Gold Cup dream
Former Manchester City star within a game of the finals
One of the world’s lowest ranked and most inactive national teams, Montserrat are on the verge of a major finals. While many of the smaller Caribbean islands in CONCACAF’s new Nations Leagues have suffered heavy losses, the tiny British overseas territory have won two of their three games so far. And if Montserrat win away to the Cayman Islands on March 22, qualification for the 2019 Gold Cup finals in the USA could be theirs.
For an island with a population of just 5,000 and no functioning league, not to mention a national team that had not played since a 2-2 draw with Curacao two-and-a-half years ago, that’s some performance.
“All the players were in a What’s App group and people were asking what’s going on when we didn’t play again. But we all stayed in touch and then it all kicked off again,” says striker Massiah McDonald, whose father left the island aged 11 for Jamaica before emigrating to the UK.
The team’s catalyst has been former Manchester City left-back Willie Donachie, who took charge in early 2018. Despite just two training sessions in the UK he built a competitive side, and an opening 2-1 defeat at home to El Salvador was followed by a 1-0 win over Belize and a 2-0 victory in Aruba.
“We’re all very optimistic regarding qualification now,” says defender Joey Taylor. “After the El Salvador game it was quiet. We all saw what it meant to everyone in Montserrat, what it meant to them to get the game on there, and we wanted to repay them against Belize and Aruba.”
Taylor, who qualified through his father’s grandparents, is a defender for English eighth-tier side Horsham. His brother Lyle, who scored against El Salvador, plays for Charlton Athletic and is one of two Football League players, the other being midfielder Brandon Comley of Colchester United.
“Against El Salvador we didn’t have a lot of possession,” admits Joey Taylor. “We knew they would pass the ball about. Willie said from the get-go that we’re not playing two-touch football; we’re getting the ball in their half and playing with the ball there.
“It was very physical. We turned it into a longer game and made it more direct. I don’t think that El Salvador coped with that and it rattled Belize. They didn’t get to play the game they wanted.”
No one is apologising for the style and McDonald, who plays for Southern Premier League side Barwell, adds: “It might not look pretty at times but we put teams under pressure. It works for us.”
Qualification for the Gold Cup would be a major fillip for Donachie, who was once reserve-team manager at Newcastle United and splits his time between working for Montserrat and running the academy at League One side Accrington Stanley.
He says: “I’m not snobbish about football. I love watching Man City, but Pep Guardiola will be the first to tell you that the most important thing is to win.”
Two thirds of Montserrat’s population were evacuated after the Soufriere Hills volcano erupted in 1995 and destroyed the capital, Plymouth. Most left for Britain but the Montserrat FA is now also looking for players in Canada and Cyprus.
“We need to get younger players for the future,” says Donachie, whose search will surely be aided if Montserrat play in the Gold Cup.