The Cayon U17 and U15 players after winning their respective cup competitions at the SKNFA Technical Center.
SKNFA
Cayon Football Club made a clean sweep of youth football competitions, winning the Atiba Harris U15 and Keith Gumbs Youth U17 Cup competitions last week Sunday evening at the SKNFA Technical Center.
Saddlers United won the SKNFA Premier Youth Cup (U13) the day before, also at the Technical Center, defeating St. Paul’s United 1-0.
Village Superstars were the finalists in both U15 and U17 but succumbed to Cayon in both competitions.
Cayon won the U15 final 1-0 while their U17 counterparts secured a 3-0 win.
This is the first major competition being played at the SKNFA Technical Center, which is now lighted and able to host nighttime competitions and training exercises.
This was something SKNFA Technical Director Lenny Taylor pointed out during halftime of the U17 match.
“It’s a wonderful occasion today. We’ve seen two young teams, very enthusiastic. In an environment where it's wonderful; it’s the first game with the lights on and we are quite happy that we are able to expand the program a little bit further and play matches under the lights. For the last eight months, we have been dying to get this opportunity and it’s a wonderful opportunity for the young people,” Taylor said.
Mr. Taylor, prior to the start of the competition, pointed out the importance of the youth competitions to developing young footballers in St. Kitts and Nevis.
“The purpose behind them is to try to get the players as early as we possibly can, to start to culture them with the modern football which is necessary for them to play on a high level,” he said.
“We also can see the total population of players within the different age categories so that we can discover players that we do not know about; identify them and bring them into the system of the national team development program,” he added.
These competitions are a precursor to the various SKNFA Youth leagues, that will commence soon.
Celtic urge fans to stop using pyrotechnics after another UEFA fine
Celtic have repeated their request for supporters to stop using pyrotechnics after being hit with another fine from UEFA.
The club said they had been fined 23,400 euros (about £20,260) after fans lit fireworks in the stands ahead of their Champions League group opener against Feyenoord in Rotterdam.
A spokesperson for Celtic said: “Clearly, we are concerned that, despite repeated requests and safety warnings, a small minority continue to use pyrotechnics at Celtic’s matches.
“The use of pyrotechnics represents a serious risk to the safety of our supporters.
“Celtic has been hit with another significant sanction by UEFA due to this behaviour. Again, the club requests that this conduct stops.”
News of the fine came hours before their first home game of the competition against Lazio.
Suriname's Robinhood, Dom Rep's Atletico Pantoja vie for second Group B semis berth
Suriname side Robinhood will be looking to seal their spot in the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Club semifinals when they take on Atletico Pantoja of the Dominican Republic in what is expected to be an intriguing Groub B showdown at the Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadion in Paramaribo, o Thursday.
Robinhood currently sit in second position on six points, just one point behind leaders Harbour View of Jamaica, while Atletico Pantoja remain alive in the hunt for a semifinal berth, in fourth place on three points.
Robinhood can guarantee their semifinal place with a draw and could even capture group honours with a win, provided Harbour View drop points in their fixture against Cibao FC, also of the Dominican Republic.
However, an Atletico Pantoja win by a two-goal margin, would be enough to send them through to the Caribbean Cup semifinals ahead of Robinhood.
Needless to say, the night should provide plenty of great drama with so much at stake.
Robinhood have been buoyed by striker Shaquille Cairo, who has four goals in the tournament, making him the joint top-scorer along with Shaniel Thomas of Cavalier.
Cairo has been as consistent as they come, scoring in all three of Robinhood’s games and has gotten help from Tuur Don, who has two assists. Jamilhio Rigters also has contributed after scoring in their last outing, a 3-2 loss to Harbour View.
Atletico Pantoja have played to three straight 1-1 draws in the group, so they will need to break that streak with a full three points if they are to advance.
Jhon Mosquera has played a vital role as playmaker with two assists, while Ronaldo Vasquez has been one of the most active players in attack with 10 shots and 84 completed passes, along with two ball recoveries.
Ja's Harbour View takes aim at Dom Rep's Cibao FC with Group B honours in sight
Jamaica's Harbour View will be looking to complete their mission of a first-place finish in Group B of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup, when they visit Cibao FC of the Dominican Republic at the Estadio Cibao in Santiago de los Caballeros, on Thursday.
Harbour View sit atop the group with seven points and have already clinched their spot in the semifinals, but they will need a victory at Cibao to assure themselves of group honours.
The East Kingston-based club has been excellent in the competition, opening with a 1-0 win against fellow Jamaican side Dunbeholden, before a 1-1 draw against Atletico Pantoja of the Dominican Republic, and an exciting 3-2 win versus Suriname’s Robinhood.
Cibao opened with a point in a 1-1 draw with Atletico Pantoja but have suffered back-to-back defeats since then. However, the opportunity is there to end on a high note.
Facundo Guichon has shown that he can find the back of the net, having scored against Dunbeholden, while Jean Lopez has an assist and leads the team in ball recoveries (8) and passes (186).
Harbour View will counter with the dynamic duo of Omar Thompson and Shaquiel Bradford. Thompson has scored in two successive games, while Bradford bagged a second half brace to spearhead Harbour View’s comeback win versus Robinhood.
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