and the match ended in a nil-nil draw. After the final whistle was blown, just knowing that together they were able to hold their own against Dominica, players left the field with theirs heads held high, and many smiles to the cheers of supporters in the stands – applauding a well fought match against Dominica.
For their second match in the league, Anguilla headed off to St. Kitts where, on Sunday June 5, they faced off with Dominica for a second time. Having a rocky start to begin with, Dominica was able to penetrate Anguilla’s defense and score an early goal in the first half. However, in the second half, Anguilla’s Forward, Jonathan Guishard, was able to bring back his team from behind and score an equalising goal. With no team being able to score any additional goals, the match ended with a final score 1-1.
When asked about scoring the first goal for Anguilla, Guishard stated: “I feel great, ecstatic…Its always good to score but then, again, its good to come back from behind and give your team a point. It’s a really good feeling.”
Having secured another draw, Anguilla was able to pick up another point.
In a post-game interview, asked about whether or not they have a point to prove in their next anticipated match against St. Lucia, Anguilla’s Head Coach, Nigel Connor, stated: “Our point to prove is, in general, we need to get from the bottom up.” Having a secured a total of 2 points, thus far, in drawing their first two matches, Anguilla is definitely showing progress.
With their next match scheduled for Sunday June 12, in St. Lucia, the Anguilla team left the island on Wednesday June 8, in preparation for the upcoming match.
– Contributed
