All Saints United have been crowned as champions of the 2023-24 Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Premier League.

All Saints entered the 18th and final game on May 5 on 46 points, trailing Grenades FC by two points.

They then defeated Garden Stars 3-1 in their final game while Grenades were held to a 1-1 draw by Ottos Rangers FC who played the ultimate spoiler role as their relegation to the first division was already confirmed before this game.

In the end, both All Saints United and Grenades FC finished with identical records of 16 wins, one draw and one loss from their 18 games.

However, by virtue of a goal difference of 55 compared to 48 by Grenades, All Saints United were crowned champions.

The top five were rounded out by Old Road FC, FC Aston Villa and Hoppers FC with totals of 38 points, 33 points and 29 points, respectively.

The ABFA issued a statement congratulating All Saints on winning the title as well as acknowledging the contributions of all the teams to a successful season.

“The ABFA Executive members extend heartfelt congratulations to the management, coaches, and players of All Saints United for their triumphant victory in clinching the 2023/24 ABFA Premier League trophy. We also commend Grenades FC and Old Road FC for their outstanding performances, securing second and third place respectively, and contributing to the thrilling championship race,” the statement read.

It continued, “this season has been filled with excitement, with the premier division delivering a nail-biting finish. The first and second divisions are also gearing up for an equally thrilling climax. We express gratitude to our dedicated fans whose unwavering support has made this season unforgettable.”

Joining the aforementioned Rangers in next season’s first division will be Sap FC and Empire FC who finished 13th and 15th, respectively.

Swetes FC, who finished 12th, will fight for their spot in next season’s Premier league in the playoffs with Police FC and Attacking Saints who finished third and fourth in the first division.

Potter’s Tigers and Five Islands FC were the top two finishers in the first division and have booked spots in next season’s Premier League.

Individually, Old Road’s Raheem Deterville was crowned as both the season’s golden boot winner and MVP.

All Saints United’s Jayden Martin and Blake Thompson took home prizes for best goalkeeper and best defender while FC Aston Villa’s Tyrik Hughes was named best young player.

 

 

FC Aston Villa now stand alone at the top of the Antigua & Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Premier League table thanks to a mammoth 8-0 win over Cedar Grove Blue Jays at the ABFA Technical Centre in Pynter on Friday.

Yasnay Torres ripped through the Blue Jays defense to finish with five goals on the day. His goals came in the 22nd, 37th, 38th, 55th and 68th minutes while the other three goals came from Shahoi Dorsett in the 42nd, Sean Tomlinson in the 53rd and Joshua Ferdinand in the 91st.

FC Aston Villa now have 37 points from 15 games to lead the table while the Blue Jays are 14th with 10 points from 14 games.

Grenades are only a point behind FC Aston Villa after a 3-0 win over Ottos Rangers on Sunday. Vashami Allen opened the scoring for Grenades in the 10th minute before the points were secured late in the second half through goals from Carl Osbourne in the 83rd minute and Donovan Baptiste in the 92nd minute. Ottos Rangers are ninth in the table with 19 points from 13 games.

Sunday’s other games saw Swetes and Greenbay Hoppers play out a 1-1 draw while the game between Pigott’s Bullets and Empire ended in a similar score-line.

In the first game, Rodney Lawrence opened the scoring for the Hoppers in the second minute before Shalon Knight got Swetes’ equalizer in the 65th minute. The Hoppers are sixth in the table with 22 points from 14 games while Swetes are one spot below them with the same number of points and one more game played.

In the second game, the Bullets took the lead in the 19th minute through Tyrique Thwaites before Rakeewm Joseph equalized for Empire in the 67th minute. Empire are tenth in the standings with 18 points from 14 games while Pigott’s Bullets are 13th with 15 points from their 14 matches.

The first of three games on Saturday saw Old Road get a 5-0 win over Five Islands to move to fourth in the table with 27 points from 15 outings.

Christhian Hereira and Raheem Deterville each got doubles for Old Road while Jonathan Shoy was also on the scoresheet. Hereira’s strikes came in the seventh and 68th minutes, Deterville’s in the 31st and 38th minutes and Shoy scored in the eighth minute. Five Islands are 15th in the table with three points from 15 games.

Game two on Saturday saw Parham secure a 3-1 win over Willikies. Parham took the lead in the 21st minute through Malcolm Stewart before doubling their advantage four minutes before the half through Stewart again. James Simon gave Willikies hope of a comeback in the 57th minute before Kenja Benjamin sealed the points for Parham 10 minutes later.

Parham are now 11th in the table with 18 points from 15 games while Willikies remain eighth 20 points from 14 games.

Tryum secured a 2-1 win over Liberta Blackhawks in Saturday’s final game. After a goalless first half, Tryum took the lead in the 51st minute through Chevel Cunningham before Curlon Joseph doubled their lead 20 minutes later. Liberta got a consolation goal in the 86th minute through Abraham Barry.

Tryum are fifth in the standings with 25 points from 15 games while Liberta Blackhawks remain at the foot of the 16-team table with two points from their 12 games.

The game week will end with third-placed All Saints United taking on 12th-placed SAP on Monday.

 

 

 

All Saints United and FC Aston Villa are now level on points at the top of the table after week 14 of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Premier League held at the ABFA Technical Centre in Pynter.

All Saints United moved to 34 points from 14 matches with a 2-0 win over Willikies on Sunday.

Shafeeq Joseph and Daryan James got the goals for the new league leaders in the 57th and 77th minutes, respectively.

FC Aston Villa boast a similar record in 14 matches thanks to a 1-0 win over Piggott’s Bullets on Saturday.

