Jamaica and Queensland Firebirds goalshooter Romelda Aiken is expected to take part in the upcoming Suncorp Super Netball season despite recently announcing her pregnancy.
Aiken, who got married in September of last year to former Australian basketballer Daniel George, is just two matches shy of 200 appearances. The goalshooter is now in the early stages of her pregnancy but still has her eyes set on the milestone when the season gets underway on March 26.
Aiken, at this point, remains an active member of the roster and the club has confirmed they have no plans to replace her. Despite what is often described as the rough and tumble nature of the Suncorp Super League there is no policy preventing pregnant players from taking part in the competition.
“Romelda’s baby news is brilliant, and the club has been fully supportive of her playing right through until she’s ready to step away,” Firebirds CEO Kate Davies told The West Australia.
“Romelda was fully intending to play at Team Girls Cup, but due to COVID-affected complications, particularly around dehydration, it was deemed unsafe, seeing her ruled unavailable,” she added.
“Romelda is still fully contracted as part of our 10, and hence the club has no ability or desire to name a replacement until she formally withdraws from the team.”
Cairo double sinks Dunbeholden, as Suriname's Robinhood takes pole position
Shaquille Cairo scored a pair of goals to lead 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield winners Robinhood of Suriname to a 2-0 victory against Jamaican side Dunbeholden in Group B action of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup at Sabina Park on Thursday.
Robinhood now sit atop the group with six points after two games, while Dunbeholden have one point after three matches.
Robinhood raced out to an early 1-0 lead in the 15th when they were able to take advantage of a defensive error from Dunbeholden. The home side failed to clear their lines adequately and a deflected ball up into the air right in front of goal was headed into net by Shaquille Cairo.
Dunbeholden went right to work on finding an equalizer and Stephen Barnett looked poised to do it in the 25th, only for Robinhood goalkeeper Jonathan Fonkel to make a sensational stretch save.
Odane Samuels was next to be turned away on a brilliant save by Jonathan Fonkel, this time on a shot from just a few yards out that the visiting shot-stopper somehow managed to parry to safety in the 34th.
Robinhood absorbed Dunbeholden’s punches and then landed another big blow in the 55th when a cross from Tuur Don met the charging Cairo, who fired into net for a 2-0 Robinhood lead.
The Robinhood defense took over after that, nailing things down to record the clean sheet victory.
T&T's Soca Warriors back in top 100 on FIFA World Rankings list; Reggae Boyz now at 56th
Eight-time Caribbean Cup champions Trinidad and Tobago have surged inside the top 100 on the FIFA World Rankings list for the first time in almost five years following recent wins over El Salvador and Curacao.
The Soca Warriors – in the latest list published Thursday – climbed four places up to 98th from 102, a spot they held in the last rankings in July. They were last inside the FIFA top 100 at 92nd in December 2018. Based on their world position, the twin island republic remains the fourth highest rated in Caribbean Football Union (CFU).
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz jumped two places up the FIFA list to 56th and remain number in CFU ahead of Haiti at 87th world ranked and Curacao (90th). Antigua and Barbuda complete the CFU’s top five at 137th.
In the only change to the CFU’s top 10, Guyana have climbed into 10th position with a three place move to 165th in the world, as Barbados – the result of Nations League losses to Montserrat and Nicaragua – slipped out of the top 10. The fell six places on the world list from 166th to 172nd.
World champions Argentina strengthened their grip at the summit of the world rankings. The Argentines, who dethroned Brazil at the top in April, defeated Ecuador and Bolivia in their 2026 World Cup qualifiers earlier this month to improve their status.
Despite losing to Germany in a friendly last week, France retained second place, followed by Brazil (third), England (fourth) and Belgium (fifth).
Thomas's hat-trick lifts Cavalier above Dom Rep's Moca
Shaniel Thomas notched a hat-trick to help Jamaican club Cavalier take a big step toward the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Club semifinals with a 3-0 victory on Tuesday night against Moca of the Dominican Republic in Group A action at Sabina Park.
With the win, Cavalier now sit atop the group with seven points through three matches, while Moca remain in third place with three points after two games.
Thomas's hat-trick, which is the first in Caribbean Cup history, propelled him to the top of the tournament goalscoring leaderboard with four goals.
It was a fairly even start between the two sides, but midway through the first 45 minutes, in the 24th, Cavalier were able to break the deadlock through Thomas.
A long ball was hoofed up the left flank for Makenson Cadet, who ran onto it and then chipped over a defender, allowing Thomas to meet the ball with a powerful header into net and a 1-0 Cavalier advantage.
Cavalier kept their foot on the gas and a swinging right-footed effort from Nicholas Hamilton in the 49th that curled just wide was the next big look at goal for the hosts.
Another chance would come for Cavalier in the 58th and they made the most of it when the Moca defence failed to clear their lines and Thomas was all too happy to take a simple back pass and hammer in a shot from a few yards out to double the lead to 2-0.
Thomas wasn’t done, and a minute after, he was brought down by Moca defender Manuel Vidal in the area, the Cavalier frontman smashed home a penalty in the 77th to nail down his hat-trick and the 3-0 Cavalier victory.
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
