The Senior Men’s National Football Team suffered a major setback in their bid to qualify for the next round of the Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers as they went down to Guatemala in tough conditions in their opening match on Wednesday in Guatemala.
The support of the Guatemalan fans at the Doroteo Guamuch Flores Stadium was overwhelming, as their fans created a hostile environment, the likes the Dominican Team had never seen before.
The conditions also didn’t do the Dominica team any favours as the rains came and the temperatures dropped into the low 60’s right at kick off.
Guatemala got on the score sheet first after just 3 minutes of play when Alejandro Galindo pounced on some miscommunication in the Dominican defence.
The Dominican Team didn’t drop their shoulders and withstood wave after wave of attack from the Guatemalans, but another error in the back led to Dominica conceding again in the 28th minute with Allen Yanes putting Guatemala up 2-nil.
Dominica had a chance to cut into the lead but were denied a penalty shout after winger Troy Jules was brought down in the penalty box.
Dominica went into the half-time break trailing 2-nil.
The second half however belonged to the home team, and they scored 4 more goals. Alejandro Galindo, Rubio Mendez, Jose Martinez and Jose Morales all got onto the score sheet as Guatemala took the match 6-nil.
Head Coach of the Team Ellington Sabin told a post match press conference that the team has to put the performance behind them and get set for the next encounter against Jamaica on Sunday at Windsor Park.
Meanwhile Senator Oscar George, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, Youth, Sports, and Community Development, has expressed his disappointment regarding the setbacks faced by the Dominica team en route to Guatemala for the FIFA Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers.
The team departed Dominica on Sunday, June 1, 2024, and was scheduled to leave Barbados for Guatemala on Monday, June 3, 2024. However, they were stranded in Barbados because they did not have the necessary visa to travel to Guatemala.
“This situation is truly disappointing for our entire country, and especially for our players,” George commented. “Representing one’s country in any sport is a significant achievement that many young players aspire to. Experiencing such an unpleasant ordeal is, to say the least, truly heartbreaking.”
The minister empathasized with the members of the Dominica team and voiced his hope that the game would not be severely impacted. “This situation could have been avoided and should never have occurred in the first place,” he stated.
He explained that there are established processes and actions that have been in place for decades and have served Dominica well. He also said that there are individuals assigned to facilitate such requests, provided the necessary information is received in a timely manner.
“We hope that a lesson is learned from this experience and that we adhere to the systems and processes in place to prevent such a situation from recurring,” George stated.
What a shame, excuse and more excuses, a national team traveling to a country where you need a visa and leaving Dominica without it ,these guys dont give a rats behind went it come to sports in dominica .
Lots of countries in the caribbean wish they had gotten the privilege to host the cricket world cup and dominica turn it down another excuse up till now the cricketers in dominica keep their mouth shut .
exactly and the man have the unmitigated gall to “express his disappointment”. my brother that was your job. If you should be disappointed it is in your own incompetent self.