The disappointment of throwing away a golden opportunity for victory in St. Kitts quickly turned to joy for Cayman’s footballers Tuesday evening as they secured an historic promotion in the Nations League competition.
Despite being held to a 1-1 draw after an injury time own goal results elsewhere went Cayman’s way, securing promotion and progress to the November knock-out competition.
Zachary Scott gave Cayman a 1-0 lead 60 minutes into Tuesday afternoon’s game, but a 98th-minute corner kick into a crowded box ultimately led to the late equaliser for St. Kitts and Nevis.
That set the stage for a dramatic evening match between Group A leaders Barbados and Bahamas, with Cayman needing Barbados to win or the match end in a draw in order to advance to the CNL Play-In and earn a promotion to League B.
Barbados won 6-2, punching Cayman’s ticket to League B for the first time in the competition’s history.
Controversy continues for Cayman and St. Kitts in a dramatic draw
“We made history,” Cayman Islands coach Joey Jap Tjong said. “We have shown our level and that’s the beginning because we can reach much more with these players we have.”
While the Barbados win was a cause for celebration, Cayman left its afternoon match at Warner Park feeling as though an opportunity was missed.
For 98 minutes, Cayman held St. Kitts and Nevis in check and appeared in line for three points. That all changed with just seconds remaining in the match as the home team stunned the Cayman side with a last-gasp corner into the box while several players battled for position. It eventually caromed off Cayman’s Joshwa Campbell for an own goal, and Cayman’s players and coaches were left clamoring for a foul as they believed keeper Lachlin Lambert was held.
“I feel a bit bitter because we came here to win,” Jap Tjong said after the match. “I’m really proud of my players, they were like monsters on the field tonight. That’s what I want, I want monsters on the field. That’s what they did and I’m really proud of them.”
St. Kitts and Nevis beat Cayman 4-1 in their first CNL matchup last month at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex, however this one played out much differently.
Cayman played with intensity from kick off and, after a scoreless first half, Scott opened scoring with a left-footed volley off a cross from Wesley Robinson 15 minutes after the break. Both teams had chances throughout a chippy second-half that saw the referee issue nine yellow cards.
”The good part is we see the level that we can have,” Jap Tjong said. “Playing against a good team in their own home — we played good defense, we stuck to the game plan, the only thing missing was the win.”
Cayman has now won or drawn in four of its last five matches.
“We showed our quality. We showed our level, what is possible,” Jap Tjong said. “We have to work on it, we still have to grow but that’s the potential we have.”
The fourth edition of the CNL kicked off in September with matches across all three Leagues (A, B, and C). Highlights included Cayman’s Elijah Seymour scoring the competition’s 1,000th goal.
The CNL Play-In will take place during the FIFA Match Window of November. It will consist of a single direct elimination round and eight teams: the fifth and sixth-place finishers from the League A Groups and the group winners and the best second-place finisher from League C.
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