Dominica beats Bahamas in CONCACAF game

Julian Wade and the Dominica National senior men’s football team gave national coach Rajesh Joseph Latchoo his first victory on home soil beating the Bahamas 4 goals to nil before a capacity crowd at the Windsor Park Stadium on March 23, 2019.

Dominica went into the CONCACAF Nations League on four points after a nil-nil draw in Guadeloupe with Suriname and a 2-0 win over Saint Maarten with the knowledge that in order to advance to the next round they needed to beat lowly-ranked Bahamas convincingly.

Wade was the first to score for the home team capitalizing on a goal keeper error in the 24^th minute to send the massive crowd at the stadium screaming. Six minutes later (30^th) Giles Mitchel crossed a beautiful left footer across goal and Travis “Snake” Joseph executed a perfect header to make it two-nil for Dominica.

The ‘Boyz’ from the Nature Island were not finished yet and Julian Wade made it 3-nil in the 35^th minute to send Dominica into the second half of play smiling.

Bahamas had no answers under the hot humid 2pm sun at Windsor Park Stadium. They were, however, able to regroup during the second half and looked a much better team but were not able to go past the veteran defensive player Euclid “Boots” Betrand and captain Glenson Prince in the goal.

Dominica’s fourth goal came just five minutes before the final whistle when Briel Thomas struck a powerful right footer from about 35 yards which rocketed to the back of the Bahamian goalkeeper’s net, much to the delight of the cheering Dominican fans.

Bahamas’ Assistant coach, Garvin Christie said they were “flat” and paid the consequences.

“We were very slow in the first half and if we had played the way we played in the second half, it would have been totally different. We were just flat in the goal and it took them much too long for settling Dominica. I am a bit disappointed but every game is a learning experience for us,” he said.

Coach Rajesh Joseph Latchoo is pleased with the victory but says there’s a lot of work still to be done.

“We need to work on a good ground to train on. We qualify for the second tier in  41 CONCACAF nations and we also need more international friendly matches so the guys can get up to the mark,” he said.

He said the team went “flat in the second half” and with a few niggles it was a bit hard along with the 2 pm sun but the forwards being able to convert, was important.

“We need to play at a higher level and a better playing surface is also key for the boys. The players gave their all in the very hot sun. They are not professionals, and they are amateurs playing at 2pm was not easy and the sun was extremely hot,” Latchoo stated. “… We are very thankful for the massive support that we got from the home fans, that helps in motivating the boys and they are very grateful for that.”

CONCACAF Nations League is a new national team competition platform designed to maximise the quality, quantity, and frequency of competitive matches for all 41 CONCACAF member associations.

The league features competition for titles and performance prizes and will include promotion and relegation within the system of three leagues.

The Confederation’s teams will also contend via the League of Nations structure for the right to play in international championships such as the Gold Cup. Additionally, the League of Nations will inform a CONCACAF ranking system that will be used as the basis for future World Cup qualifying seeding.