SOLIAS Conaree FC started off their 2023 SKNFA Premier League campaign with a 2-0 victory over St. Peters FC at the Verchilds playing field on Saturday evening.
Byron Phillip opened the scoring in the 36th minute with Anthony Grant applying the second in the 87th minute to seal the victory. Coach Al Richards said after he was pleased with the win despite his team not performing to its best.
“Congrats to my team for winning a 2-nil victory,” he said.
“My thoughts on the game are simple; the first game of the season, we didn't really get it right, but we got the victory."
Meanwhile, Coach Austin Dico Huggins of St. Peters said his team failed to take the chances they created.
“I think we need to be more lethal in the attacking third of the field and we need to concentrate more on the job, especially on the game plan that is laid out," Huggins said.
"That's all we need to work on and get more involved mentally; because it is important that we remember everything that we need to do, in which area of the field that we need to do it and we need to play harder, more intense; a lot more running off the ball, so therefore we need to get fitter."
In the second match of the day, defending champions S.L. Horfords St. Paul’s United were held to a 0-0 draw by home side MFCR Old Road United Jets.
Both teams created few chances but failed to make them count.
In the matches played on Friday (Feb. 10), S-Krave Newtown United and Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs both recorded their first wins of the new season.
Newtown brushed aside Hotsprings Bath United 5-1 with goals coming from Sylvester Caines in the 13th minute and D'Jaun Warner in the 35th minute.
Leranje Liburd added a third 56th minute and Kennedy Rodriguez made it 4-0 from the penalty spot in the 59th. Akimba Lawrence scored the fifth in the 87th minute before Phillron Lavia got a consolation from the spot 90th minute.
Anthony “Nets” Isaac, who has returned as the coach for Newtown and he was happy with Friday’s result.
On the other hand, Coach of Bath Alex Claxon, said the players are finding their groove, seeing this was the first match, but promised some adjustments for the next match.
Meanwhile, Spurs edged newly promoted Jones Group Sandy Point FC 2-1.
Steve Archibald opened the scoring in the 19th minute with Valmon Jeffers adding a second from the penalty spot in the 60th minute.
Shaquan Pemberton scored a consolation in stoppage time.
Spurs Head Coach Steven Brown said the win was a good one, considering the challenges they endured with match conditions. “We executed well enough. There were some challenges that we faced coming out here; the size of the field was a bit smaller so we couldn’t execute our game plan to the fullest, but nonetheless, the guys adjusted enough,” he said.
“We were able to capitalize on our chances and scored a few goals. We got the three points, which is what we came here for.”
The upcoming Premier League fixtures this weekend will be played in Cayon, Newtown and Warner Park.
Emery has no complaints after tired Aston Villa lose late on at Brighton
Unai Emery accepts Aston Villa can have no complaints over their 1-0 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League.
The Villans fell to a narrow defeat at the Amex Stadium on Sunday as Joao Pedro converted late on after his initial penalty attempt was saved.
Villa looked sluggish throughout yet were just minutes away from claiming a point that would have further boosted their top-four prospects.
John McGinn also had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside, but Emery admits his side were not deserving of a point on their travels.
"We competed but it was not enough," he told BBC Sport. "We weren't strong enough in 90 minutes to deserve anything more than we achieved.
"Now the most important thing is to rest, to rest today, rest tomorrow, after the match.
"We are having an amazing season, brilliant, but of course we are at the last chance and we have to try and give everything."
Villa remain seven points clear of fifth-place Tottenham, albeit having played a game more, after Spurs' 4-2 loss at Liverpool.
Before focus can turn to the Villans' home match with Liverpool in a week's time, they first travel to Olympiacos for their Europa Conference League semi-final second leg.
Emery's men have a major task on their hands if they are to reach the final as they trail 4-2 from last week's first leg at Villa Park.
"We want to put in a good effort on Thursday [against Olympiakos] and on Monday against Liverpool. Now is time to rest," Emery added.
"We had a lot of players injured and they are recovering. The most important thing is to get players back for balance and to be competitive."
Victory for Brighton was much needed after going six without a win in the Premier League, failing to score in four of those matches.
