Old Road

All Saints United moved to 34 points from 14 matches with a 2-0 win over Willikies on Sunday.

Shafeeq Joseph and Daryan James got the goals for the new league leaders in the 57^th and 77^th minutes, respectively.

FC Aston Villa boast a similar record in 14 matches thanks to a 1-0 win over Piggott’s Bullets on Saturday.

The game seemed to be heading for a draw before Shahoi Dorsett sealed the crucial three points for Villa with a 95^th minute penalty.

Former leaders Grenades are now third, one point behind All Saints and FC Aston Villa after suffering a 1-4 defeat at the hands of Greenbay Hoppers on Sunday.

The Hoppers went 4-0 up in the span of 28 minutes as Rodney Lawrence (26’), Javorn Stevens (31’), a 45^th minute Chad Williams own goal and an Akeem Christian own goal in the 54^th sealed the fate for Grenades.

They got a consolation goal through Barrington Blake in the 56^th minute. The Hoppers are now fifth with 21 points from 13 games.

Old Road is fourth, nine points behind Grenades after a 5-1 win over Swetes in the week’s opening game on Friday.

It was Swetes who took an early lead when Shackwon Simon scored in the 16^th minute.

Stefan Smith equalized for Old Road eight minutes later and the teams went into half-time with no further goals added.

Things changed quickly in the second half as Jaheim Hazelwood gave Old Road the lead six minutes after the restart before a Raheem Deterville double in the 61^st and 71^st minutes gave them a 4-1 advantage. Jabarry Chandler put the final nail in the coffin in the 88^th minute. Swetes are sixth in the table with 21 points from 14 games.

Saturday’s other matches saw Empire beat Ottos Rangers 3-0 and Parham secure a 3-1 win over Cedar Grove Blue Jays.

Empire’s goals came from Rakeem Joseph in the seventh minute, Nyque Watkins in the 13^th minute and Shemar Scott in the 45^th minute.

They are now 10^th in the league with 17 points from 13 games while Ottos Rangers are eighth with 19 points from 13 outings.

Parham took the lead J’Twan Brown in the 45^th minute before Malcolm Stewart doubled the lead in the 48^th minute. The Blue Jays got a lifeline in the 50^th minute through a Keon Greene penalty before Stewart got his second of the game in the 81^st minute to secure the win.

With 15 points from 14 games, Parham are now 12^th in the standings while their opponents are 14^th with 10 points from 13 matches.

Sunday’s other game saw Liberta Blackhawks and SAP combine for 12 goals, with the latter securing an 8-4 win.

Shavorn Phillip gave the Blackhawks the lead in the 28^th minute before SAP equalized through Tyrique Tonge in the 30^th. It was 2-1 Liberta a minute later as Louron Anthony scored before SAP equalized once again, this time through Danniel Osbourne in the 42^nd minute.

The only word to adequately describe the second half was ‘goal-fest.’

Fifteen minutes after the resumption, Tonge got his second of the game to give SAP their first lead before Phillip got his second of the game a minute later for Liberta to make it 3-3.

SAP then broke the game open through a Peter Byers double in the 73^rd and 77^th minutes before Tonge got his third and fourth of the game in the 81^st and 87^th minutes to make in 7-3, effectively ending the game.

Malique Martin got Liberta’s fourth goal in the 89^th minute but the scoring was capped off in the 90^th minute when Byers completed his hat-trick, the second for SAP on the day.

SAP are now 11^th in the table with 16 points from 13 games while the Blackhawks, with only two points from 11 games, are last in the standings.

Ninth-placed Tryum and 15^th placed Five Islands will do battle on Monday to close out the game week.

All Saints entered the 18^th and final game on May 5 on 46 points, trailing Grenades FC by two points.

They then defeated Garden Stars 3-1 in their final game while Grenades were held to a 1-1 draw by Ottos Rangers FC who played the ultimate spoiler role as their relegation to the first division was already confirmed before this game.

In the end, both All Saints United and Grenades FC finished with identical records of 16 wins, one draw and one loss from their 18 games.

However, by virtue of a goal difference of 55 compared to 48 by Grenades, All Saints United were crowned champions.

The top five were rounded out by Old Road FC, FC Aston Villa and Hoppers FC with totals of 38 points, 33 points and 29 points, respectively.

The ABFA issued a statement congratulating All Saints on winning the title as well as acknowledging the contributions of all the teams to a successful season.

“The ABFA Executive members extend heartfelt congratulations to the management, coaches, and players of All Saints United for their triumphant victory in clinching the 2023/24 ABFA Premier League trophy. We also commend Grenades FC and Old Road FC for their outstanding performances, securing second and third place respectively, and contributing to the thrilling championship race,” the statement read.

It continued, “this season has been filled with excitement, with the premier division delivering a nail-biting finish. The first and second divisions are also gearing up for an equally thrilling climax. We express gratitude to our dedicated fans whose unwavering support has made this season unforgettable.”

Joining the aforementioned Rangers in next season’s first division will be Sap FC and Empire FC who finished 13^th and 15^th, respectively.

Swetes FC, who finished 12^th, will fight for their spot in next season’s Premier league in the playoffs with Police FC and Attacking Saints who finished third and fourth in the first division.

Potter’s Tigers and Five Islands FC were the top two finishers in the first division and have booked spots in next season’s Premier League.

Individually, Old Road’s Raheem Deterville was crowned as both the season’s golden boot winner and MVP.

