Zanzibar Reynolds and Saint Lucia’s Troy Edward (right) battle.
(SNO) — After a hard-fought 1-0 loss to 10th-ranked Haiti, and consecutive wins, including a 1-0 win of their own over 14th-ranked Bermuda, Saint Lucia ended their Concacaf Under-20 men’s football tournament at the wrong end of a blowout against Costa Rica.
The young Ticos, coming in ranked fifth in the region, drubbed 23rd-ranked Saint Lucia 6-0, with five of the goals coming in the last 25 minutes of the match.
Saint Lucia defended stoutly for the most part, led by goalkeeper and captain Vino Barclett. They went into the second half trailing just 1-0, but their organisation fell apart in the 65th minute, and things just went from bad to worse.
Saint Lucia finished third in the group with six points. Costa Rica, unbeaten, move on the playoffs with 12 points.
There were some bright spots for Saint Lucia, who are likely to be ranked in the top 20 when the next edition of the Concacaf age-group hierarchy is drawn up. They finished the competition in the top 10 in steals per game and passing accuracy, despite having finished near the bottom of the table in terms of total passes.
Individually, Barclett was one of the team’s true leaders. The Morvant Caledonia United (Trinidad and Tobago Pro League) custodian had 22 saves in four games. He was helped by the consistency of Sebastian Ribot, who was outstanding in the centre of defence, and who was ever-present, alongside Jardel Hakeem Harrow and midfielder Djal Augustin. Aaron Richard played all but a few minutes in the four game.
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