Charles' St Vincent held to draw in WCQ

St Vincent and the Grenadines were held to a draw by Nicaragua on Sunday at the Caciques Diriangen Stadium in Diriamba.

Skippered by Bray central defender Wesley Charles, the islanders had led 2-1 at the interval, but their hosts managed to equalise to end the match 2-2.

The tie was effectively a reappearance on the world football scene for both teams as Nicaragua has been in the wilderness for many years due to political unrest.

St Vincent and the Grenadines went three years without an international match and, like Nicaragua, saw its rankings drop drastically.

Last month Nicaragua stood at 161st, up 16 places. This was after they beat Bermuda 2-0 in two consecutive friendlies in Managua. St Vincent and the Grenadines stands at 166. It is the first time Nicaragua has risen above SVG in the rankings.

But while SVG has on occasions enjoyed ratings in the top 60 among the 204 countries, Nicaragua’s highest-ever placing was 150th, in August 1993.

SVG Head Coach Adie Shaw, who visited the Carlisle Grounds recently, was calmly confident going into the two-leg tie.

“I am looking forward to a professional approach from my players,” he said.

The return leg will be played on 20 June at Arnos Vale Playing Grounds, Kingstown.

SVG panel:
Goalkeepers: Melvin Andrew & Denroy Barker
Defenders: Burton Forde, Brent Samuel, Wesley Charles, Aquasi Audain, Ezra Hendrickson, Randy Pierre, Wesley John
Midfielders: Kenlyn Gonsalves, Vincent John, Tyrone Prince, Howie Williams, Benford Joseph
Strikers: Jamal Ballantyne, Alwyn Guy, Shandel Samuel, Renson Haynes.