Antigua & Barbuda celebrates after scoring against visiting Aruba in the CFU Women's Caribbean Cup on May 25, 2014, at the Antigua Recreation Grounds in St. John's. (Photo: Thaddeus Price)
KINGSTON, Jamaica – With wins on Sunday, Antigua & Barbuda and St. Kitts & Nevis edged closer to places in the final round of the inaugural Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Women’s Caribbean Cup – the Caribbean Zone’s qualifying tournament for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Here’s a recap of the evening’s action:
GROUP 1 (at St. John’s, Antigua)
Antigua & Barbuda is only one point away from winning Group 1 and advancing to the Caribbean’s final round after posting a 1-0 victory over Aruba at the Antigua Recreation Grounds.
Captain Amelia Greene struck for the winner in the 21st minute, when she riffled a right-footed effort past the diving Aruba goalkeeper Emily Bustillo Gonzalez.
The victory lifted the Benna Girls to a perfect six points after two matches, two ahead of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, which was held to a 0-0 draw by the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier in the evening.
Antigua needs only to avoid defeat against St. Vincent on Tuesday in order to book its ticket to Trinidad & Tobago.
Aruba and the U.S. Virgin Islands were eliminated with one game remaining – against each other – on their schedules.
GROUP 2 (at Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico clipped Barbados, 1-0, thanks to a 69th minute strike from Karina Socarras. The win puts the group host in a tie with Martinique on three points each, creating a crucial top-of-the-table clash between them on Tuesday. Barbados was eliminated from the competition.
GROUP 3 (at Providenciales, Turk & Caicos Islands)
St Kitts & Nevis continued its march, securing maximum points from two games with a 4-0 victory over host Turks & Caicos. Phoenetia Browne followed up hat-trick in the opener against the Cayman Islands with a double (5’, 24’), carrying her tournament goal haul to five.
Caroline Springer (48’) and Lavern Francis (62’) completed victory with second-half tallies.
The Cayman Islands rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie Bermuda, 2-2. Late strikes by Switzerland-based Shel Gall (74’) and Courtisha Ebanks (88’) gave the Caymanians their first point of the tournament.
The Bermudians opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, when Shuntae Todd netted her third goal in two games. Cherya Bell (55’) doubled the lead early in the second half.
2014 CARIBBEAN FOOTBALL UNION WOMEN’S CARIBBEAN CUP
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP QUALIFYING RESULTS, TABLES & FIXTURES
FIRST ROUND
GROUP 1 (at St. John’s, Antigua & Barbuda – Antigua Recreation Grounds)
Results
Friday – May 23, 2014
Aruba 0, St. Vincent & the Grenadines 2
Antigua & Barbuda 1, U.S. Virgin Islands 0
Sunday – May 25, 2014
St. Vincent & the Grenadines 0, U.S. Virgin Islands 0
Antigua & Barbuda 1, Aruba 0
Table
(Games Played, Wins, Draws, Losses, Goals For, Goals Against, Points)
Antigua & Barbuda 2-2-0-0-2-0-6
St. Vincent & the Grenadines 2-1-1-0-2-0-4
U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0-1-1-0-1-1
Aruba 2-0-0-2-0-3-0
Remaining Games
Tuesday – May 27, 2014
U.S. Virgin Islands v Aruba
Antigua & Barbuda v St. Vincent & the Grenadines
GROUP 2 (at Bayamon, Puerto Rico – Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel)
Results
Friday – May 23, 2014
Martinique 3, Barbados 1
Sunday – May 25, 2014
Puerto Rico 1, Barbados 0
Table
(Games Played, Wins, Draws, Losses, Goals For, Goals Against, Points)
Martinique 1-1-0-0-3-1-3
Puerto Rico 1-1-0-0-1-0-3
Barbados 2-0-0-2-1-4-0
Remaining Games
Tuesday – May 27, 2014
Puerto Rico v Martinique
GROUP 3 (at Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands – TCIFA National Academy)
Results
Friday – May 23, 2014
Cayman Islands 0, St. Kitts & Nevis 5
Turks & Caicos Islands 0, Bermuda 5
Sunday – May 25, 2014
Bermuda 2, Cayman Islands 2
Turks & Caicos Islands 0, St. Kitts & Nevis 4
Table
(Games Played, Wins, Draws, Losses, Goals For, Goals Against, Points)
St. Kitts & Nevis 2-2-0-0-9-0-6
Bermuda 2-1-1-0-7-2-4
Cayman Islands 1-0-1-1-2-7-1
Turks & Caicos Islands 2-0-0-2-0-9-0
Remaining Games
Tuesday – May 27, 2014
St. Kitts & Nevis v Bermuda
Turks & Caicos v Cayman Islands
GROUP 4 (at Mirebalais, Haiti – Park Bayas)
Friday – May 30, 2014
Cuba v Suriname
Haiti v Guadeloupe
Sunday – June 1, 2014
Guadeloupe v Cuba
Haiti v Suriname
Tuesday – June 3, 2014
Suriname v Guadeloupe
Haiti v Cuba
GROUP 5 (at San Cristobal, Dominican Republic – Estadio Panamericano)
Wednesday – June 18, 2014
Jamaica v St. Lucia
Dominican Republic v Anguilla
Friday – June 20, 2014
Anguilla v Jamaica
Dominican Republic v St. Lucia
Sunday – June 22, 2014
St. Lucia v Anguilla
Dominican Republic v Jamaica
