By Terry Finisterre
News Americas, Vieux Fort, SAINT LUCIA, Weds. May 13, 2015: St Vincent and the Grenadines beat Grenada 3-2 Tuesday night as the 2015 Windward Islands Football Association Men’s Championship got underway at the Philip Marcellin Grounds in Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia.
The winning team went ahead through Emerald George in the 34th minute. Shane Rennie equalized for Grenada through a brilliant free-kick in the 39th.
Myron Samuel scored in the 76th minute to restore the St Vincent and the Grenadines lead. Three minutes later, Rennie scored his second to even things out.
Rennie was shown a red card in the 84th minute, having seen a yellow in the 53rd. That second infraction was committed in the box, leading to a Myron Samuel penalty conversion that gave St Vincent and the Grenadines all three points.
For St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dorren Hamlet was shown a second yellow in the 90th minute, as both teams ended the match with 10 men.
Saint Lucia and Dominica, meanwhile, played to a 1-1 draw in the second fixture. The home team and defending champions started a unit that included five overseas players. One of those, young Malik St Prix, scored in the 16th minute to lift the capacity crowd.
Despite that conversion, Saint Lucia was profligate in front of the goal. Dominica’s captain, goalkeeper Glenton Prince, admitted the home team could have been up 3-0 at the half. Anthony ‘Meshach’ Jn Baptiste, Saint Lucia’s assistant coach, said his team just missed too many opportunities to put the game away.
That wastefulness would come back to haunt Saint Lucia, and a tactical change by Dominica paid dividends late in the game. Dominica head coach Shane Marshal said the decision to play with a second striker in the second half made the difference, as Glenworth Elizee netted in the 83rd minute to give Dominica a share of the points.
The tournament continues on Thursday evening, May 14th, when Grenada will play Dominica in the first match. St Vincent and the Grenadines will face Saint Lucia in the nightcap.
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