Defenses stand tall as Saint Martin, Aruba play to draw

THE VALLEY, Anguilla -- Hosts Saint Martin played out a 0-0 draw with visiting Aruba on Friday afternoon at the Raymond E. Guishard Stadium in The Valley, Anguilla, putting both sides in a tie for first place in Group B of League C for the time being.

It didn’t take long for Saint Martin to create some dangerous chances, as Sebastien Celina very nearly scored on a fourth minute header. 

Aruba’s Benjamin Maria then nearly struck for the visitors in the 17th minute, but was turned away by Saint Martin GK Sebastien Raphose. 

After those early chances though, the game closed up for the remainder of the half and the two sides went into the break level at 0-0.

The second half remained a stalemate with neither attack able to breach the opposing defense. There were scattered half-chances here and there for each side, but the game never cracked open into an end-to-end affair due to the solid set-up and pragmatic approach of both teams’ back lines.

These teams will have a rematch in Curacao in just a few days’ time in what could end up being a more open affair, as the teams try to accrue some points with Saint Kitts and Nevis waiting in the wings.