The Sugar Boyz picked up their first win of the World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 victory over The Bahamas at Warner Park on Tuesday June 11. The match played before a near sold-out crowd, saw Ethan Bristow heading the ball into the back of the net in the 12th minute. The home side generated numerous chances but despite failed to capitalize. Coach Francisco Molina while disappointing the team did not score more goals, still considered the result a good one. “It is frustrating but it is three points at the end of the day. We could have made a statement today. We did not. We missed two to eight chances,” Molina said.
Vice-captain Romaine Swayers also was pleased with the win and pleaded with fans to continue throwing their support behind the team. “On another day, the rub of the green falls for us and we hit four, five, six (goals)and everybody is happy. It’s just one of those days that chance after chance is missed, pressure getting to us more and more; we’re getting frustrated as players, the staff, everybody. But like I said, we can only get three points whether we win 1-0 or 10-0,” Sawyers said. He said he understands why fans are frustrated and passionate but urged them to continue supporting the team. “I understand why people get frustrated but I just ask for support and encouragement and now that we got the three points, we have to celebrate it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lesly St. Fleur, Captain of the Bahamas team and Coach Nesly Jean gave their views of the match. “We stuck to our plans. We know what they wanted to do. We executed the best that we can but circumstances happen. We went a man down but the guys worked their socks off to try to get the best (result) that we can,” Coach Jean said. For St. Fleur, the rainy conditions just before the start of the match impacted how they approached the game. “The ball was kind of slippery so we know we were going to play a wet game so we were mentally prepared for it… we just went out there and do what we had to do,” St. Fleur said.
The Road to 2026 Campaign continues with World Cup Qualifiers next year. The next assignment for the Sugar Boyz will be Concacaf Nations League, League C matches, which begin later this year.
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