Action between St. Paul's United and Rams Village Superstars.
SKNFA
The SKNFA Super Six Playoffs table is tight after this past weekend’s matches. One team is almost assured of a finals spot and four of the remaining five teams have a mathematical chance of being the next finalists.
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 20th minute before a K’andre Wattley own goal 16 minutes later tied proceedings. Cayon’s winning goal came in the 90th 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 3rd minute through Loudajour Lewis before Conaree equalized seven minutes later through a Javern Matthew penalty. Wazim Hough gave Conaree the lead in the 26th minute before Old Road squared things up through Tiquanny Williams in the 37th 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 90th 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 67th minute before Tahir Hanley got the equalize for Village in the 94th 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.
Xavi wants Barcelona to make defensive improvements against Sevilla
Barcelona boss Xavi wants his side to defend better as they prepare for their LaLiga clash with Sevilla on Friday.
Barca are currently unbeaten in the league so far this term but have conceded four goals in their last two games, coming from behind to beat Celta Vigo 3-2 before a 2-2 draw with Mallorca.
Despite their recent defensive flaws, Xavi’s side have scored 18 goals, which is the joint most in the division alongside league leaders Girona.
The Barca boss acknowledged those differences but thinks his side have to improve at the back.
He said: “We might not be as brilliant in defence as we were last season.
“We need to improve our pressure after losing the ball, press higher up the pitch, concentrate a bit harder.
“But we have got better up front. We created six clear chances against Mallorca and I think that’s good baggage.”
The Catalan giants will face a Sevilla side who, after a tough start to the campaign, are starting to show their true colours and are currently unbeaten in three.
Xavi praised their opponents on Friday and has called on the home fans to be the 12th man.
He added: “Sevilla are the defending Europa League champions and a difficult team to play.
“They’re solid, they like to play down the wings and play a direct, vertical game. But we’re at home.
“We need the fans and the atmosphere at Montjuic to get back on the winning track.”
A win for Barcelona could take them top of the league temporarily before the top two, Girona and Real Madrid, face each other on Saturday.
Xavi is not surprised by how well current league leaders Girona are doing.
He continued: “It’s no surprise to me because they have been doing things well at that club for several years.”
Rusea’s remain undefeated to lead Zone B; Frome, STETHS, William Knibb secure big wins
Zone B action in the ISSA/WATA DaCosta Cup saw Rusea’s and Frome Technical both secure wins on Wednesday.
Former champions Rusea’s maintained their perfect record after five games with a 4-0 home win over Cambridge High while Frome secured a comfortable 7-0 win over Merlene Ottey to move to nine points from four games in second.
In Zone A, Cornwall College moved to 13 points from their five outings with a 2-0 win over St. James High at Jarrett Park. Irwin High are close behind them in second with 11 points from five games as well after their own 2-0 win over Maldon at home. Spot Valley and Green Pond played out a 1-1 draw in the zone’s other game.
In Zone C, William Knibb secured a massive 8-0 win over Discovery Bay while Browns Town beat Ferncourt 7-1. William Knibb are currently third in the Zone with nine points from five games, one behind York Castle and three behind zone leaders, Cedric Titus. York Castle lost 2-4 to Ocho Rios on Tuesday while Cedric Titus beat Aubuthnott Gallimore 10-2.
STETHS moved to 13 points from five games in Zone E after a massive 9-1 win over Sydney Pagon. Munro College trail the former champions by two points after securing a 7-0 win over Roger Clarke on Tuesday. Elsewhere in the zone, Lacovia and Maggotty played out a 1-1 draw.
In a pair of Zone I clashes, St, Mary High got the better of St. Mary Tech 3-2 while Wycliffe Martin High secured a 5-0 win over Carron Hall High. Wycliffe Martin and St. Mary High are currently fourth and fifth in the zone with seven and six points, respectively. Tacky High (13 points from five games), Annotto Bay (12 points from five games) and Horace Clarke (10 points from four games) occupy the top three spots.
Morant Bay High maintained their perfect record in Zone K after four games with a 4-2 win over Robert Lightbourne.
KC strengthen lead atop Group A; Mona, JC, Haile Selassie also secure wins
Kingston College now have five wins from as many games as action continued in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup on Wednesday.
KC, who initially opened their season with an 0-4 defeat to Hydel before that result was overturned to a 3-0 win after it was deemed that their opponents used an ineligible player, defeated Charlie Smith 1-0 to move to 15 points from their five outings, six points ahead of Calabar in second and nine ahead of Hydel in third. Charlie Smith also have six points in fourth.
Elsewhere in Group B, defending champions Jamaica College secured a 2-1 win over Kingston Technical to move to the top of the group with nine points from four games, two points ahead of Tivoli in second and three ahead of Kingston Technical in third.
Group C action saw Haile Selassie continue their winning ways, moving to 15 points from five games with a 1-0 win over Eltham. The other game in the group saw Dunoon Technical defeat Denham Town 3-2 for their first win of the season.
In Group E, Mona High hammered Edith Dalton 6-0 to move to five wins out of five.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
