New York Caribbean Cup. 
ENY State Soccer Association.
Fish Eye Bar and Grill.
By Onz Chery
Haiti U-23 international Benchy Estama's goal on his debut for Team Haiti and Kevin Morency's lob led Les Grenadiers in a subtle win over Team St. Kitts and Nevis considering the fact that they spent over a quarter of the game with less players.
Team Haiti (2) vs (0) Team St. Kitts & Nevis
Talent beats numbers. The team who spent the most time with the least players on the field are the number one team in the New York Caribbean Cup Soccer.
Team Haiti started yet another game with shortage of players but still managed to secure a victory, beating St. Kitts and Nevis 2-0 on Sunday evening at Thomas Jefferson High School Field in the last round before the playoffs.
Team Haiti started the game with nine men but they later reinforced to a regular eleven in the middle of the first half, soon after that Morency chipped the ball over opposing keeper Akil Byron to give his side the lead. And four minutes after the half hour mark, Estama converted a penalty kick, doubling the Haitian lead.
Jean Garry Rubin was ejected early in the second half, putting the league toppers in jeopardy. Team Haiti stayed cool and disciplined on their defensive end, earning them a clean sheet and three points.
Les Grenadiers jump to a four game winning streak after this victory, thus still remain undefeated and are at the summit of the Eastern and Western Zone standings with 13 points.
"We're giving our all," Estama said about this realization, "the objective is to win the league."
And for the Sugar Boyz this loss pushes them down from third to fourth place, the last playoff position, in the Western Zone.
Coach Roy Charles' side didn't take advantage of their opponents being down two men in the opening minutes as they failed to connect their passes in the final third and were constantly caught offside by Team Haiti's well-orchestrated offside trap.
When Haiti eventually matched St. Kitts' 11 players it didn't take too long for them to hit the net. Stanley Jean sent a through ball from midfield that left Morency one-on-one with keeper Akil Byron, who was way off his line. The forward chipped the ball over Byron, all the Sugar Boyz could do was watch the ball bounce and roll in their net in the 28th minute.
The show went on for the 11 Haitians as they broke past Team St. Kitt's midfield with swift and intelligent passing. They were rewarded a penalty kick two minutes after the half hour mark. Jean Gary Rubin hit a Pirlo-like ball over the top for Louis Robenson.
Unaccompanied by any defender, the right-back paced at the Kittitian keeper, who was forced to come off his line and foul the danger man inside his box.
In his first game for Team Haiti, Haiti U-23 midfielder Estama was called upon to take the spot kick, he made no mistake as he sent the keeper the wrong way for his first goal for the team in the 34th minute.
The rest of the match was incessantly interrupted by fouls and showing of yellow cards. Haitian defender Rubin received two yellow cards, which led to his expulsion. Les Grenadiers kept their defense tight and compact as they did in the first half and their net was left untouched all the way to the final whistle.
"We had to play smart because we had a disadvantage," goalscorer Morency said about playing over 30 minutes handicapped, "we had to defend the whole beginning."
Next up for Team Haiti is the President Cup against Eastern Zone league toppers Team Grenada on August 7th at 5:30 pm. On the other end, Team St. Kitts and Nevis will face Team Grenada in the quarter finals on August 14th at 5:30 pm.
Statistics
Team Haiti
Shots (on target): 10 (3)Team St. Kitts and Nevis
Shots: 11 (3)
Saves: 2
Corners: 2
Offsides: 5
Fouls: 15
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