St Kitts, Antigua, score big wins in World Cup qualifying

By Concacaf.com March 28, 2021

St Kitts and Antigua and Barbuda each scored big wins to close out the latest round of matches in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying on Saturday night.

There were also wins for Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

A Keithroy Freeman double sandwiched around a Rowan Liburd penalty paced St. Kitts and Nevis in a 4-0 win over the Bahamas, meaning the Sugar Boyz finish with a perfect March.

Omari Sterling-James came into the contest as a second-half substitute and fired a long-range shot that kissed off the post and in for the fourth goal at Thomas Robinson Stadium.

Meanwhile, a pair of familiar faces scored the goals for Antigua and Barbuda in a 3-0 victory against the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Veteran forward Peter Byers got on the board in the 26th minute with his long-time Benna Boys teammate Quinton Griffith netting a penalty in the 34th minute and then again from the run of play in the 42nd.

Guatemala also closed out March with a perfect start to qualification.

After Wednesday’s win over Cuba, Los Chapines earned a 3-0 win over the British Virgin Islands.

In the 22nd minute, Darwin Lom muscled off his defender and poked his finish home before the goalkeeper could block it. Moises Hernandez added a second, running onto Nico Rittmeyer’s cross into the box and finishing confidently. The lead was three in the 81st minute with Robin Betancourth getting on the end of a ball over the top and scoring just five minutes after entering the contest.

It was also a perfect start for the Dominican Republic, which topped Anguilla 6-0 on Saturday after last week’s win over Dominica.

Fresh off participating in the Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship, Dorny Romero scored a double, converting a penalty in the 22nd minute and using his left foot to knock in a half-volley in the 27th minute.

Nowend Lorenzo also had a pair of goals, with a goal in each half. Romero turned provider and set up Domingo Peralta for a 65th-minute goal, and substitute Luis Espinal put in the final goal in the 74th minute.

There was also a big win for Nicaragua as Ariagner Smith and Juan Barrera each scored twice for their side to begin its Concacaf World Cup Qualifying campaign with a 7-0 victory over the Turks and Caicos Islands at the Estadio Panamericano in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.

Barrera opened the scoring in the third minute, finishing off a low cross that came in from the right side to give La Azul y Blanco an early lead. Smith’s first came five minutes later, as he finished off a team move to double the advantage.

 Despite heavy rain that began to fall as the game progressed, the second half started in the same fashion as the first, with Marvin Fletes scoring from a corner kick just a minute after the restart. One minute after that, Smith added to his debut Nicaragua goal with a second score just a minute later. Barrera got his service from the left side in the 59th minute and completed his brace before making way, as Nicaragua manager Juan Vita made a number of modifications. Two of those changes found the back of the net, with Dshon Forbes scoring on a breakaway in the 78th minute and Matias Moldskred putting the cherry on top in the 87th.

Finally, Nigel Hasselbaink notched a hat-trick in Suriname’s 6-0 victory against Aruba, scoring twice in the first half and once in the second.

Ryan Donk was the last to touch a set-piece before it went in, adding another to his Suriname account after scoring a 3-0 victory against the Cayman Islands to open qualification. Florian Jozefzoon, on his debut for Dean Gorre’s men, and Roland Alberg also found the back of the net in the win.

 

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