St Kitts hold Mauritius, get a shot at Tri-nation crown
Mauritius were held to 1-1 draw by St. Kitts and Nevis in the second fixture of the Tri-nation series at the Andheri Sports Complex on Tuesday.
A headed effort from youngster Jean Frederic Sarah in the first half had put Mauritius on course to a victorious finish but a late strike from Rogers Kimaree earned the Caribbean team a share of the spoils.
Filho’s team dominated right from the whistle with their controlled distribution of the ball and St. Kitts & Nevis didn’t help themselves with some shabby touches in the center.
Mauritius continued to press from the flanks, constantly threatening with aerial balls. Their long ball approach paid off in the 19th minute when fullback Pascal Balisson found an unmarked Jean Frederic Sarah with a perfectly weighted cross for the latter to head home.
Mauritius could have doubled their lead a few minutes later when skipper Jonathan Bru found lone striker Jean Steve Justin from a free kick, only for the unmarked No.9 to head over.
St.Kitts & Nevis began on the back foot in the second period as well with their best chance coming from a through ball by substitute Hanley Tishan to striker Rogers Kimaree, whose shot on goal was saved by a charging goalkeeper.
Mauritius’ goal-scorer Sarah terrorized the St. Kitts backline throughout, almost putting the game to bed with a long-range effort that was parried away by Jamal. A few minutes earlier he had played Louis Chiffone through but the substitute could not find the target.
Mauritius paid for their missed opportunities in the 87th minute when Tishan combined with Kimaree once again; and the striker atoning for his earlier miss buried it past Caserne with a composed finish to draw the game for St. Kitts & Nevis.
The draw puts St. Kitts & Nevis in a position to win the tournament should they trounce host nation India in the third and final fixture on August 24.