All Saints United’s Jayden Martin and Blake Thompson took home prizes for best goalkeeper and best defender while FC Aston Villa’s Tyrik Hughes was named best young player.

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.

Yasnay Torres ripped through the Blue Jays defense to finish with five goals on the day. His goals came in the 22^nd, 37^th, 38^th, 55^th and 68^th minutes while the other three goals came from Shahoi Dorsett in the 42^nd, Sean Tomlinson in the 53^rd and Joshua Ferdinand in the 91^st.

FC Aston Villa now have 37 points from 15 games to lead the table while the Blue Jays are 14^th with 10 points from 14 games.

Grenades are only a point behind FC Aston Villa after a 3-0 win over Ottos Rangers on Sunday. Vashami Allen opened the scoring for Grenades in the 10^th minute before the points were secured late in the second half through goals from Carl Osbourne in the 83^rd minute and Donovan Baptiste in the 92^nd minute. Ottos Rangers are ninth in the table with 19 points from 13 games.

Sunday’s other games saw Swetes and Greenbay Hoppers play out a 1-1 draw while the game between Pigott’s Bullets and Empire ended in a similar score-line.

In the first game, Rodney Lawrence opened the scoring for the Hoppers in the second minute before Shalon Knight got Swetes’ equalizer in the 65^th minute. The Hoppers are sixth in the table with 22 points from 14 games while Swetes are one spot below them with the same number of points and one more game played.

In the second game, the Bullets took the lead in the 19^th minute through Tyrique Thwaites before Rakeewm Joseph equalized for Empire in the 67^th minute. Empire are tenth in the standings with 18 points from 14 games while Pigott’s Bullets are 13^th with 15 points from their 14 matches.

The first of three games on Saturday saw Old Road get a 5-0 win over Five Islands to move to fourth in the table with 27 points from 15 outings.

Christhian Hereira and Raheem Deterville each got doubles for Old Road while Jonathan Shoy was also on the scoresheet. Hereira’s strikes came in the seventh and 68^th minutes, Deterville’s in the 31^st and 38^th minutes and Shoy scored in the eighth minute. Five Islands are 15^th in the table with three points from 15 games.

Game two on Saturday saw Parham secure a 3-1 win over Willikies. Parham took the lead in the 21^st minute through Malcolm Stewart before doubling their advantage four minutes before the half through Stewart again. James Simon gave Willikies hope of a comeback in the 57^th minute before Kenja Benjamin sealed the points for Parham 10 minutes later.

Parham are now 11^th in the table with 18 points from 15 games while Willikies remain eighth 20 points from 14 games.

Tryum secured a 2-1 win over Liberta Blackhawks in Saturday’s final game. After a goalless first half, Tryum took the lead in the 51^st minute through Chevel Cunningham before Curlon Joseph doubled their lead 20 minutes later. Liberta got a consolation goal in the 86^th minute through Abraham Barry.

Tryum are fifth in the standings with 25 points from 15 games while Liberta Blackhawks remain at the foot of the 16-team table with two points from their 12 games.

The game week will end with third-placed All Saints United taking on 12^th-placed SAP on Monday.

On Friday, Grenades beat Swetes 2-0 through goals from Carl Osbourne in the 58^th minute and Barrington Blake in the 88^th minute.

There were three matches played on Saturday.

Old Road secured a 4-0 win over Liberta Blackhawks in the day’s first game. Raheem Deterville led the charge with a hat-trick. His goals came in the 10^th, 56^th and 73^rd minutes. Jonathan Shoy scored their other goal in the 62^nd minute.

The most exciting game of the week came when Tryum and All Saints United played out a seven-goal thriller, with Tryum coming out on top 4-3.

Zafique Drew gave All Saints United the lead in the eighth minute before an Escalliere Bennett own goal in the 11^th minute levelled proceedings.

Tryum went ahead on the stroke of half-time through Eliot Donawa. Nine minutes after the second half resumption, Blake Thompson scored the second own goal of the game, this time to All Saints United’s benefit to make in 2-2.

A 65^th minute penalty from Chevel Cunningham helped Tryum regain the advantage before, five minutes later, Leroy Graham scored for All Saints United to make it 3-3. The winning goal came in the 76^th minute when Cunningham scored his second of the game.

The day’s third encounter saw goals from Malcolm Stewart in the 21^st minute and Tevaughn Harriette in the 87^th minute helped Parham beat SAP 2-1. Kevon Samuel got SAP’s goal in the 35^th minute.

Sunday, Piggot’s Bullets and Ottos Rangers played out a 1-1 draw. Akeem Isaac got the goal for the Bullets in the 39^th minute while Josue Arias got the Rangers’ equalizer in the 72^nd minute.

Five Islands and Greenbay Hoppers played out a dramatic 1-1 draw in the day’s second match. Tony Sanchez gave Five Islands the lead in the 16^th minute before Jordan Riley scored a dramatic equalizer for the Hoppers in the 91^st minute.

Empire got a 2-0 win over Cedar Grove Blue Jays in Sunday’s final game. Rakeem Joseph (62’) and Jayvaughn Joseph (75’) got the goals.

Willikies FC and FC Aston Villa will close out week 13 on Monday.

After 13 rounds, Grenades FC are top of the table with 33 points, two points ahead of All Saints FC in second and five ahead of FC Aston Villa in third.

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.