Further reinforcing a new era in football, the Cayman senior men defended home soil for the second consecutive time, defeating the British Virgin Islands 1-0 on Wednesday, 4 Sept.
The stands echoed with cheers when the final whistle blew at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex as the home team triumphed again.
Their win comes fewer than four months after their historic win against Antigua and Barbuda in the World Cup qualifiers, through a last-minute header by Joshwa Campbell.
In similar fashion, Cayman took the 1-nil win on Wednesday, after a perfectly placed goal by Elijah Seymour in the 84th minute of the CONCACAF Nations League.
At the press conference after the game, Seymour credited the victory on the team’s commitment to winning.
“We all want the same outcome and there is a good mix of youth and experience, and I feel it is important to have balance,” he said, noting that they all want to work, and all want to win.
“Before, some people, the win wasn’t important for them; I guess just the fact that they were playing was enough … whereas we want more, and I think that has shown in the last couple of games.”
The win marked the first time since October 2019 that Cayman has recorded back-to-back wins, when they bested St. Martin and the US Virgin Islands.
Cayman will look to make it three wins straight this coming Saturday for what would be a first in men’s football history in competitions sanctioned by CONCACAF and FIFA.
The local men will face 146th-ranked St. Kitts and Nevis – a nation they haven’t opposed since 1991, with that game concluding in a 1-1 draw.
It’s a match for which men’s national football head coach Joey Jap Tjong has already expressed confidence in winning.
“The fact that we won this game [against BVI] it gives us confidence, so we can handle anybody,” Jap Tjong said. “But anything can happen; my grandfather used to say the ball is round and the best team can lose,” he added, noting that he is more impressed with the young players’ ability to keep winning despite their inexperience.
And though he acknowledges the ability of the St. Kitts and Nevis team, he said, “They are really tough, they are really good, but so are we.”
The game between Cayman and St. Kitts and Nevis will begin 3:30pm on Saturday at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex.
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