Conaree

In the match played at the Newtown Sporting Complex, Carlos Bertie gave the visitors the lead in the 22^nd minute. Malik Hendrickson added the second in the 39^th minute that gave his side the three points and a spot atop the Premier League table on nine points.

Winning coach Al Edwards said victory was achieved because his team stuck to the game plan.

“We got early chances, scoring just two out of three or four. At half-time, we just wanted to be cautious, not too overly aggressive. Be careful, protect what you got,” he explained.

He said the strategy in the second half was to absorb pressure and try and get another goal. That plan changed, he said, when their main striker got injured. “It’s an overall good fight. Sometimes you have to (win) ugly, sometimes it can’t go all your way but you have (the points) and that’s what really matters.”

Newtown’s Anthony Nets Isaac said the team defended poorly in the first half but they responded well in the second half.

“In the first half we allowed the game to get away from us due to poor marking in the defensive area but we went in (at halftime), came back and totally dominated the second half of the game. It’s just that we didn’t get the goals we wanted,” Isaac said.

On Sunday, Hotsprings Bath United got their first win of the season when they defeated Fast Cash Saddlers 1-0 at the Warner Park.

 Chris Browne scored in the 49th minute from a corner kick.

Bath’s Coach Alex Claxton was obviously elated at the result.

“We are very, very happy. We worked really hard for this win and I just want to congratulate the players in putting in the work in the course of the week and today it paid off,” Claxon said.

Meanwhile, defending champions S.L. Horsfords St. Paul’s United FC, came back from a slow start to defeat Jones Group Sandy Point FC 3-1 in the second of Sunday’s double header.

Anthony Alves put Sandy Point ahead in the 37th minute but the lead didn’t last long as Dion Taylor’s own goal in first-half stoppage time meant the teams went into the break locked at 1-1.

St Paul’s went ahead late in the second half when Keithroy Freeman netted in the 71^st minute before Tahir Jefferson secured all three points when he scored a minute from full time.

Manager of St. Paul’s Austin Lewis said even though they won they are capable of playing better.

“I think we can do better. I think we displayed poor football today,” Lewis said.

Assistant Coach to Sandy Point Kenneth Douglas blamed his team’s mistakes for the loss. “I think that we are beating ourselves so we have to go back to the drawing board on the pitch and commit to certain decisions,” Douglas said.

Tiquanny Williams of MFCR United Old Road Jets was the star of the show Saturday night as he scored four goals to seal a 5-0 demolition of Security Forces FC at the Newtown Playing Field.

Jardel Isaac got the ball rolling when he scored in the 28th minute before Williams took over scoring in the 32nd, 40th,80th & 83rd minutes to complete the rout.

Williams’ four goals comes in the back of the hat-trick he scored last week, making him the leading goal scorer so far in the season.

Assistant Manager of the Old Road team Azariah Vanterpool praised the team for their performance and lauded Williams’ accomplishment.

“Today I would say they played a very good game. We started off a bit shaky but we started to play our own game and in the end we came out victorious,” Vanterpool said, adding that she expects more hat-tricks from Williams this season.

Meanwhile, Coach St. Clair Morris of Security Forces FC, said team preparation has been a challenge. “We are still trying to get our team together in a sense. We had a few challenges with players showing up for practice,” Morris said, adding that this has a lot to do with their work commitments.

In the night’s other match SOL IAS Conaree FC blew an early 2-0 lead in the first half to lose 3-2 to Rams Village Superstars. All the goals were scored in the first half.

Jahleel Warner put Conaree ahead just two minutes into the match and took a 2-0 lead when Kadeen Lewis scored from the penalty spot in the 14^th minute.

However, Village would come storming back as Joseph Wilkes pulled one back in the 23rd minute and then Kimaree Rogers pulled them level five minutes later. Shaken, Conaree conceded a third just one minute later when Dahjal Kelly found the back of the net to secure the win.

Both teams had players sent off in the match. Village’s Kimaree Rogers was sent off in the 45^th minute for serious foul play. Wazim Howe was shown the red card for violent conducts in the 50th minute.

After the match, Village’s Coach Stephen Clarke hailed the character of his team but said they must get better starts to games.

“If it’s one thing we preach about is starting the game slow. We really want to cut that out,” Clarke said. “We can’t keep doing it every game. At some point in time we have to come out in front.”

