The finalists for the 2024 Keith Gumbs U17 Tier 1 League and the Rams U13 Premier Youth Cup have been decided after thrilling semi-final encounters that delivered drama, heroics, and resilience from the young footballers.
The finals for both competitions will take place at the NBGC Technical Centre in St. Peters. The Keith Gumbs U17 Tier 1 League final is scheduled for Sunday, October 14, at 6 pm, while the Rams U13 Premier Youth Cup final will be held on Monday at 6 pm. Fans can expect intense competition as these young teams vie for championship glory.
In the Keith Gumbs U17 League semi-finals on Thursday, October 10, Dieppe Bay secured their place in the finals with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Newtown United. Dieppe Bay stormed to a 2-0 lead in the first half, putting Newtown under pressure. Newtown, however, rallied in the second half, pulling a goal back late in the match to make it 2-1. In a dramatic finish, Newtown earned a penalty in the dying moments, but Dieppe Bay's goalkeeper came up with a crucial save to preserve the win and send his team into the finals.
The other semi-final was a dominant display from Village Superstars, who came from 1-0 down against St. Peters FC to secure a 4-1 victory. Jermaine Powell was the hero of the match, scoring all four goals for Village, carrying his team to a commanding win. Village’s captain, Carl Newton, praised the resilience of his teammates and their determination to prove a point. “All weekend, we were focusing on beating them... we encouraged the players to go hard all the time, no matter what,” said Newton. He anticipates a tough battle in Sunday’s finals, describing it as an "intense and aggressive" contest. Newton also hopes his team can replicate their 2020 treble, with Village Superstars’ U15 team having already claimed the Atiba Harris U15 League title, and their U13 side set to compete in the Rams U13 Premier Youth Cup finals on Monday.
In the Rams U13 Premier Youth Cup semi-finals, Conaree Fireball International pulled off a stunning comeback against Saddlers Dream Chasers. Saddlers looked set for victory with a 2-0 lead well into the second half, but Conaree pulled one back and then conceded a third due to a defensive error, making it 3-1. Undeterred, Conaree staged a remarkable recovery, scoring two quick goals to level the match and send it to penalties, where they held their nerve to book their place in the finals.
The other U13 semi-final saw Village Superstars secure a comfortable 3-1 victory over Dieppe Bay, sealing their spot in Monday’s final and giving the club a chance at another youth title this season.
S L Horsfords St. Paul’s United maintained their lead at the top of the National Bank Group of Companies Premier League table with a 2-0 win over Honda Newtown United on Sunday March 24th at Warner Park, despite going down to ten men when Omar Francis was issued a red card late in the first half.
St. Paul’s have 12 points, winning all four of their Premier League matches thus far.
The goals came from Nicquan Phipps in the fourth minute and Kalonji Clarke in the 45th minute.
The St. Paul’s match was part of a rare triple header on Sunday; the first ending 6-0 to SOL IAS Conaree FC over Trafalgar Southstars; their first win of the season.
The goals came from Errol O’Loughlin in the 24th minute, Jahquan Hendrickson in the 28th minute, Byron Phillip in the 46th minute, Tijani Fahie in the 50th minute, Quanieki Clarke in the 64th minute and Shawn Martin (pk) in the 90th +3 minute.
The second match saw Flow 4G Cayon Rockets also earning their first win of the season with a come from behind to defeat Hotsprings Bath United 2-1.
Venreece Richards gave Bath United the lead in the 53rd minute before Cayon Rockets equalized 23 minutes later through Vinceroy Nelson. Five minutes later, Shaheem Prentice got the winner.
On Saturday March 23, SKELEC Garden Hotspurs and MFCR Old Road United Jets came to a goalless draw, while Development Bank St. Peters FC delivered a shocked 3-2 come from behind win against defending champions Rams Village Superstars.
