Tonight the Belize National Football Team is just a game away from securing a spot to play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup later this year. Belize is a part of UNCAF and there are spaces for five countries from UNCAF to play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Last night our national team played commendably in a 2-1 loss to the home team at the Cuscutlan Stadium in El Salvador. It was a loss but all was not lost. We spoke to team captain Shane Orio in San Salvador by phone today. He told us what went wrong and what they'll make right when they face Guatemala tomorrow afternoon.
Keith Swift Reporting,
26 minutes into the game, this defensive breakdown paved the way for Salvador's Juan Alberto Diaz to score the first goal against Belize. Via telephone from San Salvador team captain Shane Orio - who is also the goalkeeper - says it was a costly mistake.
Shane Orio, Captain - Belize
"We played a good game, we made two mistakes, two defensive mistakes and it cost us the game."
Well not quite, Salvador scored another goal in the 54th minute or ten minutes into the second half. It would take Deris "Colombia" Benavidez to save the day or at least face for Belize when he scored the first and only goal for Belize in the 62nd minute.
Shane Orio,
"In the second half it was a much better game for us when Benavidez came in and the coach made a few changes, that really changed the game and gave us a lot of momentum."
It's not a victory but all things considered - Shane Orio says it was good enough.
Shane Orio,
"We did some positive things and the thing to look at is that into this game, the media here in Salvador, they told us everything, it was like they shamed us, put it that way, before the game. So for us it was something personal and we went out and we gave our all. And to play in a stadium like that with twenty plus thousand people and most of the second half the fans were not in the game, it is something to be proud of and something to build on. I am not saying that we are proud of the results because none of us love losing but what we are trying to do is take out the positive things and take these positive things into our second game."
Orio says the team is now ready for tomorrow's game against Guatemala.
Shane Orio,
"The team in general, the team, we're mentally right for the game and we know that what we did last night, it is an opportunity to show that it wasn't a fluke or luck and if we go out and play the way we played last night, I think there will be able to be a much better result than the game versus El Salvador."
Because Belize scored a goal last night, we still gained a point and so we are now ranked third. Tomorrow afternoon's game will be aired live on Channel 7.
