Against what might be Central America’s toughest football team, The St. Kitts and Nevis senior men’s National Football Team, secured a 0:0 draw against Team Nicaragua in a match played Wednesday in Managua.
According to Team SKN Head Coach Jacques Passy, the encounter was significant and positive for the team. He commented, “St Kitts and Nevis visited Central America for the second time in its history. And for the first time, we got a significant point against a very tough Nicaragua.”
He continued, “You put things into context, we faced a team who in the last year, had won games against Panama, Jamaica, Honduras, Suriname and beat Cuba 5-0… The atmosphere was tremendous, and we played with 37 degrees C.”
Passy pointed out, “A team of home-grown players reacted beautifully, and masterfully executed a plan. Perhaps we lacked some attacking cohesion, but we were tough for 90 minutes, and had some chances. At the end, we ended up 0-0, and it was a tremendous experience for the young team.”
The team continues to face each challenge one encounter at a time and every player is eager to compete.
But Passy said, “I am going to have one difficult time selecting the 18 players to face French Guyana and Haiti. But once I do, I am sure we will do our very best to be historical, and take St Kitts and Nevis to the Gold Cup. Fans are fundamental, and we need you.”
General Secretary Stanley Jacobs of the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) was quite pleased with the performance of the team. He said, “We were able to achieve our objectives, and a nil-nil draw versus Nicaragua on their home soil is by no means any simple feat, so we are extremely happy for the result, as we exposed several of our young players, locally based players… and were able to see them under very tough conditions playing away from home.”
The friendly international match with Nicaragua is about preparing the team for its round three encounter with French Guiana and with Haiti, in the continuation of the CFU Caribbean Cup tournament, as St. Kitts and Nevis seizes its best chance ever to qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament next year.
“The preparation continues. We believe we are on the right track, and as Coach Jacques Passy has said, we’re inviting everyone in St. Kitts and Nevis to join the movement that is happening here in football, because it’s a wonderful movement. It’s a great story unfolding. We want everyone to take notice and to be a part of it.”