Action from the international friendly between visiting St. Kitts & Nevis (red jersey) and host Andorra on November 12, 2015. (Photo courtesy of the Federació Andorrana de Futbol)
ANDORRA LA VELLA, Andorra – On a night of firsts, striker Devaughn Elliott scored the only goal as St. Kitts & Nevis earned a 1-0 win over Andorra in a friendly on Thursday at the Estadi Comunal.
It was the Sugar Boys’ first-ever victory over European opposition in their first match on the continent.
Zeph Thomas set-up the game’s only goal in the ninth minute with a defense-splitting pass that sprung Elliott. With a perfectly-timed run, the speedy El Salvador-based forward got behind the right side of the Andorran defense and poked his shot past goalkeeper Josep Antoni Gomes.
In the 27th minute, the host was reduced to 10 players following the ejection of captain Oscar Sonejee, who was playing in his last international after 106 games.
St. Kitts & Nevis goalkeeper Julani Archibald, who plays for Trinidad & Tobago’s DirecTV W Connection, posted the shutout. Late in the game, he made a key save off a Sebas Gomez effort to preserve the historic triumph.
According to Anthony Johnson, president of St. Kitts & Nevis Football Association, the game was part of a new scheduling strategy intended to keep the national team active on a regular basis.
“The aim is to allow the team to play more games, in a different environment, in advance, for example, of the CFU Men’s Tournament starting in 2016,” he said before the game.
St Kitts & Nevis will next travel to Estonia for another friendly international on November 17.
