Sknfa Premier League

Devontay Carty scored twice in the- 20th and 63rd minutes while Mervin Lewis sealed the victory with a third in the 68^th.

Meanwhile, Bath United and Garden Hotspurs played to a 1-1 stalemate at the Nevis Athletics Stadium. Omarion Bartlette gave Bath the lead in the 13^th minute. It was a lead they held until the 84^th when Jeamaul Hodge pulled Hotspurs level to get a share of the points.

On Friday, a goal in each half led Security Forces to a 2-1 win over hosts Jones Group Sandy Point.

Everette Ritchen gave Security Forces the lead in the 30th minute. They held that lead until Zahmai Greene pulled Sandy Point level in the 65th minute. Parity didn’t last long as Donyelle Francis’ 70th minute goal gave Security Forces a rare win.

Meanwhile, Fast Cash Saddlers FC and St. Peters played to a nil-all draw, a result that Saddlers’ coach Samuel Phipps was happy to come away with.

“Picking up on point is good, we did not lose,” he said. “It was a fairly scrappy game but we came out with a point.”

St Peters’ boss Austin Huggins bemoaned his team’s missed chances.

“I think that we played well but too many chances went a begging,” he said. “We had chances to score, chances that I feel should have been goals, but we missed them; nevertheless, we’ve been able to get a point, looking forward to our next match.”

The weekend’s results, Cayon Rockets remain top of the table with 39 points after 16 matches while defending champions St. Paul’s United in second with 31 points, having played one game less. St Peters FC are third with 28 points with Old Road United Jets slipping to fourth with 27 points.

 Village Superstars (24) and Conaree FC (24) are fifth and sixth, respectively. Newtown United has fallen to seventh on 23 points with Bath United just above the relegation playoff zone in eighth with 19 points.

Garden Hotspurs are in the relegation playoff spot with 16 points. The three regulation spots are occupied by Saddlers United, Security Forces, and Sandy Point FC with 12, nine, and two points, respectively.

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.

The Premier League moved to the NBGC Technical Center on Friday June 21, when Azul Cayon Rockets crushed demoted Trafalgar Southstars 5-0.

The goals came from Devontay Carty in the 24^th minute, Vinceroy Nelson in the 31^st minute, Evansroy Barnes one minute before halftime, Jahmarli Connor in the 63^rd minute and Shaqkeem Butler six minutes later.

After the match, Coach Anthony Nets Isaac of Cayon said he is satisfied with the win, though he was hoping to score more goals in the event goal difference plays a role in the playoff positions.

“At training and coming to the game, we decided we had to get at least seven to eight goals. Because remember the second-place team, which is (Old Road) have been scoring goals regularly, and they are way ahead in goals. But for us to catch up, depending on how the table stand, we want to be there when it comes to goal averages...we didn't get the amount that we wanted, but we're satisfied still,” Isaac said.

Manager of Trafalgar Southstars, Akins Phillip said with his team relegated to Division 1, he is aiming for his team to earn some points before the end of the season.

“The plan for the rest of the season is to try and get some points. We can't leave without getting at least three or six points. We're going to try our best,” Phillip said.

On Saturday June 22, DBSKN St. Peters FC, edged Honda Newtown United 3-2, to maintain their spot in the Final Four playoff race.

St. Peters took the lead in the sixth minute through Devion Harvey before, eight minutes into the second half, Jabari Isaac equalized for Newtown.

Shaquille Barzey and Dionis Stephens scored in the 62^nd and 68^th minutes, respectively, to put St. peters up 3-1 before Shamar Powell gave Newtown hope of a comeback with eight minutes to go.

In Saturday’s second game, S.L Horsfords St. Paul’s United came from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 draw with MFCR Old Road United Jets.

Goals from Tiquanny Williams in the 34^th minute and Geovanni Lake four minutes later gave Old Road a 2-0 lead going into the halftime interval.

Keithroy Freeman cut the lead in half for St. Paul’s in the 67^th minute before Petrez Williams secured a point for his side in the 90^th minute.

Captain of Old Road Jets Nequan Browne explained that the team lost concentration and managed the game poorly which led to them giving up the 2-0 lead.