Conare’s coach Al Richards was disappointed with the loss but believes his team played well. “We started the game according to plan. We scored early, which we wanted but we made three defensive errors and that was it from there,” Richards said.

Only one match was played Friday night at the Newtown playing field.

Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs and St. Peters FC played to a 1-1 draw.

Shervin Allen scored for Spurs in the 30th minute with his team dominating the first half. But in the second half, St. Peters rose to the occasion and dominated possession, pressing for the equalizer.

In the end, Shevene Boston scored a stunning strike from outside the area giving St. Peters a well-deserved equalizer.

Firstly, on Saturday, Flow 4G Cayon Rockets secured a 4-0 win over Security Forces.

Goals from Devontay Carty in the 27th minute and Carlos Bertie in the 30th and 33rd gave the Rockets a 3-0 lead at halftime before a Shaqkeem Butler 63rd minute strike completed the scoring.

In the other Saturday game, MCFR United Old Road Jets overcame a 0-1 halftime deficit to beat Newtown United 2-1.

Shaheem Prentice gave Newtown the lead in first half stoppage time before a double from Tiquanny Williams in the 51^st and 55^th minutes gave the Jets the win.

On Sunday, Fast Cash Saddlers and Sol Island Conaree played out a 1-1 draw.

After a scoreless first half, Tijani Fahie opened the scoring for Conaree in the 62^nd minute before Navaldo Champagne equalized for Saddlers 12 minutes later.

Saddlers coach, Samuel Phipps, was pleased with his team’s performance, despite giving up a soft goal early in the second half.

“Unfortunately, we went behind again with what I think was a soft goal, but nevertheless, traits of a good team, we always come back and try to level the score so I am pleased with the guys and their performance,” Phipps said.

Coach Al Richards of Conaree was disappointed as he felt his team should have won the match.

“I am very disappointed today in giving up these points today. I think it was a game for us to win. We didn’t defend well the set piece from Saddlers and gave up a goal. This was a chance to go up the table, maybe to 4^th position but we slipped it up again,” Richards said.

In Sunday’s second game, SL Horsfords St. Paul United secured a 2-0 win over Jones Group Sandy Point.

A 54^th minute penalty from Keithroy Freeman and a goal from Diandre Challenger in the 78^th minute secured the win after a scoreless opening half.

Manager of St. Paul’s, Austin Lewis, was not impressed with the performance of his team.

“The performance was not the best. I was not impressed with the performance today. I think we dropped our standard,” Lewis said.

Sandy Point player, Shaquan Pemberton, said the team played well but made a couple of mistakes, which cost them the match.

“I feel like the team played well today. Just a couple mistakes we made. Next time, we must come out and do what we do again,” Pemberton said.

On Friday, St. Peters FC scored a 2-1 win over Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs.

St. Peters took the lead in the 30^th minute through Shevene Boston. 52 minutes later, Spurs thought they rescued a point when Steve Archibald got their equalizer before St. Peters snatched victory five minutes later through Tyquan Terrell.

St. Peters Coach, Austin Dico Huggins, said despite this win, they still have a long way to go.

“The second round started today for us. We had a very interesting game…we had a training session yesterday and we were able to put some of the things that we did in training in order to be successful in the game. I think the game was very competitive and we managed to win the game. We are going to keep working because we have a long way to go,” Huggins said.

Assistant Coach of Spurs, Rohan Browne, said this result is disappointing.

“We worked hard to come back in the second half to equalize the game,” he said, calling the penalty call a “contentious” one.

“It’s disappointing and we worked hard,” he added.

In the earlier match up, Rams Village Superstars won by default as their opponent Bath United did not show up for the game.

In what was the final game of the weekend of matches, Prentice scored in the second and 22^nd minutes leading his team to the victory. Jarin Clarke scored in the 55th minute in what turned out to a consolation goal for the visitors.

Coach Anthony “Nets” Isaac said his team’s victory was a sign of their resilience.

“We go from game to game. We get motivation from the game that we play because we come out on top and play very good football, so we take from that game into every game that we go into,” Isaac said.

Saddlers coach, Samuel Phipps, said he had to make changes in the first half as four of his first-team players showed up late for the match.

