St. Vincent Coach Sees Enough, Quits
The soccer team from St. Vincent and the Grenadines is going home, its stay in the Gold Cup as short as the country is small.
Tuesday night’s 3-0 loss to Guatemala at Anaheim Stadium Tuesday night left St. Vincent with a final Gold Cup ledger of two games played, two games lost, no goals scored, eight goals allowed and one head coach saying enough is enough already.
Immediately after the game, St. Vincent Coach Lenny Taylor announced his resignation and designated assistant coach Verol Henry as his successor.
“I live in the United States and I’d like to find a job coaching there, so I’m passing on the reins,” Taylor said. “We did what we came here to do--give a group of amateur players exposure and experience they’ve never had before. Here we have laid down the foundation for the future.”
Taylor also gave special thanks to his beleaguered goalkeeper, Fitz-Gerald Bramble, “who showed a tremendous amount of courage in these games and always stood strong”--especially Tuesday, when he made a Gold Cup-record 15 saves.
Guatemala (1-1) scored all three of its goals in the first half, beginning with a 30-yard blast by midfielder Juan Manuel Funes that grazed the crossbar on its way into the right corner in the 28th minute. Forward Edwin Westphal scored on a rebound in the 42nd minute and midfielder Martin Machon added a third goal in the 45th minute, capitalizing on an error by Bramble.
Sliding after a loose ball skittering into the penalty area, Bramble attempted to cover up but lost his grasp on the rain-slick ball. Westphal quickly knocked the ball away from Bramble and chipped across the goalmouth for Machon, who headed in just inside the far post.
With the United States’ 2-0 victory over El Salvador in the second game at Anaheim Stadium, Guatemala advances to the semifinals as the best second-place finisher in group play. Guatemala will play Mexico Friday night at 8 p.m. in San Diego in a rematch of Sunday’s 1-0 Mexico victory.
* HAD ENOUGH: St. Vincent lost a game, 3-0, and its coach, Lenny Taylor, in the Gold Cup Tuesday.
