Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Grenada hit 10, Suriname seven in World Cup qualifiers

March 27, 2008 13:42 IST

Grenada smashed US Virgin Islands 10-0 while Suriname trounced Montserrat 7-1 in the CONCACAF preliminary round World Cup qualifiers.

Elsewhere, Antigua beat Aruba 1-0 despite having three players sent off and missing a penalty while Belize held out for a 1-1 draw away to St Kitts & Nevis to earn a prestigious tie against Mexico.

US Virgin Islands, Montserrat and Aruba are ranked joint 202 and last in the FIFA rankings, alongside Guam, American Samoa and East Timor, and all three had a rough evening.

Aruba took a 3-0 first-leg deficit with them to St John's for the return against Antigua and failed to end an eight-year winless run even after finishing against eight men.

Antigua captain George Dublin was sent off for retaliation before halftime and Schyan Jeffers was dismissed immediately after the break for elbowing.

Although Troy Simon missed a penalty for the hosts, an 87th-minute goal from Akeem Challenger completed a 4-0 aggregate win and earned them a second preliminary round tie against Cuba.

Damien Farrell completed the red card festival when he was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

Grenada striker Jason Roberts, who plays for English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers, scored twice in the first 10 minutes to set the ''Spice Boyz'' on their way against the US Virgin Islands in a one-off tie St George's.

Ricky Charles helped himself to four goals, Cassim Langaigne, Shane Rennie and Byron Bubb scored one apeice and an owngoal completed the rout to earn Grenada a tie with Costa Rica.

DUTCH EXILES

Suriname and Montserrat played their one-off tie in Trinidad & Tobago because neither had a suitable venue in their own country.

Suriname, who refuse to pick any of their more than 100 Dutch-based professionals, needed 36 minutes to break down Montserrat before Wensley Christoph opened the scoring.

Christoph added a second after halftime while Kenzo Huur also notched a brace. Vladimir Farrell scored Montserrat's consolation.

Suriname's next opponents are neighbours Guyana.

Belize completed a shock 4-2 aggregate win over St Kitts & Nevis after securing a 1-1 draw in Basseterre and will face Mexico in the second round.

Barbados needed an 84th-minute goal from Dwayne Stanford to beat Dominica 1-0 for a 2-1 aggregate win and move on to play the United States.

El Salvador completed a 16-0 aggregate win over Anguilla by winning the return 4-0 in Washington.

Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.