The Antigua and Barbuda Benna Boys were beaten two-nil in a lop-sided affair against regional powerhouse Honduras, as play in Group A ended with the country’s senior’s men’s national team at the bottom of the standings with just one point after four matches.
Antigua and Barbuda played behind the ball for most of the contest with the home team enjoying 81 percent of the possession while creating 29 scoring opportunities with 12 on target. Antigua and Barbuda had only one shot throughout the contest.
Had it not been for the heroics of goalkeeper Shahoi Dorsett, who made 11 breathtaking saves throughout the match, one of which was a penalty in the 64th minute, Antigua and Barbuda would have suffered a much bigger loss.
Honduras found the breakthrough in minute 49 when a low effort from Getsel Ramon Escobar beat Dorsett at the post from just inside the area. The home team was denied an opportunity to stretch their lead in minute 64 when Dorsett expertly dove to his right to deny captain Anthony Lozano from the spot following a handball in the area by Raheem Deterville.
The group leaders, with 12 points from four matches, secured the win in minute 80 when Alexy Vego beat the diving Dorsett with a low effort from outside the area.
Coach Jacques Passy commended the young squad for the way they played against the more experienced Honduras.
“I believe that the team performed very well. They were very well-disciplined and we took it nil-all to halftime so I was extremely satisfied, especially considering the fact that I played with nine under-23 players out of which, six were U-21s so I was extremely satisfied. I am never going to say that I am fulfilled when we lose but the way these very young players performed was just was just amazing in a very complicated scenario,” he said.
Passy, who was appointed back in April on a six-month contract by the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA), said the expectation was not to out-posses the home team but to play a particular style of football.
“Of course we were out-possessed because they are one of the best teams in Concacaf. There is absolutely no way we could have played to have possession of the ball yesterday [Tuesday] because it is not even relevant. The relevant thing was to keep a very compact block and, from there, try to create transitions; so it’s not that they didn’t follow the gameplan; the gameplan was followed exactly as such. It’s a loss and you’re never happy when you lose but I can tell you that’s the same result that Mexico had when they played Honduras in Honduras,” he said.
Antigua and Barbuda finish at the bottom of the standings with just one point after their four Group A showings. Honduras (12 pts) and Bermuda (9 pts), advance to the next round of the qualifiers. The Benna Boys were beaten 1-0 by Cuba here on Friday.
