THE ST KITTS youth football programme is flourishing and national coach Lennie Lake is happy with the progress being made by the country's young players.

"It is not so much about winning. We wanted to see how much progress we have made over the last seven months as we are preparing for the CONCACAF Under-20 tournament and the Junior World Cup qualifiers," Lake said Tuesday night at the National Stadium.

"The programme just started last year and I think we have accomplished much at this moment, but there is a lot more work to be done," added the former first-class cricketer.

Lake's comments came after the young Kittitians were narrowly beaten 2-1 by Barbados in an Under-17 match, but rebounded to win the Under-20 encounter 4-1.

"I was very happy to look at the condition of the guys, both the Under-17 and Under-20s. In a couple of days, they will be going to America for a one-week camp and this is part of their preparations for this tour.

"We are very happy and we want to say thanks to the Barbados Football Association for giving us this opportunity to play because we are down here actually trying to get visas and we were able to get two games in to play against Barbados," Lake said.

"Barbados themselves looked pretty organised, and they looked like they have been doing some work. It is always nice that when two Caribbean teams meet, you have good sportsmanship and good competition. It was wonderful playing here," he added.