On Friday 24th March, 2023, in front of a large home crowd at the Raymond E. Guishard Technical Centre, Anguilla lost 2-1 against St. Lucia in their fourth and final match in the CONCACAF Nations League Competition.
The highly anticipated match up saw a large turnout of spectators and supporters, with a recorded number of over 800 persons in attendance.
In the first half of play, Anguilla conceded an early goal to St. Lucia in the 18th minute. However, Team Anguilla remained strong, with a steady defensive backline and impressive saves from Goalkeeper, Jelani Lawrence (1). Approaching half-time in the 46th minute of play St. Lucia was able to get by the Anguillian defense and score a second goal.
Despite being down by two goals, the crowd of spectators and supporters continued to rally behind the Anguillian players, giving them that extra boost as they fought hard to deny St. Lucia any more opportunities at goal in the second half. Finally, in the 74th minute, the crowd erupted in jubilation as Anguillan Forward, Lamar Carpenter (22) scored the 1st and only goal for Anguilla.
The match finally ended 2-1 in favor of St. Lucia. Despite Anguilla’s loss, the crowd was very much impressed with the
exceptional performance the players demonstrated throughout the match and when the final whistle was blown, the players received a standing ovation.
With such an overwhelming and large support from all those in attendance, the Anguilla Football Association in a Facebook post on 25th March, expressed its gratitude and thanks to the general public.
The post read in part: “Football goes way beyond the game, it is the support of the island, the help and coordination of the staff and the hard work of the players and team members. YESTERDAY marks a pivotal moment in our history that we will cherish forever.
We dreamt for success and here we are with the victory; YOU! Thank you all for supporting the Anguilla Senior Men National Team in their final match in the Concacaf Nations League Qualifiers. Every match comes with either a victory or defeat and though we weren’t successful in capturing the win, in our hearts, the progression of the team was a huge WIN! It’s only up from here Anguilla, see the faces and learn the names because they are definitely going places.
Your encouragement and support truly inspired and pushed the team to new heights and influenced performance.”
