Despite a valiant effort from the St. Kitts and Nevis U-15 boys team, the Young Sugar Boys fell 3-1 to St. Lucia on Monday August 5, at the IMG Academy in Tampa, Florida. Jabez Dorset scored the lone goal for St. Kitts and Nevis, while Keegan Caul of St. Lucia with two goals and Jahil Evans, were the goal scorers for the winners. Coach Delvin Harris said the match was not without its challenges, as the weather prior to the game and the pitch affected the team. “We had a rocky start. Before the game started we had to leave the pitch .We had lighting in the area and rain and the environment made it a bit difficult for us because after warm up we had to leave and come back. We had about five minutes to get back into game mode,” the coach said.

He said some of his players were not ready for some of the balls that were played due to the pitch, as the ball would drop and slide on that surface compared to what they are accustomed to. Nevertheless, he is proud of his boys. “The coaches are proud of how the guys played. We had the first three chances; very good chances and we didn’t put them away. With that we were burnt by three other opportunities that St. Lucia got and scored. After the first (goal) the guys bowed their head and then allowed two more to (score),” the coach said. “But after the water break, we were able to give instructions and lift their spirits and we went out and got our first goal. After that we continued to dominate the game and we got more opportunities but we were unsuccessful,” he added.

Coach Harris noted that the coaches were pleased with the second half effort. On Tuesday in their second match the Sugar Boys fell 3-0 to Belize. Goal scorers for Belize were Christopher Moro, Allen Castillo and Allison Torres. The boys next play French Guiana on Thursday at 9am.