Under the scorching sun at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex, on Monday, the Cayman Islands national men’s football team extended their winless streak, losing to Aruba in the CONCACAF Nations League.
Cayman lost 1-2 in front of hundreds of home fans who came out to show their support. Minor mistakes cost the local team – which hasn’t won a game since 2019 – according to head coach Cláudio Garcia.
“We started in a good way,” Garcia said at the post-match press conference. “At the end, small, small mistakes [were] keeping us from taking a step forward.”
The match, in Group B, League C of the CONCACAF Nations League tournament, featured Aruba taking the lead early with a goal by Rovien Ostiana in the second minute.
Cayman’s Christopher Nunez Reeves answered back four minutes later to level the game at 1-1. Both teams were competitive, having several breakthroughs with key defensive plays from Cayman’s D’andre Rowe.
However, Aruba’s Darryl Bäly would eventually score the winning goal and, despite the referee sending one of Aruba’s players off the pitch as tempers flared between the teams, Cayman’s efforts to rally fell short.
“We were not aggressive enough… and we will work on that,” Garcia said. “I really want to thank all of our supporters, especially in the afternoon, on a… weekday.”
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