The game seemed to be heading for a draw before Shahoi Dorsett sealed the crucial three points for Villa with a 95th minute penalty.

Former leaders Grenades are now third, one point behind All Saints and FC Aston Villa after suffering a 1-4 defeat at the hands of Greenbay Hoppers on Sunday.

The Hoppers went 4-0 up in the span of 28 minutes as Rodney Lawrence (26’), Javorn Stevens (31’), a 45th minute Chad Williams own goal and an Akeem Christian own goal in the 54th sealed the fate for Grenades.

They got a consolation goal through Barrington Blake in the 56th minute. The Hoppers are now fifth with 21 points from 13 games.

Old Road is fourth, nine points behind Grenades after a 5-1 win over Swetes in the week’s opening game on Friday.

It was Swetes who took an early lead when Shackwon Simon scored in the 16th minute.

Stefan Smith equalized for Old Road eight minutes later and the teams went into half-time with no further goals added.

Things changed quickly in the second half as Jaheim Hazelwood gave Old Road the lead six minutes after the restart before a Raheem Deterville double in the 61st and 71st minutes gave them a 4-1 advantage. Jabarry Chandler put the final nail in the coffin in the 88th minute. Swetes are sixth in the table with 21 points from 14 games.

Saturday’s other matches saw Empire beat Ottos Rangers 3-0 and Parham secure a 3-1 win over Cedar Grove Blue Jays.

Empire’s goals came from Rakeem Joseph in the seventh minute, Nyque Watkins in the 13th minute and Shemar Scott in the 45th minute.

They are now 10th in the league with 17 points from 13 games while Ottos Rangers are eighth with 19 points from 13 outings.

Parham took the lead J’Twan Brown in the 45th minute before Malcolm Stewart doubled the lead in the 48th minute. The Blue Jays got a lifeline in the 50th minute through a Keon Greene penalty before Stewart got his second of the game in the 81st minute to secure the win.

With 15 points from 14 games, Parham are now 12th in the standings while their opponents are 14th with 10 points from 13 matches.

Sunday’s other game saw Liberta Blackhawks and SAP combine for 12 goals, with the latter securing an 8-4 win.

Shavorn Phillip gave the Blackhawks the lead in the 28th minute before SAP equalized through Tyrique Tonge in the 30th. It was 2-1 Liberta a minute later as Louron Anthony scored before SAP equalized once again, this time through Danniel Osbourne in the 42nd minute.

The only word to adequately describe the second half was ‘goal-fest.’

Fifteen minutes after the resumption, Tonge got his second of the game to give SAP their first lead before Phillip got his second of the game a minute later for Liberta to make it 3-3.

SAP then broke the game open through a Peter Byers double in the 73rd and 77th minutes before Tonge got his third and fourth of the game in the 81st and 87th minutes to make in 7-3, effectively ending the game.

Malique Martin got Liberta’s fourth goal in the 89th minute but the scoring was capped off in the 90th minute when Byers completed his hat-trick, the second for SAP on the day.

SAP are now 11th in the table with 16 points from 13 games while the Blackhawks, with only two points from 11 games, are last in the standings.

Ninth-placed Tryum and 15th placed Five Islands will do battle on Monday to close out the game week.

 

 

 

Grenades FC, Old Road and Tryum were among the winners as action continued in the ABFA Premier League at the ABFA Technical Centre in Pynter.

On Friday, Grenades beat Swetes 2-0 through goals from Carl Osbourne in the 58th minute and Barrington Blake in the 88th minute.

There were three matches played on Saturday.

Old Road secured a 4-0 win over Liberta Blackhawks in the day’s first game. Raheem Deterville led the charge with a hat-trick. His goals came in the 10th, 56th and 73rd minutes. Jonathan Shoy scored their other goal in the 62nd minute.

The most exciting game of the week came when Tryum and All Saints United played out a seven-goal thriller, with Tryum coming out on top 4-3.

Zafique Drew gave All Saints United the lead in the eighth minute before an Escalliere Bennett own goal in the 11th minute levelled proceedings.

Tryum went ahead on the stroke of half-time through Eliot Donawa. Nine minutes after the second half resumption, Blake Thompson scored the second own goal of the game, this time to All Saints United’s benefit to make in 2-2.

A 65th minute penalty from Chevel Cunningham helped Tryum regain the advantage before, five minutes later, Leroy Graham scored for All Saints United to make it 3-3. The winning goal came in the 76th minute when Cunningham scored his second of the game.

The day’s third encounter saw goals from Malcolm Stewart in the 21st minute and Tevaughn Harriette in the 87th minute helped Parham beat SAP 2-1. Kevon Samuel got SAP’s goal in the 35th minute.

Sunday, Piggot’s Bullets and Ottos Rangers played out a 1-1 draw. Akeem Isaac got the goal for the Bullets in the 39th minute while Josue Arias got the Rangers’ equalizer in the 72nd minute.

Five Islands and Greenbay Hoppers played out a dramatic 1-1 draw in the day’s second match. Tony Sanchez gave Five Islands the lead in the 16th minute before Jordan Riley scored a dramatic equalizer for the Hoppers in the 91st minute.

Empire got a 2-0 win over Cedar Grove Blue Jays in Sunday’s final game. Rakeem Joseph (62’) and Jayvaughn Joseph (75’) got the goals.

Willikies FC and FC Aston Villa will close out week 13 on Monday.

After 13 rounds, Grenades FC are top of the table with 33 points, two points ahead of All Saints FC in second and five ahead of FC Aston Villa in third.

 

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