While Roberto De Zerbi was pleased to get back to winning ways, he accepts Brighton were given a helping hand by Villa's quick turnaround in games.
"To be honest, Villa were not themselves, maybe a little tired," he said. "They are playing in the Europa Conference League and they have a lot of injuries.
"I am proud because we played a great game against one of the best teams in the Premier League. Playing against Unai Emery's teams is very tough.
"We played well, we deserved to win and we could have scored more goals. I think Robin Olsen was the best player for Villa."
Declan Rice loss to blame for heavy West Ham defeats - David Moyes
Declan Rice's absence is to blame for a number of heavy West Ham defeats this season, according to manager David Moyes.
West Ham sold captain and influential midfielder Rice to Arsenal last July for a club-record fee rising to £105million with add-ons.
The Hammers have seen results nosedive since the turn of the year, most recently crashing to a 5-0 defeat away at Chelsea on Sunday.
That was the sixth time West Ham have conceded four or more goals away from home this season, and their fifth loss in six away games overall.
Asked at his post-match press conference exactly why his side are on the end of heavy losses so frequently of late, Moyes said: "Declan Rice."
The Scotsman, due to be out of contract next month, added: "You get the best midfield player in the country, protecting, making sure the moments and times you limit maybe 50 per cent of the attacks.
"It makes you a much better defensive team when you get that. We've lacked protection in front of the back four; we've lacked good enough defending; we've not been good enough on those things in many games.
"You've got to be careful. You're talking about a team sitting in a really, really strong position. We've had a couple of bad days away from home, which we have to try and eradicate and make better.
"I'm trying to put a bit of mental toughness when we need it. The teams I normally prepare would normally have it. You could always lose the way you lose."
West Ham have won just one of their past nine Premier League games, seeing them slip down to ninth place and now out of the top-six running.
United have also failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their past 16 in the competition - only the second time they have done so in a single Premier League season.
The poor run of form, which also includes elimination from the Europa League at the hands of a strong Bayer Leverkusen side, has raised doubts over Moyes' future at London Stadium.
Amid suggestions that former Real Madrid and Spain boss Julen Lopetegui has already been lined up, Moyes reiterated he will wait until after the season to hold talks over his future.
"I'm going to talk to the board at the end of the season, so we’ll do that then," he said.
Allegri admits to regrets as Juventus slump continues
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri admitted to having regrets after the Bianconeri missed the chance to close the gap to second-placed Milan in Sunday's Serie A draw with Roma.
Romelu Lukaku put Roma ahead early on at the Stadio Olimpico but Bremer's header dragged Juventus level before the break, as two teams vying for a top-five finish cancelled each other out.
Juventus have now won just two of their last 14 league games, and Allegri reacted to the final whistle on Sunday by storming off the bench and throwing his jacket to the ground in frustration.
Speaking to DAZN after the game, Allegri said: "There are regrets, naturally we could've done better during this period, but football is vicious like that, sometimes it just doesn't go your way.
"We risked losing a game that we were in a position to win at the start of the second half."
Despite four consecutive Serie A draws, Juventus remain six points clear of fifth-placed Roma and nine ahead of Atalanta in sixth – though La Dea have two games in hand.
With Italy guaranteed five Champions League qualification places for next season, they remain in a strong position to return to Europe's premier club competition, while they are also due to face Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final on May 15.
"The important thing now is to concentrate on the next game, as that is the match point for the Champions League, then we have the Coppa Italia final," Allegri said.
"The club will evaluate at the end of the season, naturally there are some solid foundations for Juve, but we were missing players like [Paul] Pogba, [Nicolo] Fagioli and of course [Federico] Chiesa was on and off."
Despite Juventus enjoying a broadly positive campaign after finishing seventh in 2022-23, when they were hampered by a 10-point deduction after an investigation into their historical financial dealings, Allegri's position has been called into question lately.
Asked about his own future, he said: "I don't know, you'd have to ask the club.
"The important thing is for us to focus on the Coppa Italia final and hopefully, we’ll come back here with the Champions League already achieved."
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