2 weeks Ago By Barbados Today
B arbados extended their lead at the top of Group A, League C in the 2024-2025 Concacaf Nations League (CNL) with a 5-0 drubbing of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) on Wednesday evening at the Wildey Turf. The Bajan Tridents got off to a slow start, but eventually poured on the style to seize the victory, seal the group, and win advancement to next month’s play-in, as well as promotion to League B. For the next edition of the CNL, the Tridents will bounce straight back into the second tier of regional football, after dominating their group.
The team has achieved its primary goal with a game in hand. On Wednesday evening, Hadan Holligan opened the scoring in the 42nd minute of play, before Niall Reid-Stephen converted a penalty on the stroke of halftime to make it 2-0 to the home team. In the second half, Reid-Stephen continued his rich vein of form by converting his second consecutive double against the same opponents.
His brace helped Barbados to a 3-0 win over the USVI at the Bethlehem Soccer Complex in St Croix last month. Carl Hinkson scored the opening goal in that encounter. Kishmar Primus made two saves as he collected his first clean sheet.
Primus recorded another clean sheet on Wednesday, after he was handed the start by head coach Kent Hall. But Reid-Stephen went one better. The 23-year-old midfielder, who plays for Florida Gulf Coast University and Appalachian FC, buried Barbados’ fourth in the 65th minute to complete his hat-trick.
Omani Leacock made it 5-0 to complete the scoring in injury time. USVI defender Carmelo Rodriguez will be unavailable for the game against the Bahamas this weekend, as he was shown a double card in the last minute of regulation. On Wednesday, the two nations faced each other for the fourth time in the history of the CNL.
The two were also opponents in the first two matchdays of League C in the 2019-20 tournament. The Tridents were in charge of every facet of the game, tallying 35 shots, including 21 on target. They held the ball for 65% of the time, won 14 corners to just two for USVI, and played 334 correct passes, with just 29 poor passes for a 92 per cent completion rate.
Barbados has now won all four CNL meetings to date, and a meeting in the 2019-20 qualification. This was the ninth match all-time between the two teams, with Barbados leading the series with seven wins to one defeat. “It’s just being overseas and being in that environment changed me a lot,” said Niall-Stephen.
“And that killer instinct, we really needed that. So I’m thankful for being overseas. I think being over there, the thing that has changed, when I see defenders, I don’t wait, I just go at them.
” Head coach Kent Hall was brimming with praise for his players, despite admitting to some frustration in the first half, when the goals weren’t coming despite a clinical display that provided multiple chances. “It’s really just about trying to create a philosophy that brings out the best in everybody. And the truth is once you do that, things just really fall into place,” said Hall.
And the results are really down to the players and the application. We are trying to just help them and empower them to bring out those qualities that they have, and to make them even more efficient, and it’s starting to show, not just in the results, but in the performances. “Like, today was a little frustrating, honestly, in the first half, because you know football can be cruel.
You create chance after chance after chance, and sometimes the opponent just goes down to the other end of the field and gets something out of nothing. “And I got the sense too that the crowd was getting a little frustrated with we were dominant, doing everything right, but not putting it in the net. So I am really pleased for the boys to have a performance I know they can look at, they’re buzzing about, and to have that affirmation that we can play the kind of football that we talk about playing, and we can execute at the levels that we talk about.
” Barbados plays the Bahamas on Tuesday at Wildey for a chance to sweep the group. (TF).
