A win over USVI on Tuesday will consolidate the group lead

The Barbados national men’s football team will be seeking to register back-to-back victories on Tuesday when they go up against hosts United States Virgin Islands (USVI) in their second match of Group A in League C of the Concacaf Nations League 2024-25.

After snatching a late 3-2 win over the Bahamas on Saturday at the Bethlehem Soccer Complex in St Croix, Barbados senior men’s national football team are in search of consecutive wins for the first time since 2019.

Following that result, the Bajan Tridents are alone at the top of the group with three points. Opponents USVI and the Bahamas are battling for second and third after drawing their opening encounter.

Speaking during a pre-match interview, captain Andre Applewhaite said the squad is upbeat and confident.

“The boys are ready, we are in a good mood going into tomorrow’s match against USVI. We know the job is done and will not be done until we get the three points and that is what we are going after. It is important for us to execute and go there and follow the coach’s instructions and once we do that we will be good.

“Defeating the Bahamas in our first game was a really great feeling. It was our first win in a very long time and we earned it, and I think the job is now to continue building on that performance. We are surely motivated by it and we want to do well and win matches for our fans back home to bring national pride back,” Applewhaite added.

SAINT CROIX, US VIRGIN ISLANDS. SEPTEMBER 7th: Andre Applewhaite #3 of Barbados during the Group A match between Bahamas and Barbados in the Concacaf Nations League , held at the Bethlehem Soccer Complex stadium, in Saint Croix, Us Virgin Islands.
(PHOTO BY PRISCILA BUTLER/STRAFFONIMAGES/MANDATORY CREDIT/EDITORIAL USE/NOT FOR SALE/NOT ARCHIVE)

The Tridents were busy at training on Monday, and head coach Kent Hall said his team took time to analyse and fine tune ahead of the match.

“We had a few observations from the Bahamas games in terms of the areas that we want to fit, especially how we conceded the goals,” he explained. “We had a challenge with the direct play over the top and we did some work on that and we basically just refined the way we want to play with the ball.

“I think everybody is in good spirits and everybody is ready to go and I am looking forward to the game tomorrow. The guys take information really well and I am very pleased with that. We fixed a lot of the problems in the past and I am optimistic,” he concluded.

Kickoff is slated for 4:00 pm, and victory would mean that Barbados remain top of the group ahead of the reverse fixtures in October at home. 

(BT)