Guyana was hammered 5-0 by Grenada in the opening game in St Georges last Saturday and needs to win by six clear goals in the return match scheduled for March 14 at the Blairmont ground.

The defeat is the worst by the Spice Island since April 1996 when Grenada defeated Guyana 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier in St Georges.

Speaking with Stabroek Sport shortly after the humiliating defeat Dos Santos said all was not lost and referred to the first match as only the first half. "I never give up. I give up only when the last whistle is blown in the next match."

He said a poor first half put the locals under pressure in the game. "We had a very bad first-half. Grenada deserved the 2-0 advantage in the first half. In the second half, when we fixed the problems we had, and started to play a little better unfortunately our goalkeeper got a red card."

Marlon Hendricks was given marching orders after he fouled harassing striker Ricky Charles with the game 61 minutes old.

"With one player down it was really hard to keep the level. Despite all Grenada showed that they have a very good team." Grenada brought back seven overseas-based players for Saturday's game and is expected to add five more for the return game.

Ali De Bellotte, the Grenadian head coach said that the overseas connection assisted greatly in the victory. "I don't think that Guyana played badly but we played very well. I would say that the players [overseas-based) assisted. What it did was strengthened our starting line up and the bench. We always think that when you bring in a higher level of players the level of your local players rise. That is what happened tonight [Saturday night]."

De Bellotte, also the head coach when Grenada defeated Guyana 2-0 in a CFU Under-20 tournament in September 1998, agreed with Dos Santos that Guyana had a lousy first half. "I have seen Guyana play before and know that they are a good team. This would not be the best game to do a total analysis of Guyana. It was just one bad day and unfortunately the defeat was heavy.

"I saw Guyana against Barbados. We know exactly what they were going to do. The two strikers [Randolph Jerome and Gregory Richardson] are very quick so we marked them solidly. As a result of them not getting the ball Guyana was not able to play."