THE VALLEY, Anguilla – The U.S. Virgin Islands withstood a comeback challenge from Saint Martin to claim a 2-1 win in Group A of League C in The Valley, Anguilla.

It didn’t take long for things to get going; Aaron Dennis’ opener for USVI came just past the two-minute mark of the match. 

Dennis nearly had a brace by the fifth minute, but his shot was parried away before teammate Raejae Joseph tucked it home for a quick 2-0 lead. It was Joseph’s first international goal after coming close several times on Matchday 1 against the Cayman Islands.

Saint-Martin showed great resolve to fight back, culminating in an excellent 15th minute effort that was only kept out of the back of the net by an even more excellent save from USVI GK Lionel Brown.

One of the best plays of the day came from the Saint Martin left back Emmanuel Richardson, who showed great speed and awareness to track back and clear what looked like a sure goal off the line in the 62nd minute.

The breakthrough for the hosts came from Wilfried Dalmat in the 78th minute, setting up a tense ending, but despite several knocks on the door the equalizer never came.