ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Antigua and Barbuda clawed their way back into contention in the CFU Caribbean Cup with a shock defeat of Trinidad and Tobago that put the former champions on the brink of elimination here Sunday night.
Following an agonising defeat in Friday’s opening Group A fixtures, Antigua regained their composure to trounce T&T through second half goals from Quinton Griffith and Peter Byers at the Antigua Recreation Ground.
Haiti also rebounded following their opening draw to overcome the Dominican Republic 2-1 and opening up a tense race in Group A for the top two spots.
The French side are now top of the group on four points, with Antigua and the Dominican Republic on six points. T&T, who were held to a goalless draw in their opening fixture, are bottom of the standings on a single point.
Playing in the feature game, both teams battled in the first half, playing a patient game to leave the scoreline empty at the interval.
T&T came close in the 38th minute when Hughton Hector’s volley from about 15 yards out was pushed away by goalkeeper Molvin James for a corner, and when Atullah Guerra’s shot was saved moments later.
Six minutes after resumption, however, the partisan crowd was brought to life when Griffith put Antigua ahead. The 20-year-old, who plays in the USL Pro League for Antigua Barracudas, smashed in a 20-yard volley after his free kick was parried.
Antigua almost increased their lead a few minutes later through Randolph Burton but his shot hit the crossbar and the prolific Devon Jorsling nearly equalised for the Trinidadians but he too found the woodwork.
Byers finished off T&T in the 73rd minute, however, with a clinical strike for his second goal in as many games.
In the preceding game, Haiti took the lead in the tenth minute through Leonel St. Preux before Kerbi Rodriguez equalised two minutes later.
Jean-Philippe Peguero then put the game to bed six minutes before half-time when he capitalised on a defensive error to beat goalkeeper Miguel Lloyd.