“We lost concentration in the game. Time management was a problem with us. We should have managed the ball better, move it around better, instead of playing into St. Paul's hands. I just feel like the inexperience of the team, maybe took a toll on us. But we will regroup and come again,” Browne said.

Jamal Jeffers, goalkeeper for St. Paul’s spoke to his team’s resilience, which spurred them to walkway with a point from a losing position.

“A lot of fans know it and the community of St. Paul's knows that St. Paul don't go out without a fight. Many times, we have been in this position but we kept our cool. We concede two early goals but regardless, that's how football goes. We just have to keep calm, we just have to continue playing. Coach talked to us; we made some tactical changes and came out and played a way better second half and we managed to get away with a draw,” he said.

On Sunday June 23, Tropical Blossom Hotsprings Bath United made its claim for a spot in the playoffs when they defeated SKELEC Garden Hotspurs 2-1.

Spurs took the lead in the 23^rd minute though a Justin Claxton own goal before Aljay Newton equalized for Bath two minutes later.

Bath’s winning goal came from Jeremy Richards six minutes into the second half.

Richards was very satisfied with the performance of his teammates and the result of the match.

“I think we've had a desire to come and perform as a team. We have some goals to meet for the season and that has been our main focus. So, it was an important three points...and we move forward,” Richards said.

Spurs Coach George “Yellowman” Isaac said he is doing his best to motivate the players as they are facing the unprecedented situation of relegation from the premier league.

“That's a hard one, but I try my best every day to motivate these players every day in training. To work hard, to play hard, because the position we in, we’ve got to make sure we come out, but it’s just getting harder and harder,” Isaac said.

The final match of the weekend was an exciting nine goal thriller as defending champions Rams Village Superstars came from 1-0 down to win 5-4 against Conaree.

Village went up 3-1 at half time, with a brace by the league’s leading goal scorer Kimaree Rogers in the 23^rd and 36^th minutes and a goal from Dahjal Kelly in the 33^rd minute in response to a 20^th minute strike from Conaree’s Errol O’Loughlin.

Caaja Burnham made it 4-1 in the second half in the 58^th minute, but O’Loughlin led the Conaree fightback, rounding out his hat trick in the 70^th and 74^th minutes.

Samani Williams, however, extended Village’s lead in the 80th minute but Conaree, not to be outdone, scored a 4^th goal in the 7^th minute of stoppage time before the match ended 5-4.

Coach Stephen Clarke of Village said the win was a show of the heart and grit of his team, but they must do a better job defensively.

“Certain parts of how we play, especially in the first half, the chances we created, moments on the ball; it's been missing for quite a while. With that said though, giving up four goals, it was, I must say, uncalled for. We didn't see out the game,” Clarke commented.

Assistant Coach of Conaree Sven Korte, said despite the loss, he is proud of his players.

“I'm proud of my team. They've given everything. Congratulations to Rams Village Superstars. Great performance; the win is okay, because overall I think pass accuracy, speed of players, and bridging the midfield was definitely in their favor,” he said.

The NBGC Premier League is on a break this week due to the St. Kitts Music Festival, but the teams return to action in the first weekend of July at the NBGC Technical Center.

Tyquan Terrel put St. Peters ahead in the 28^th min and they led for the rest of the first half. The second half, however, was all Old Road.

Tiquanny Williams started the comeback with a penalty in the 52^nd minute and followed that up with a second goal in the 20 minutes later to give Old Road the lead before Kaylon Liburd scored a third in the 75^th minute. Captain Nequan Browne completed the goalscoring in stoppage time.

Old Road coach, Alexis Morris, credited his team for their fight and resolve in the second half to claim a resounding victory.

“At the end of the first (half), we should not have been 1-0 down with (Tiquanny) getting in front of the goal. On any day he would have been scoring those goals. Nonetheless, we kept working and we dug deep and we found a way back, like I asked them to…I know we were going to get one back within the first 10 minutes and that set up the game for us,” Morris said. 

Coach Austin Huggins of St. Peters said the team was unable to refocus after having a goal they scored early in the match, ruled out for offside.

“First of all, let me congratulate OR for scoring four goals. I think that the game was a good game. We had opportunities to score as early as couple of seconds after the game started, but the goal was disallowed and I think that the referee made some very difficult decisions that worked hard against us, broke our momentum, and put us in a very unfavorable position,” Huggins said.  

