USL Feature
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
TAMPA, Fla. – As he sat at the interview podium in the bowels of Raymond James Stadium following his side’s 3-1 defeat against the United States on Friday night, Antigua and Barbuda coach Tom Curtis allowed himself a moment of reflection.
“If you’d told me two years ago that little Antigua would get that close to the United States, and still be disappointed, I’d have told you that you’d have been mad, but I was really proud of the players,” Curtis said. “Yeah, we could have done some things a little bit better, but we got close, we gave them a fright. … I think it’s testament to our players and our organization that we got that close.”
How close did Antigua and Barbuda, and the eight Antigua Barracuda FC players that appeared in their opening game of the third stage of World Cup Qualifying, come to springing the first big surprise of the stage? When Peter Byers scored in the 64th minute, it certainly appeared Antigua and Barbuda’s players believed they could go on to get more.
Those hopes were dashed seven minutes later as Herculez Gomez restored the U.S.’s two-goal lead, but for a side that had never reached this level of competition before, and was making its first appearances against the United States, the pride in their performance was evident at the final whistle. The contingent of Antigua and Barbuda fans that had made the trek to Florida to support their team were enthusiastic in their support, as were the players in their appreciation as they went and greeted them before slowly departing for the locker room.
And while the result wasn’t the one Curtis and his players were hoping for, having now played their toughest game of the stage, the Antigua and Barbuda side moves on to face Jamaica on Tuesday night feeling positive about where it stands.
“We didn’t get any points out of the game, but I said to the guys afterwards that I feel there’s some really positive energy coming out of our trip to the States,” Curtis said. “We’ve been really lucky to have the hospitality of IMG, and we’ve had a really good camp, and I think after today’s performance, after the first five minutes, there’s a really positive energy coming out of the performance, and those guys in there are disappointed, but they’re certainly not down-hearted and they’re certainly looking forward to Tuesday night and giving Jamaica a really good game.”
While a number of players made a strong impression, with Byers’ goal a highlight, it was one of the side’s youngest players that opened the most eyes. Goalkeeper Molvin James was certainly in the firing line of the U.S. attack, but his performance was one of the brightest as he made a number of good saves, with George Dublin among those full of praise for the 23-year-old.
“Yes, he has been improving over the years, from last year particularly, but tonight he was instrumental, absolutely fantastic,” Dublin said. “He was there when we needed him at times, and he was there when we failed to clear to clean up the mess. Molvin has been instrumental tonight in keeping us in that game, and I hope he can keep doing that throughout the rest of the World Cup qualifiers.”
For James, who has shown far greater consistency in his play this season in USL PRO, putting in a performance of the type he did against the United States will only help build his confidence.
“Honestly, it’s one of the best performances of my whole career,” James said. “I’m looking to just build on it and keep moving forward.”
For the team to keep moving forward, Tuesday night’s game now becomes a crucial one. After Jamaica defeated Guatemala in its opening game of the group stage on Friday, the Benna Boys will be hoping to take victory at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium to draw even with their Caribbean rival and give themselves a chance to make more history.
Before the stage began, not many would have given the newcomer much chance to accomplish that goal. Now, the team appears to have greater belief that it is achievable.
“I think if you’d asked me before the game, or asked yourselves before this game, ‘is Antigua going to compete in this group?’ I think you might have said no,” Curtis said. “But now you look at the result and look at the performance, we’re genuine contenders in the group, I’ll tell you that.”