Jayan Duncan (10th minute), Kadeem Rawlins (72nd minute) and Shavene Boston (89th minute) got the goals for Hotspurs while the St. Peters goals came from Joseph Wilkes in the 18th minute and Kimaree Rogers in the 52nd minute.
The National Bank Group of Companies Premier League continues on March 27th and 28th ahead of the Easter weekend.
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.
Flow 4G Cayon Rockets defeated Honda Newtown United 2-0 on Monday in their rescheduled match in the St. Kitts and Nevis Premier League and move to the top of the table.
In the match played at the Newtown Sporting Complex, Carlos Bertie gave the visitors the lead in the 22nd minute. Malik Hendrickson added the second in the 39th 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 71st 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 14th 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 45th 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.
MRFC Old Road United Jets and SOL IAS Conaree FC threw down gauntlets to the rest of the SKNFA Premier League, with resounding victories on Sunday at the Warner Park.
Conaree FC dismissed Elco Ltd Security Forces 3-0 in the early kick off at 2pm with goals from Quanieki Clarke in the third, Nicquan Phipps in the 53rd and Ilivity Pemberton 76th.
In the day’s other match, Tiquanny Williams signaled his intent to become the league’s top scorer for a second straight season, scoring a hat-trick while leading Old Road to a 4-0 victory over St. Peters.
Williams scored in the second, a penalty kick in the 24th and added a third in the 29th in the rout while Niquan Browne scored from the spot in the 65th.
Coach Alexis Morris of Old Road, said the manner of his team’s victory is a message sent to the rest of the league that Old Road is a team to be reckoned with.
“It’s a step in the right direction and I must say, definitely it’s a statement for the other teams that O R, as I said before, is a team
to be reckoned with,” he said, adding that they have been practicing since December and are looking forward to a great season.
Meanwhile, Coach Austin “Dico” Huggins said a makeshift defensive unit was the reason for his team’s poor performance, especially in the first half after missing out on some of his best players because of injury.
“I think we were too relaxed. We had to play with a makeshift defense. Today (Sunday) was the first time that some of those guys played because we are now faced with a lot of injuries,” Huggins said. “We had to make the changes (Sunday) because from (Saturday’s) practice, we learned that some players would not be in because of injury. I think they did creditably well in the second half.”
In Saturday's games, defending SKNFA Premier League champions S. L. Horfords St. Paul’s United brushed aside Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs 3-1 for their first win of the season on Saturday night.
In the second match of a double-header at Newtown, Ordell Flemming put St Paul’s ahead in the10th minute with Keithroy Freeman adding a second nine minutes later.
Despite having Jamal Jeffers sent off in the 53rd for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, St Paul added a third via Malik Clarke’s the 68th minute strike before Jabez Dorsett scored a consolation in the 83rd.
Manager of St. Paul’s Austin Lewis said the team needed to make some adjustments after last week’s 0-0 draw with Old Road and was pleased with the performance Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Spurs Assistant Coach Rohan Browne, said the team’s preparation for the match was affected following an incident in their community during the week.
In the opening match on Saturday, Newtown United emerged victors in their clash with Jones Group Sandy Point FC during a tension-filled in which each team had a player sent off.
Sandy Point's Jahlyan Burt and Leranje Liburd of Newtown were both shown red cards for violent conduct in the 23rd minute.
In terms of actual football Kennedy Rodriquez opened the scoring in the 11th minute from the penalty spot before Yohannes Mitcham doubling the lead just before the interval.
Anthony Alves pulled one back for Sandy Point in the 63rd minute.
Coach Anthony “Nets” Isaac of Newtown, was understandably pleased with outcome.
“We see the stuff (we practice) coming out in the game. It’s not a hundred percent, but we are getting there,” he said.
Shane Jeffers, the Assistant Manager of the Sandy Point FC, believed his team was competitive but failed to find a second goal.
“We basically gave ourselves a chance in the second half. We had to make some changes—two red cards in the first half on either team. A few adjustments from the coach in the second half and we bore fruit to that,” Jeffers said.
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