In the day’s earlier match, league leaders Flow 4G Cayon Rockets comfortably defeated Jones Group Sandy Point FC 3-0, also in Verchilds.

Raheem Davis scored for Cayon in the 4^th minute, Kavon Phillip scored a Sandy Point own goal in the 10^th minute and Devontay Carty scored Cayon’s third in the 64^thminute.

Coach Al Edwards of Cayon said despite the win, his team needs to do a better job in finishing their crosses.

“I like the fact that we got down the wings, which is one of our strengths. I like the fact we are putting in the crosses, but I don’t like the fact that we are not finishing those crosses,” he said. 

Shaquan Pemberton a player with Sandy Point bemoaned his team’s loss at the bottom of the table.

“We started the game wrong and we didn’t commit to the plays and (Cayon) capitalized on it,” Pemberton said.

Fast Cash Saddlers FC suffered a 4-1 loss to Rams Village Superstars on Saturday at the St. Paul’s playing field.

Glenville Gumbs gave Saddlers a rare early lead in the 18^th minute but that was soon erased when Village won a penalty, which was converted by G’vaune Amory in the 32^nd minute.

In the second half, it was more Village, again earning another penalty, this time converted by Joseph Wilkes in the 60^th min. Kimaree Rogers then got two breakaway runs, scoring both in the 73^rd and in stoppage time.

Assistant Coach for Village, Vaughn Patrick, said they had a slow start, but they encouraged the players to keep pushing.

“We had a slow start; the fellows went out a little flat-footed. We went behind, we encouraged them, talked to them. We put in the fighting spirit. We got one goal; one led to two, two led to three, three led to four. We just keep on the pressure on them and play a little faster. We were too slow in the beginning,” Patrick said.

Coach of Saddlers Samuel Phipps said some tough calls by the referees, affected their ability to get a positive result. He said they will have to work hard now to get some wins under their belt.

“We played most of the difficult teams in the first half of the second round and then we intend to go back again and work hard and try to get some wins under our belt,” Phipps said.  

In the next match-up, S L Horfords St. Paul’s United and Newtown United drew 1-1. Deneilson Thomas of Newtown gave the East Basseterre outfit the lead before April’s player of the month, Keithroy Freeman, equalized moments later heading in a corner.

Coach Anthony “Nets” Isaac of Newtown was pleased with the performance but said more work must be done defensively.

“I am about 80 percent satisfied, counting the last game we played against St. Paul’s. I think we did much better defensively, even though we gave up that soft goal,” Isaac said.

Manager of St. Paul’s, Austin Lewis, said the result is better than a loss.

“I appreciate the point,” he said.  

Sunday’s action saw SOL IAS Conaree FC and Bath United earning crucial wins at Warner Park.

Conaree edged Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs 2-1. Errol O’Loughlin scored both of Conaree’s goals from the penalty spot in the 38^th and 71^st minutes, while the lone goal from Spurs came from Steve Archibald in the 42^nd min.

Coach of Conaree Al Richards said it was an important win for them.

“It was a dog fight. I told my team that it was a derby…this win was needed tonight in order to get up back in the table in the top six. The guys came out and performed, fight to the end and I must say congrats to my team,” Richards said.

Hotspurs coach, Stephen Brown, said the performance of his team was good but it was unfortunate they were unable to get the win.

“The performance of the guys wasn’t bad at all. They really put in a shift. We had some unfortunate calls that went against us that I felt decided the game but outside of that, I am content with the performance of the team,” Brown said. 

In Sunday’s earlier match, Bath United trounced Security Forces FC 4-0. Goals were scored by Kenaicy Dorsett, Jalden Meyers, Omarion Bartlette, and Jahmal Lewis in the 19h, 1^st minute of first-half stoppage time, 62^nd and 81^st minutes respectively.

Added to that, two of those teams, Conaree FC and Village Superstars are tied on six points with the same goal difference. The table makes each team’s final match of the round-robin phase very intriguing.

The drama all started on Friday night when Flow 4G Cayon Rockets defeated Newtown United 2-1. Devaunty Carty opened the scoring for Cayon in the 20^th minute before a K’andre Wattley own goal 16 minutes later tied proceedings. Cayon’s winning goal came in the 90^th minute through Kejorn Wattley.

