Montserrat kept its qualification hopes alive on Wednesday night with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Belize in Group D of the Concacaf Qualifiers at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago.
The breakthrough came early, with Mark Rogers scoring in the second minute after capitalising on a rebound from Ashley Boatswain’s attempt in the box. The goal proved enough to secure all three points for the Emerald Boys in a tightly contested match.
Head Coach Angus Eve, overseeing his first competitive match with the squad, praised the team’s disciplined approach and their ability to execute under pressure. “We’ve been doing a lot of bonding and we did a lot of technical, tactical work defensively because we know that the Central American teams… always play, you know, short passing games,” Eve said. “So we got the team compact. We played a bit on the counter-attack today, but, you know, we got the result.”
With the win, Montserrat now sits just three points behind group leaders Nicaragua and second-placed Panama. Their next challenge is an away fixture against Guyana on Tuesday at the Synthetic Track and Field Facility in Leonora.
Eve made several adjustments to his line-up due to last-minute player withdrawals, which forced some players to take on new roles. “Of course, we had like 17 players in the camp. You know, a lot of guys pulled out last minute. We had no control over that,” he explained. “So when I look at the characteristic of some of the players, I asked them to do different jobs at different times.”
Seigel Rodney, typically deployed in an attacking position, was tasked with playing at right wing-back. “He was tremendous at right wing-back today. We had Jernade Meade playing in midfield. When you don’t have a lot of players, you have to mix and match as you go along. And to the credit of the guys… they did. And there we go. We get a result.”
Eve’s philosophy is built around flexibility and results over style. “We’re not a defensive team or we’re not an offensive team. So we’re not going to say that we play one style of football,” he said. “The philosophy of what we want to do is to win matches… especially with young players or inexperienced players. A lot of them [were] making their debuts… and they were big part players before.”
He called the 1-0 win “tremendous,” highlighting the clean sheet and the resilience shown by the squad. “There’s a rebuilding process. So you need to build a foundation for them that we can build from.”
Preparation for the Belize game included physically demanding sessions in the heat of the Trinidad sun. “We train in the mornings… deliberately so we could build the fitness,” Eve said. “Some of the guys haven’t played football for more than three weeks… So we had to build back the anaerobic and match fitness in a very short space of time. And I think we achieved a lot.”
Looking ahead to the Guyana match on, Eve said the immediate focus is recovery. “We’re going to get rest for a couple of days… But there’s a lot, lot more work to be done. The group needs a lot of exposure, a lot of playing time… consistently, so that they could improve.”
Eve believes the team’s tactical discipline in Wednesday’s match proves they’re capable of adapting to higher-level international football. “International football is very cagey,” he said. “We counterattacked them really, really well… It shows that the guys can understand and play to a different formation and format.”
As for the long-term vision, Eve is focused on developing depth and attracting more eligible players to the national setup. “We need to really go out and scout players… in England. There’s a lot of players that possibly could play for the country,” he said. “Putting on good results will probably entice more people to come and want to play for Montserrat.”
“I’m just proud to be here,” Eve added. “Anything I do, I put 100 percent in it, and I’m going to put 100 percent in this job as long as I’m a part of the Montserrat FA.”
Listen to the full interview with Keyola Greene below.
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