Saturday night was more than a homecoming for Frantzdy Pierrot, it was a homecoming for all of Haiti.
The 1-0 loss saw a combination of cultures as the Haitian community met the Tartan Army that follows Scotland wherever they go. While the Scottish fans were loud throughout the match, there were also plenty of moments where chants for Haiti echoed throughout Boston Stadium.
Playing in front of one of the largest Haitian communities in the United States was like playing a home game for Haiti. The nation hasn't played a home match since 2021 and played the entire qualifying cycle away from its island home.
"It feels like home in a sense, because we haven't seen that in a long time," Pierrot said after the match. "Even when we're going to the qualification process, we didn't really have a fan base. "We pretty much was playing with an empty stadium in another country. So seeing the stadium full of Haitian fans, it's really amazing to see the support."
While failing to find the back of the net, Pierrot was one of the stars of the match. The former Northeastern forward was a constant threat in the final third and had numerous chances to find the back of the net.
"He's a big lad," Scottish midfielder Lewis Ferguson said. "He's physical, he puts himself about, and we knew that getting into the game, that's why I probably played a little bit deeper to try and protect the center backs behind me. He's always a threat, always a threat when you have a forward that's that big, that strong, quick, good, good finisher, and around the box, really dangerous player."
For Pierrot, it was clear that Scotland did their homework. He noted how he was double teamed on numerous occasions. Still, he managed to get a great scoring chance in front of goal and a rising header nearly leveled the score. The striker knows he needs to do better in those moments moving forward.
"Those are the moments that I want to do better because I know that it's only just little things that I need to fix," he said. "This was the first game. We want to do better, and I want to do better. So tonight I got a lot of homework to do."