Coach Al Edwards of Cayon, while happy with the win, rued his team’s missed chances.

“The last time we spoke, I said all we have been practicing is finishing and for the last three days that's all we have been doing; finishing, finishing, finishing," Edwards said. We were looking for a big win to boost our chances at even a third place or to squeeze in the final (two) but it didn't come tonight," he said.

Newtown Coach Anthony “Nets” Isaac felt a substitution of his goalkeeper in the latter stages of the match, with an outfield player, due to an injury to his goalkeeper and the unavailability of his starting custodian, changed the outcome of the match.

“It changed a lot for us.... we had to put in one of our better defenders in the goal just to replace the goalkeeper," lamented Isaac, who said his goalkeeper had his shoulder dislocated. His first-choice goalkeeper was unable to play due to an accident before the match.

Saturday saw one of the best matches of the playoffs so far between MFCR Old Road United Jets and SOL IAS Conaree FC.

Old Road took a very early lead in the 3^rd minute through Loudajour Lewis before Conaree equalized seven minutes later through a Javern Matthew penalty. Wazim Hough gave Conaree the lead in the 26^th minute before Old Road squared things up through Tiquanny Williams in the 37^th minute. An Errol O’Loughlin strike two minutes before the half meant Conaree went in with a 3-2 advantage.

That lead lasted all the way to the 90^th minute before Williams converted a penalty to tie the game at 3-3.

The game ended on a sour note, however, as four players were given straight red cards after the match ended prematurely due to a fight.

The red carded players were Iquon Frazer (Old Road), Tiquanny Williams (Old Road), Kadeen Lewis (Conaree) and Wazim Howe (Conaree).

Coach Al Richards of Conaree was hoping for a win but relished the point from the draw.

“I thought we should have won it…We gave up a penalty, which was a soft penalty. But nevertheless, the team held out for the draw,” Richards said.

In relation to the incident, the SKNFA issued a statement: “The SKNFA deeply regrets the unfortunate incident that occurred following an exceptionally competitive match—one of the season's finest. Such behavior has no place in the game we love and respect. Consequently, our disciplinary committee will convene to take decisive action, in line with our established bylaws.”

Action continued on Sunday when SL Horsfords St. Paul’s United and Rams Village Superstars played out a 1-1 draw.

After a goalless first half, Niquan Phipps gave St. Paul’s the lead in the 67^th minute before Tahir Hanley got the equalize for Village in the 94^th minute.

That match was marred by a serious injury to Diquan Johnson of St. Paul’s, who was taken by ambulance to the JNF Hospital. The incident led to a 23-minute delay. That delay affected how both teams approached the conclusion of the match, as explained by Coach Stephen Clarke of Village and Manager of St. Paul’s Derionne Edmeade. Clarke said he had to withdraw Hasani Flemming, the player who tackled Johnson when he sustained the injury.

“I had to take him out because he was very, very distraught. But besides that, we still had a game to finish,” he said. Edmeade said the injury impacted how his players finished the match. “I think that also took a toll on the mindset (of the players) as we tried to finish the game,” he said. Best wishes to Johnson as he is recovering from his injury.

All teams will have to wait a week to know their fate as we now enter an international break. The St. Kitts Senior Men’s National Team will bow into action in the Concacaf Nations League this Thursday at 7 p.m. against Guadeloupe at the SKNFA Technical Center.

The match was a thrilling encounter before a sold-out crowd. St Paul’s took the lead in the 26^th min through Jovaughne Leader but Village Superstars were not to be outdone and, just minutes before halftime, scored two quickfire goals through G’vaune Amory and Kimaree Rogers.

St. Paul’s never say die attitude kicked in along with a burst of rain. Keithroy Freeman equalized from a corner kick in the second half, and Vinceroy Nelson, in the dying moments of the match sealed the win.

After the match, manager of St. Paul’s Derionne Edmeade, spoke about the character of his team to win a third straight FA Cup title.

