Desperate Barbados holds on for draw against Cuba

By Treiston Joseph  

The CONCACAF Caribbean Women’s Under-17 qualifiers continued on Friday afternoon with a scoreless draw between Cuba and Barbados at the National Track and Field Centre ground, Leonora. It was probably the most one-sided draw with Cuba dominating possession.

Barbados held on for dear life as Cuba just kept attacking, searching for goals, often times hitting it straight at Barbados’ custodian or simply way of target.

Barbados, however, stood firm in their defence, often times hanging by a thread as Cuba weaved their way time and time again into the defence of Barbados with no positive result.

Cuba’s best chance came 20 minutes in the second half with a penalty that ricocheted off the cross bar and out of harm’s way probably to the relief of the Bajans, who are now atop the group with a 5-1 win against Guyana and now the nil-all draw.

Head Coach of Cuba, Lazaro Ruiz Alfonso, noted that his girls played well but just did not get any goals and noted that they will come out against Guyana to “win win win”.

Assistant Coach of Barbados, Gabriella Lopez, highlighted that the girls were “happy” with the draw, noting that they were “pressured” by Cuba.

Meanwhile, Cuba will now have to top Guyana by four or more goals on Sunday if they are to go through as the top qualifier of the group.