“I had to do some reshuffling in the first half because it’s unbelievable; we had players who were in the starting team showing up late so, of course, I had to readjust the squad from what I wanted for this game,” a flustered Phipps said.

With the victory, Newtown maintains third place on the Premier League table. Old Road United Jets are in second with 13 points while Cayon Rockets leads the league with 15 points.

On Sunday, Old Road blanked Hot Springs Bath United 3-0 at Warner Park. All three goals were scored in a four-minute span that put the game away.

 Having struggled to take control in the first half, Old Road found their rhythm after the interval. Kaylon Liburd opened the scoring in the 60^th minute before the prolific Tiquanny Williams scored two minutes later.

Nequan Browne secured all three points when he scored in the 64th minute as Old Road became only the second team to secure wins on the weekend.

Coach Alexis Morris of Old Road, explained why his team struggled in the first half.

“Let me tip my hat to the Bath United team because they really put us to the test,” he said. “We started a bit flat. We asked the guys to conserve some energy but to me, they went away from that and as a result of that, they were running all over the pitch.

“Luckily, at the break, we were able to talk. We were able to regroup and we were able to put things together and play the kind of (football) that we are capable of playing.”

Bath’s Coach Alex Claxton said lapses in concentration caused his team to concede three goals in four minutes. “I think this was one of those moments when our players lapsed. I think decision-making played a role in that regard so we have to go back to the drawing board and try to fix those things,” Claxton said.

In Sunday’s other match, Rams Village Superstars drew 1-1 with H.E. Garden Hotspurs.

Joseph Wilkes put Village ahead in the 44th minute but the lead lasted on four minutes as Steve Archibald drew Spurs level in the 48^th.

Akio Benjamin of Spurs picked up his second yellow of the match in the 80th minute and was sent off.

Spurs Assistant Coach Rohan Browne was not happy with the draw.

“We dominated the game, to be honest. We dominated from start to end. We had most chances,” Brown said. “We had some chances on the break. I am disappointed but the guys played with heart and they finished off the game with one point. Not what we wanted but well done to the team.”

Village’s coach Stephen Clarke was also not pleased with the outcome.

“I expected three points but that’s how it goes sometimes. You just have to go back to the playing field, regroup and come back again,” Clarke said.

Meanwhile, defending champions S L Horsfords St. Paul’s, snatched a point from the jaws of defeat on Friday night on their home field.

A last-minute strike from Vinceroy Nelson that gave St Paul’s a 1-1 draw with St. Peters FC, who had taken the lead when Shomari Hanley 35th minute.

Coach Austin “Dico” Huggins of St. Peters, was upset with the outcome as he felt the seven minutes of stoppage time had already elapsed and the match should have ended, preventing St. Paul’s from scoring the last-minute goal.

In the night’s other match in St. Paul’s, Jones Group Sandy Point FC, came from behind with 10 men to draw 1-1 with Security Forces FC.

Donyelle Francis scored from the spot to give Security Forces the lead in the 26th minute before Melrick Warner pulled Sandy Point level in the 77th minute.

Table toppers FLOW 4G Cayon Rockets solidified their position at the top the league table with their fifth win from five matches on Saturday, edging SOL IAS Conaree FC 3-2 at home in St. Mary’s Park, Cayon.

Mervin Lewis put the leaders up 1-0 in the 14^th minute but Errol O'Loughlin leveled the scored in the 24th minute.

Devontay Carty scored the first of his two goals to give Cayon the lead in the 29^th. He added a second in the 75^th to give Cayon 3-1 lead. However, Nequan Phipps made things interesting when he scored Conaree’s second in the 78^th minute making for a tense final 12 minutes.

Assistant Coach at Cayon Valentine Anthony blamed lapses in concentration has been an issue of concern.

“For the past couple of games we started the first half (well) and in the second half we just come out lackadaisical. But grateful that we got the three points. Kudos to my team,” he said.

Jones Group Sandy Point FC, in a Friday night matchup, having already been relegated ended their season on a high defeating Newtown United 2-1 in Sandy Point.

Sylvester Caines gave Newtown  the lead in the 2^nd minute before T’Ondre Rouse equalized for Sandy Point 11 minutes later. 10 minutes from full time, Zahmai Greene scored Sandy Point’s winner.