“To be honest, when we started this season, one of the things that we (spoke about) were all the championships that would be available this year. The first one was the President's Cup. For us getting that was important," he said. “So, we went in the locker room, after we gave up the goal (down 2-1); we came out the second half and we gave it all that we had," he added. St. Paul’s now set their sights on defending their SKNFA Premier League title for a third straight year, as they participate in the 2023 Super Six playoffs, which got underway on Friday.

The 2023 SKNFA Super Six Playoffs got underway this weekend with three interesting results.

SL Horfords St. Paul’s United, the defending champions, registering the only win of the postseason so far with a 2-1 victory over Newtown on Saturday night; nil all draw between Flow 4G Cayon Rockets and SOL IAS Conaree FC and a 1-1 draw between Rams Village Superstars and playoff debutants MFCR Old Road United Jets on Friday evening. All three matches were played at the SKNFA Technical Center.

After Friday’s 1-1 draw, coach of Old Road Alexis Morris, was satisfied with the result of their first-ever playoff match.

“I must also tip my hats to our fellas. We will have been working quite hard over a year now because we would have started our preseason training since August last and this is another August," Coach Moris said. “It's been quite a while that these guys have been laboring and tonight, we (exhibited) that."

Coach of Village Superstars Stephen Clarke, said the team played well, but they must minimize individual mistakes. “We expected three points today.... once we cut out the individual mistakes, we will be alright," Clarke said, adding that one point is not a bad start to the tournament.

Coach of Conaree FC Al Richards, after their nil-all draw with Cayon, commended his team’s performance.

“You know, it wasn't the result we wanted, but as I told the guys, if we can't get the win, we take the draw at all cost," he said. Assistant Coach of Cayon George Yellowman Isaac, commented on how his team played against Conaree. “For a long time, we have not played in such a competitive match and I think the fellas gave their best for both teams. Going forward I hope we have a better showing,” Isaac said.

Coach of St. Paul’s Iroy “Congo” Jeffers, spoke about the ebb and flow of the game and how St. Paul’s was able to come from behind to win 2-1.

“For the first 20, 30 minutes we were going; holding possession... the latter part of the half, we went flat, and the goal brought us back (in the game). It was a good time for us to score before halftime," he said. The SKNFA Super Six playoffs continue this week with a match today between Cayon and Old Road starting at 7 pm at the SKNFA Technical Center on St. Peters.

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.

St. Paul’s were up 2-0 going into the halftime interval through goals from Kalonji Clarke (19’) and Keithroy Freeman (26’). The Jets got a consolation goal in the 91^st minute when Philson Wattley Jr scores into his own net.

The match went into a lengthy stoppage time due to injuries to players that warranted extended medical attention. Hence, stoppage time was some 20 minutes; enough for two players—one on either team to be sent off after receiving second yellow cards.

St. Paul’s team manager Austin Lewis was more pleased with his team’s performance in the first half but felt the second half left more to be desired. “I think we had a good first half…in a game, you always have ups and downs and I think we can take the ups and work on them and continue to improve on the down moments,” Lewis said.

For Coach of Old Road Alexis Morris, he felt his team should have won the game comfortably, as they failed to put away chances. “I thought my team should have won this game handsomely,” he said.

“Especially in the second half, we really stuck to the game plan. We went out, we were more resilient, we were forceful and as a result, we put St. Paul’s on the back foot and we should have gotten at least three goals in the second half,” Morris added.

On Saturday at the Newtown playing field, Village Superstars ran riot over Sandy Point FC, defeating them 8-0.

The goals came from Kimaree Rogers (2’), Dahjal Kelly (3’, 22’, 23’), Hasani Flemming (8’), Joseph Wilkes (54’, 59’) and Tiran Hanley (76’).

Assistant coach of Village Vaughn Patrick suggested that scoring eight goals, after not scoring enough in previous matches, was a sign of progress.  

“I must commend the guys. We worked hard in training. We were lacking goals and we got eight today. That’s a plus,” Patrick said.

Shaquan Pemberton of Sandy Point felt the two red cards his team got, affected their ability to get a better result.

“As you can see, we got two red cards in the game. We just put that behind us and come out stronger in the next game,” he said.

In the night’s second match, league leaders Flow 4G Cayon Rockets edged Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs 1-0 in the dying moments of the match. SKNFA Player of the Month for March, Mervin Lewis, scored from a through pass in the 83^rd minute.

