Football in Berkshire’s adopted national team Anguilla made history on Tuesday night, a first ever win for the country in a World Cup Qualifying match.
And they had a midfielder with strong Berkshire connections to thank when the match with Turks & Caicos Islands went to a penalty shootout – Sandhurst Town’s Kian Duncan got the winning spot kick for his country.
Luke Paris – quickly becoming a mainstay of the national side and formerly of Langley, Windsor and Burnham – converted the second spot-kick after Jelani Lawrence had missed the opener.
Now with Uxbridge in the Isthmian League, Paris has been a regular for his national team in recent seasons, earning 14 caps before the most recent international break.
The defender has played a key role in bringing non-league players, particularly from Berkshire, into the Anguillan national team fold.
Another relatively local connection to the squad is striker Kyle Lake-Bryan, who was most recently with Combined Counties League Division One Spartans Youth.
FiB’s Dan Walkley reached out to Anguillan FA President Girdon Connor who said: “I’m extremely proud of the boys and remain grateful for the work by our management team, coaches and officials. It’s so unbelievable that it finally happened, Anguilla’s first World Cup Qualifier victory. I’m speechless and honoured to be part of this historic moment. Can’t wait to welcome everyone home and celebrate together. Looking forward to June.”
Anguilla’s progress means they will now face El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname in the World Cup Qualifiers Second Round Group Stage with two fixtures in June.
In April 2021 Football in Berkshire spoke to former Trinidad & Tobago international Brent Sancho about why Anguilla were targetting Berkshire-based players and you can read that interview here.