Assistant coach of Sandy Point, Kenneth Douglas, said he is proud of his players and that they will be rebuilding in Division 1 with the aim to earn promotion back into the Premier League next season.

“Just wanna say congratulation to the guys. Although we have been losing games, we told them we have to get our win before we go to Division 1, and today they went out there and they played their all; they played with energy; they played with guts and we came home with the victory,” Douglas said.

Newtown’s coach Anthony “Nets” Isaac was very disappointed with the performance of his team.

“Well, I'm very much disappointed about the results. I mean we came down here looking to go up another three points...but I'm very disappointed with the performance," Isaac said.

Also on Friday, July 21, MFCR Old Road United Jets easily dispatched of Fast Cash Saddlers United 2-0 in Saddlers’ last match of the season.

Kaylon Liburd in first half stoppage time and Jardel Isaac in the 56^th minute were the goal scorers for Old Road.

On the Saturday of the final match week, St. Peters FC was trying to earn a playoff spot with a huge 5-2 win over Security Forces FC in Cayon. In the end, despite the big win, it was not enough to give them a spot.

St. Peters went up 5-0 in the first half through goals from Shevene Boston (8’), Tyquan Terrell (11’), Deshawn Collins (32’), Tyquan Terrell (37’) and Shomari Hanley (39’).

Security Forces got a pair of second half consolation goals through Julan Gordon own goal in the 47^th minute and a David Joseph goal in the 58^th.

Coach Austin Huggins of St. Peters offered his thoughts after the match.

“We did well in terms of scoring goals. We did get five goals this evening, but in my estimation, we still lacking in the scoring department, because we wanted to get at least 11 goals," he said.  

Security Forces Assistant Coach George Kinta Gilbert said his team played a much more organized second half.

“In the second half, we organized ourselves...in the first half it was just chaos," he said.

The following match also in Cayon, between Cayon and Conaree ended in a 0-0 draw. Coach Al Edwards of Cayon said his team played a good match, despite not getting a goal.

“Our thoughts and focus now is tweak what we have (for the Super Six)," Edwards said. On the other hand, Conaree’s Coach Al Richards rued their missed chances. “I think at times we were a bit disorganized," Richards said.

Over on Nevis that same day Bath United once again blew a lead to draw the match, this time against St. Paul’s United. Romario Daniel struck twice for Bath in the 8th & 42nd min before Keithroy Freeman scored in the 84th min and Nicquan Phipps in he 90th + 3 min to earn a point.

Meanwhile, the following day at the SKNFA technical center, Garden Hotspurs were beaten 0-5 by Village Superstars.

Joseph Wilkes (16’), Devaughn Elliott (41’), Caaja Burnham (45+1’), Austin Henry (75’) and Tahir Hanley (90’) got the goals for Village.

Coach Stephen Clarke of Village, hailed his players for qualifying for the playoffs, after a very slow and hard start for his team this season.

“The first round was not the best for us as a team and then we had a lot of injuries so we could not practically play consistently,” he explained. "The second round we were more consistent. Players were more consistent, not a lot of players missing so we ended up building a bit of momentum going forward," he said, adding that the team has been playing well both defensively and attacking-wise.

Meanwhile, Coach Steven Brown of Spurs said they started the match well, but it went south after conceding an early goal.

“I wanted the guys to come out today, have fun just to find back the love of playing football because we've been in a funk these past few weeks. We started well but conceded an early goal and it kind of went downhill from there,” he added.

On Tuesday, the action continued in Nevis, this time with Bath United winning—edging Old Road United Jets 1-0. The goal came from Chris Brown in 1^st min of stoppage time.

Then, on Wednesday at the SKNFA Technical Center, Village Superstars and Conaree got 2-0 and 3-0 wins, respectively, over Newtown United and St. Paul’s United.

Village’s goals came from Leroy Hanley in the 18^th minute and Denis Fleming in the 34^th minute.

Anthony Grant (6’), Errol O’Loughlin (45+2’) and Javern Matthew (76’) were the goal scorers for Conaree.

Football fans earnestly await the start of the 2023 Super Six playoffs, but first, there is the matter of the Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield, which will be held for the first time in St. Kitts and Nevis from August 3-13 at Warner Park and the SKNFA Technical Center.