But the former St. John’s soccer standout had no choice. He gingerly made his departure in the 65th minute in…
It was the biggest sporting event for the tiny Caribbean island, which made it even more difficult for Shalrie Joseph to walk off the field.
But the former St. John’s soccer standout had no choice. He gingerly made his departure in the 65th minute in Grenada’s 3-2 loss to the United States in a World Cup qualifier in front of 15,267 at the National Cricket Stadium in St. George’s, Grenada Sunday afternoon.
The United States advances to the semifinal round of the qualification stage, beating Grenada, 6-2, by aggregate.
Joseph, a starting defensive midfielder for the New England Revolution, had played with a broken nose and a torn finger ligament before joining Grenada two weeks ago.
The Brooklyn resident was taken off the waterlogged field by stretcher and his status for the Revolution’s game against the MetroStars is uncertain.
Joseph played the full 90 minutes in the first leg of the home-and-home June 13 in Columbus, Ohio, a game dominated by the United States, which cruised to an easy 3-0 win.
Joseph, who was drafted by the Revolution in the second round of the 2002 MLS SuperDraft, nearly set up a goal for Grenada in the 11th minute of the first game. He slid the ball to striker Jason Roberts, who slipped behind the U.S. defense.
But Roberts, who plays for Wigan Athletic in England’s First Division, weakly lifted the ball over U.S. keeper Kasey Keller, who raced back and caught the ball over his shoulder three yards from the goal line.
“They were all over us. We didn’t have time or space to play,” Joseph said after his team’s 3-0 loss in Columbus. “They came out and they were on top of us. We didn’t make it with the first two opportunities we had.”
Two goals by DaMarcus Beasley and another by Greg Vanney put the United States comfortably ahead, 3-0, heading into Sunday’s game in Grenada, played in front of about one-sixth of the country’s population.
Just six minutes in, Landon Donovan put the United States ahead before Roberts tied it with a 12th-minute penalty kick. Donovan then set up Josh Wolff’s go-ahead goal in the 19th minute before Beasley closed out the game for the United States with a 77th-minute strike.
One minute later Ricky Charles scored but it was too late for Grenada.
— Dylan Butler
