It’s official: the SKNFA Premier League regular season has ended; the Super Six teams have been decided and the three teams that have been relegated have been confirmed. The six teams in the Super Six playoffs are: St. Paul’s United, Cayon Rockets, Village Superstars, Old Road United Jets, Conaree FC, and Newtown United. Let’s review the final match week matches that led to this outcome.
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 2nd 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 56th 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 47th minute and a David Joseph goal in the 58th.
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 1st 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 18th minute and Denis Fleming in the 34th 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.
Shaheem Prentice’s two goals spurred Newtown to a 2-1 win over Sadlers in the St Kitts and Nevis Premier League on Monday night.
In what was the final game of the weekend of matches, Prentice scored in the second and 22nd 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 60th 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 48th.
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 14th 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 29th. He added a second in the 75th to give Cayon 3-1 lead. However, Nequan Phipps made things interesting when he scored Conaree’s second in the 78th 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.
SOLIAS Conaree FC started off their 2023 SKNFA Premier League campaign with a 2-0 victory over St. Peters FC at the Verchilds playing field on Saturday evening.
Byron Phillip opened the scoring in the 36th minute with Anthony Grant applying the second in the 87th minute to seal the victory. Coach Al Richards said after he was pleased with the win despite his team not performing to its best.
“Congrats to my team for winning a 2-nil victory,” he said.
“My thoughts on the game are simple; the first game of the season, we didn't really get it right, but we got the victory."
Meanwhile, Coach Austin Dico Huggins of St. Peters said his team failed to take the chances they created.
“I think we need to be more lethal in the attacking third of the field and we need to concentrate more on the job, especially on the game plan that is laid out," Huggins said.
"That's all we need to work on and get more involved mentally; because it is important that we remember everything that we need to do, in which area of the field that we need to do it and we need to play harder, more intense; a lot more running off the ball, so therefore we need to get fitter."
In the second match of the day, defending champions S.L. Horfords St. Paul’s United were held to a 0-0 draw by home side MFCR Old Road United Jets.
Both teams created few chances but failed to make them count.
In the matches played on Friday (Feb. 10), S-Krave Newtown United and Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs both recorded their first wins of the new season.
Newtown brushed aside Hotsprings Bath United 5-1 with goals coming from Sylvester Caines in the 13th minute and D'Jaun Warner in the 35th minute.
Leranje Liburd added a third 56th minute and Kennedy Rodriguez made it 4-0 from the penalty spot in the 59th. Akimba Lawrence scored the fifth in the 87th minute before Phillron Lavia got a consolation from the spot 90th minute.
Anthony “Nets” Isaac, who has returned as the coach for Newtown and he was happy with Friday’s result.
On the other hand, Coach of Bath Alex Claxon, said the players are finding their groove, seeing this was the first match, but promised some adjustments for the next match.
Meanwhile, Spurs edged newly promoted Jones Group Sandy Point FC 2-1.
Steve Archibald opened the scoring in the 19th minute with Valmon Jeffers adding a second from the penalty spot in the 60th minute.
Shaquan Pemberton scored a consolation in stoppage time.
Spurs Head Coach Steven Brown said the win was a good one, considering the challenges they endured with match conditions. “We executed well enough. There were some challenges that we faced coming out here; the size of the field was a bit smaller so we couldn’t execute our game plan to the fullest, but nonetheless, the guys adjusted enough,” he said.
“We were able to capitalize on our chances and scored a few goals. We got the three points, which is what we came here for.”
The upcoming Premier League fixtures this weekend will be played in Cayon, Newtown and Warner Park.
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