Despite the win, Coach Al Edwards of Cayon said he felt they should have scored more, sealing the win much earlier.

“I thought it should have been a bit more comfortable, given that we had a lot of chances. What concerned me is that we made a lot of errors in the back and really kept them in the game,” he said.

He noted that they will be working on scoring goals in training as they we not converting their chances in this match.

Coach Stephen Brown said it was a good game and fatigue may have led to the defeat.

“Honestly speaking, it wasn’t a bad game from the guys. I think they really put their all in tonight. I think a bit of fatigue crept in the game, so we became a little sloppy in possession and a little slow on defense, thus giving a little too much space; allowing the shot; which unfortunately beat the keeper near post. Once again we are going home without a win,” Brown said.

St. Peters FC registered their 5^th consecutive win of the season from their last six matches, after they edged Bath United 2-1 on Mother’s Day in the SKNFA Premier League at the Warner Park. Tyquan Terrell was the hero for St. Peters scoring the team’s two goals in the 9^th and 52^nd minutes. Bath’s goal came from a defensive error— Devion Harvey (St. Peters) scoring an own goal in the 32nd min.

The game was hotly contested in the end as Bath received three red cards—two of which were players.

Coach Austin Huggins of St. Peters said he wasn’t happy with the performance of the team but was pleased with gaining the three points. “I am not quite happy with the performance of the team but we managed to get the three points, which is most important. I believe we were a bit flat today. We were missing a few key players but not an excuse for the performance,” he said.

Coach Alex Claxton of Bath said he knew the match was going to be a tough one, considering they defeated them in round 1. “We know that St. Peters were going to come back at us and we know it was going to be a well fought game,” Claxton said. That victory for St. Peters has shot them up the table to third place. Meanwhile, in the day’s earlier match Fast Cash Saddlers and Newtown United ended in a 1-1 draw.

Elsewhere, Newtown and Saddlers played out a 1-1 draw. After a scoreless first half, Newtown took the lead in the 78^th minute through Sylvester Caines before Saddlers got their equalizer just two minutes later through Dequam Wattley.

Saddlers Coach Samuel Phipps said his team failed to put away their chances. “We had the chances early, we had the chances in the second half, but we failed to put them away,” Phipps said. “That has been the script for a few games now in the league. We can’t wait until the opponent scores, before we start playing.”

For Coach Anthony Isaac, the draw, the 6^th of the season is unacceptable. “That’s six draws of the season, which is unacceptable to us, especially when we are ahead all the time,” Isaac said.

The SKNFA hosted fan appreciation day on Sunday, Mother’s Day, giving free access to both games while also presenting gifts to the first 50 mothers who attended the matches. Mothers of players of the teams that played, technical staff and SKNFA staffers were also recognized.

Sandy Point took the lead through T'Ondre Rouse in the 7^th minute before Shomari Hanley equalized for St. Peters 10 minutes before halftime. Shevene Boston got the winner in the 69^th minute.

In the second match of Sunday’s doubleheader, MFCR Old Road United Jets and Rams Village Superstars drew 1-1. Jardel Isaac got the goal for Old Road in the 9^th minute before Dahjal Kelly equalized for Rams Village in the 22^nd minute.

With this weekend’s results, Cayon Rockets remain at the top of the table, but only by three points as defending champions S L Horfords St. Paul’s United have narrowed the gap.

Cayon has 33 points from 14 matches while St. Paul’s United has 30 points. St. Peters are among the biggest movers as they are now in 3^rd spot with 27 points after racking up six consecutive wins.

Old Road Jets remain in 4^th with 24 points, Newtown United in 5^th with 22 points, and Village Superstars in 6^th with 21 points. Conaree FC are in 7^th with 20 points and a game in hand, Garden Hotspurs are in 8^th with 15 points, and Bath United is in 9^th with 15 points.

In the relegation zone are Saddlers FC, Security Forces FC, and Sandy Point FC with 11, 5, and 2 points respectively.

Hat-trick hero Keithroy Freeman led S L Horsfords St. Paul’s to a 4-0 victory over Fast Cash Saddlers United on Saturday in the first 2023 SKNFA Premier League fixture to play on the island of Nevis. The match was the first of a doubleheader at the Nevis Athletics Stadium in Long Point.

