Anguilla adds to Dutch St. Maarten woes with a come from behind victory

Marigot, French St. Martin, August 31^st, 2012 – Anguilla turned the tables on Dutch St. Maarten and took victory in four sets (18-25, 25-23, 25-17 and 25-21) to condemn their opponents to the second straight defeat of the day. In match number three of FIVB Men’s World Championship Qualification Tournament NORCECA Group D Dutch St. Maarten brushed aside their neighbours quite easily in the first set. Anguilla made the necessary adjustments and created some distance between them and their rivals for the next three sets.

At the end of the game coach Raymond Jacobs of  Dutch St. Maarten was at a loss for words. “I am at baffled as to what happened on the court tonight. All I can say is that things did not turn out the way we planned. It is difficult to explain because this is a team that we are usually on par with and for them to defeat us like that I don’t know”, he said. Captain Leonardo Jeffers tried to help his coach explain. “I think that we lost focus especially after game 1 and though we tried we just could not get it back”, he added.

On the other hand, Coach Jason Liburd of Anguilla expressed satisfaction. “I am happy but not ecstatic because we gave up a set in the process and this could hurt in the points system at the end,” he said. “Notwithstanding that, considering that it was our first game I think we gave a sterling effort,” he reported.

Captain Ian Connor was beaming with all smiles. “I was confident throughout but my additional job was to constantly talk to the younger players to help them get rid of the jitters and get a solid game from them and we did,” he concluded.

Anguilla’s next opponent is Antigua/Barbuda while Dutch St. Maarten will be desperate for victory when they meet Bermuda next.