A change in venue to the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground on Tuesday did not help the Saint Lucia team as they suffered their second straight loss, this time to El Salvador in Group B of League B of the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League. It was a scoreless first half, with the visiting side getting the better chances but unable to get the ball past Saint Lucian goalkeeper Vino Barclett. In the second half, though, El Salvador found their scoring touch in the 68th minute when Rodolfo Zelaya put one past the Saint Lucian goalkeeper.
The visitors had the bulk of the chances in the first half, with Oscar Ceren having three cracks at goal in the first 45 minutes, including a stinging effort that rocketed off the crossbar. Saint Lucia’s best movements forward came on the counter-attack and it was Mailk St Prix who forced El Salvador goalkeeper Henry Hernandez into a diving save midway through.
The hosts looked for an equalizer, but they could not find a way past the opponent’s defence, and Carlos Portillo polished things off with a cool right-footed finish in the 88th minute for the 2-0 score line. It was the first time Saint Lucians had the opportunity to see the national team on home soil under the guidance of Coach Jamaal Shabazz. For him, the home loss was a bitter pill to swallow and he let his feelings known following the game.
“This is a difficult moment,” he said. “Normally I am very good with the media but today I feel very disappointed. I don’t feel today El Salvador was two goals better than us. The guys worked hard, they were organised. We didn’t take our chances; we created three one-on-one clear-cut chances and three other half chances which, in international football, is a real chance. The goals we let in today, I thought they were really, really soft and I am disappointed, but still I thought the guys played with a big heart. They stuck to the plan, they were organised, and when you look at where El Salvador is ranked and where we are ranked and the way we managed the game, there were still good things we can see from it.”
An inquisitive reporter asked Shabazz how he thought one particular player, Aaron Richard, had performed that evening. Shabazz replied: “I thought in the first half he was very timid. I had a few not so easy words for him in the dressing room. He is a nice Christian boy and I told him we were not in church, so he fought and I thought he gave a really, really, good account of himself. This is a player that is going to cause a lot of problems for opponents, going forward.”
El Salvador Head Coach Carlos De Los Cobos described the game as ”very tough, very difficult” and he congratulated Saint Lucia for a having a strong team that is improving.