Freeman’s goals came in the 45^th, 46^th and 79^th minutes while the fourth goal came through Keshorne Warde in stoppage time.

Taju Clarke,a player with St. Paul’s, said the team prevailed despite not playing their very best.

“The performance you saw today was an overall good performance because we scored four goals and kept a clean sheet. There were instances when the game dropped off but our team, even though we fall off, we can regroup and score as many goals as possible,” he said before noting that the approach going forward would be to take it one game at a time.

He also had high marks for the Nevis Athletics Stadium as a venue for Premier League matches.

“The field is much better than most fields…despite it being open…it’s still a good venue,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Coach of Saddlers United, Samuel Phipps, suggested the performance of his team was below par.

“It was a really bad off day for us today. We lost 4-0. Nevertheless, I have to thank the guys for trying their best but again we gave up a soft goal just before halftime, and as soon as the second half began we gave up another soft goal, and that has been the trend since the first round. It was a tough loss,” Phipps said.

Meanwhile, Bath United eked out a 1-1 draw with league Leaders Flow 4G Cayon Rockets in front of a Nevisian crowd for the first time this season.

After a goalless first half, Malik Hendrickson gave Cayon the lead in the 74^th minute before, eight minutes later, Jalden Myers converted a penalty to level proceedings.

Cayon Coach, Al Edwards, said the match was a tale of two halves.

“In the first half, we got frustrated and went away from the game plan. At half time we were able to look at some of the points that we needed to do and controlled much of the second half. The second half really belonged to us but we weren’t able to create much of the opportunities that we wanted,” he said, noting that it’s back to the drawing board for their next match. 

Coach Alex Claxton of Bath said it was important that the team picked up results from this match in front of the Nevisian fans.

“I think that it was very, very important that we pick up points from this game, knowing that it’s our first game at home,” he said. “This is something we were looking forward to and we are happy with the turnout and we wanted to make sure we didn’t disappoint our fans and our supporters,” he said.

The matches on Friday between Security Forces FC and Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs and SOL IAS Conaree FC and Newtown United both ended in 0-0 draws.

It took sudden death penalty kicks after both teams were locked 0-0 after regulation extra time. Both teams also ended the match with 10 men with one of each sent off with red cards. This is Village’s 6^th Premier League title and their triumph denies St. Paul’s United from winning their 3^rd straight Premier League title after dominating other cup competitions this season.

After an electrifying championship final between Rams Village Superstars and SL Horsfords St. Paul’s United, the curtain falls on the Premier League 2023. This season will be remembered for its breathtaking moments, coming down to the very last penalty kick.

This season has been a display of tenacity, skill, and sportsmanship at every level. Each match showcased the best of football, with teams giving their all and fans unwavering in their support.

The SKNFA extends heartfelt gratitude to all participating teams for a season pulsating with excitement and memorable moments. As we celebrate the triumphs, let's honor the exceptional talents of this season with our League Awards:

League Awards

Premier Division

Coach of the Year:

Iroy Jeffers (SL Horsford St. Paul’s United FC) - $1000

Golden Glove:

Clifford Samuel (Sol Island Auto Conaree FC)- $1000

Best Defender:

Denis Fleming (Rams Village Superstars FC)- $1000

Best Midfielder:

Yohannes Mitchum (Newtown United FC)- $1000

Golden Boot:

Keithroy Freeman (SL Horsford St. Paul’s United FC) - $1000

Regular Season MVP:

Keithroy Freeman (SL Horsford St. Paul’s United FC) -$10,000

Finals MVP:

Zaykeese Smith (Village Superstars FC)- $5,000

Division 1

Coach of the year:

Jevon Francis (Trafalgar Southstars FC)- $500

Best Goalkeeper:

Abasti Tyrell (Trafalgar Southstars FC)- $500

Best Defender:

Ricaldo Archibald (Trafalgar Southstars FC)- $500

Best Midfielder:

Orlando Mitchum (Conaree Fireball International FC)- $500

Golden Boot:

Reynaldo Matthew (Dieppe Bay Eagles FC)- $500

MVP:

Abasti Tyrell (Trafalgar Southstars FC)- $5,000