Suriname ended their participation in Group G of the Digicel Cup with a well deserved win over Dominica to set them up with the hope of qualification to the Digicel Finals as they nervously await the outcome of the afternoons second game between Antigua and Cuba.
With both sides needing a convincing win to give them the hope they require before the second match of the afternoon, Suriname and Dominica met each other with a tamed determination. Whether it was through exhaustion as the teams entered their third game in 5 days in the afternoon heat or the hope not to concede early, the game started sheepishly.
Dominica were the first to have the chance to break the deadlock when Elmond Derrick was all alone at the back post from Colin Bernard’s neatly chipped free kick but somehow he headed high and wide. Suriname responded almost immediately and were unlucky when a neat bit of skill from Vlijter put Rijssel through on goal with a clever back heel, but the number 9 somehow passed the wrong side of the post with the goal at his mercy. Rijssel thought he had made up for his earlier miss when he had the ball in the net on 31 minutes only to have his celebrations cut short by assistant referee’s Venton Mars offside flag raised high and early.
Prince managed to deny Christopher opening the scoring for Suriname when he got down smartly to his right to push out a well worked free kick that saw the lanky centre half smash his effort goalbound from 18 yards.
Suriname opened the scoring just on 45 minutes when Kwaise had the easiest of tasks to pass the ball into the net after a lovely pull back from Christopher from the left hand side after a mazy dribble. As Dominica kicked off the restart, Suriname seemed to smell blood, disposed them and scored their second within 30 seconds of their first.
Vlijter found himself with room to dribble inside the box and slot past a bemused Prince to drive a stake through Dominica’s chances at the end of the first half.
Knowing that they needed to win well to gain any chance of winning through to the Digicel Finals in Martinique, Suriname started the second half brightly and went 3-0 up on 57 minutes when Rijssel laid off the ball beautifully for Limon to run on to from midfield and blast the ball into the bottom corner to get that all important third.
As Dominica pushed on to try get on the score sheet they left themselves open at the back and when Roche Emanuelson picked up the ball in his own left back area, his surging run saw him cut through the Dominican defence go around the keeper and leave himself with the easiest of tasks of slotting home the fourth.
Dominica seemed to give up the ghost at this stage and it seemed that Suriname could only add to the scoreline which they duly obliged when Stefano Rijssel picked himself up after being felled by Derrick in the box and slotted home his penalty to make it 5-0 to the Surinamese side with 3 minutes of normal time left to play.
With Antigua & Barbuda, Cuba and Suriname all on 4 points, it meant that only a win for Antigua in the second game between the arch rivals of Cuba and Antigua could afford Suriname a passage to the finals. Having beaten Suriname in the second round, the tie breaker system in place by the Caribbean Football Union meant that the head to head system ensured Antigua had qualified no matter what the result while Cuba had to win or draw to ensure safe passage.
