The 1995 Caribbean Cup, known as the Shell Caribbean Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 13th international association football championship for members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). It was the seventh edition of the Caribbean Cup which replaced the CFU Championship. Hosted by the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, the competition ran from 19–30 July 1995 and was contested by the national teams of Antigua and Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Cuba, French Guiana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. The competition was used as part of the qualification process for the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The final tournament began with the first matches in the group stage on 12 July 1995 and ended with the final on 30 July 1995. Defending champions Trinidad and Tobago defeated Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5–0 in the final to win the competition for the fourth time. Both finalists qualified for the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Background The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) was founded in January 1978 as a sub-confederation of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). Later the same year, the first CFU Championship was organised in Trinidad and Tobago. The competition was held semi-regularly until the final edition in 1988. From 1989, it was replaced by the Caribbean Cup.
The tournament was sponsored by Royal Dutch Shell following the input of employees of Shell Antilles and Gulanas Ltd.
Trinidad and Tobago were the defending champions after winning the previous edition as hosts. Trinidad and Tobago were also the most successful team in the history of the competition after winning the trophy on three previous occasions.
Aruba would be represented in the competition by SV Racing Club Aruba who were strengthened by guest players from SV Estrella, SV Dakota, SV Bubali, SV La Fama and SV River Plate Aruba.
Format A qualifying tournament was held to determine five of the eight teams that would participate in the final tournament. Co-hosts the Cayman Islands and Jamaica as well as holders Trinidad and Tobago qualified automatically. In the preliminary round, two of the 21 competing teams contested a two-legged tie in which the team that scored the most goals on aggregate advanced. In the qualifying round, the remaining teams were drawn into five groups of four teams. Groups one and two were played as a single round-robin where each team would play all of the others once. The winner of each group would qualify for the final tournament. Groups three, four and five were played as knock-out tournaments. In round one, the four teams were drawn into two two-legged ties. The team that scored the most goals on aggregate advanced to the second round. The two winning teams in each group would then contest a final two-legged tie and the team that scored the most goals on aggregate would qualify for the final tournament.
For the final tournament, the eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. Each group was played as a single round-robin where each team would play all of the others once. The winners and runners-up of each group would contest the semi-finals with the winners advancing to the final and the losers contesting the third-place play-off. The two finalists would qualify for the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Participants
Preliminary round The Netherlands Antilles won both legs of their tie with Aruba to advance to the qualifying round.
Matches
Netherlands Antilles won 7–5 on aggregate.
Qualifying round Group 1 Qualifying group 1, held in the Dominican Republic, was played between 23 and 27 May 1995. Cuba qualified as group winners after defeating Puerto Rico 9–0 in their final match.
Table
Results
Group 2 Qualifying group 2, held in French Guiana, was played between 9 and 13 May 1995. All four teams finished with a record of one win, one draw and one defeat. French Guiana qualified as group winners on goal difference.
Table
Results
Group 3 Saint Lucia defeated Grenada and Barbados to qualify for the final tournament.
First round
Barbados won 7–0 on aggregate.
Saint Lucia won 4–2 on aggregate.
Second round
Saint Lucia won 3–2 on aggregate.
Group 4 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines defeated Dominica and Montserrat to qualify for the final tournament.
First round
Montserrat won 4–2 on aggregate.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines won 1–0 on aggregate.
Second round
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines won 20–0 on aggregate.
Group 5 Saint Kitts and Nevis defeated Sint Maarten and Antigua and Barbuda to qualify for the final tournament.
First round
Saint Kitts and Nevis won 2–1 on aggregate.
The British Virgin Islands withdrew, Antigua and Barbuda advanced.
Second round
3–3 on aggregate. Saint Kitts and Nevis won 4–3 on penalties.
Final tournament
Group stage Group A In group A, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Cayman Islands advanced to the semi-finals after winning their first two matches. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines won the group on goal difference after the two teams drew 2–2 in their final match.
Table
Results
Group B In group A, Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago all finished with a record of two wins and one defeat. Trinidad and Tobago advanced as group winners on goal difference. Cuba and Jamaica were also tied on goal difference and goals scored. Cuba advanced to the semi-finals on their head-to-head record with Jamaica.
Table
Results
Knockout stage
Semi-finals Group winners Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago both advanced to the final after defeating Cuba and the Cayman Islands respectively.
Third place play-off Lázaro Darcourt and Manuel Bobadilla both scored as Cuba defeated the Cayman Islands 3–0 to finish third.
Final Goals from Angus Eve, Clint Marcelle, Terry St. Louis and Arnold Dwarika helped Trinidad and Tobago to a 5–0 win as they won the competition for the fourth time.
References