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 24^th 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 45^th 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 24^th minute, Jahquan Hendrickson in the 28^th minute, Byron Phillip in the 46^th minute, Tijani Fahie in the 50^th minute, Quanieki Clarke in the 64^th minute and Shawn Martin (pk) in the 90^th +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 53^rd 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 (10^th minute), Kadeem Rawlins (72^nd minute) and Shavene Boston (89^th minute) got the goals for Hotspurs while the St. Peters goals came from Joseph Wilkes in the 18^th minute and Kimaree Rogers in the 52^nd minute.

The National Bank Group of Companies Premier League continues on March 27^th and 28^th ahead of the Easter weekend.

St. Peters FC’s six-game winning streak was broken on Friday when MFCR Old Road United Jets overcame a deficit to defeat them 4-1 in Verchilds in round two action of the SKNFA Premier League.

Tyquan Terrel put St. Peters ahead in the 28^th min and they led for the rest of the first half. The second half, however, was all Old Road.

Tiquanny Williams started the comeback with a penalty in the 52^nd minute and followed that up with a second goal in the 20 minutes later to give Old Road the lead before Kaylon Liburd scored a third in the 75^th minute. Captain Nequan Browne completed the goalscoring in stoppage time.

Old Road coach, Alexis Morris, credited his team for their fight and resolve in the second half to claim a resounding victory.

“At the end of the first (half), we should not have been 1-0 down with (Tiquanny) getting in front of the goal. On any day he would have been scoring those goals. Nonetheless, we kept working and we dug deep and we found a way back, like I asked them to…I know we were going to get one back within the first 10 minutes and that set up the game for us,” Morris said. 

Coach Austin Huggins of St. Peters said the team was unable to refocus after having a goal they scored early in the match, ruled out for offside.

“First of all, let me congratulate OR for scoring four goals. I think that the game was a good game. We had opportunities to score as early as couple of seconds after the game started, but the goal was disallowed and I think that the referee made some very difficult decisions that worked hard against us, broke our momentum, and put us in a very unfavorable position,” Huggins said.  

In the day’s earlier match, league leaders Flow 4G Cayon Rockets comfortably defeated Jones Group Sandy Point FC 3-0, also in Verchilds.

Raheem Davis scored for Cayon in the 4^th minute, Kavon Phillip scored a Sandy Point own goal in the 10^th minute and Devontay Carty scored Cayon’s third in the 64^th minute.

Coach Al Edwards of Cayon said despite the win, his team needs to do a better job in finishing their crosses.

“I like the fact that we got down the wings, which is one of our strengths. I like the fact we are putting in the crosses, but I don’t like the fact that we are not finishing those crosses,” he said. 

Shaquan Pemberton a player with Sandy Point bemoaned his team’s loss at the bottom of the table.

“We started the game wrong and we didn’t commit to the plays and (Cayon) capitalized on it,” Pemberton said.

Fast Cash Saddlers FC suffered a 4-1 loss to Rams Village Superstars on Saturday at the St. Paul’s playing field.

Glenville Gumbs gave Saddlers a rare early lead in the 18^th minute but that was soon erased when Village won a penalty, which was converted by G’vaune Amory in the 32^nd minute.

In the second half, it was more Village, again earning another penalty, this time converted by Joseph Wilkes in the 60^th min. Kimaree Rogers then got two breakaway runs, scoring both in the 73^rd and in stoppage time.

Assistant Coach for Village, Vaughn Patrick, said they had a slow start, but they encouraged the players to keep pushing.

“We had a slow start; the fellows went out a little flat-footed. We went behind, we encouraged them, talked to them. We put in the fighting spirit. We got one goal; one led to two, two led to three, three led to four. We just keep on the pressure on them and play a little faster. We were too slow in the beginning,” Patrick said.

Coach of Saddlers Samuel Phipps said some tough calls by the referees, affected their ability to get a positive result. He said they will have to work hard now to get some wins under their belt.

“We played most of the difficult teams in the first half of the second round and then we intend to go back again and work hard and try to get some wins under our belt,” Phipps said.  

In the next match-up, S L Horfords St. Paul’s United and Newtown United drew 1-1. Deneilson Thomas of Newtown gave the East Basseterre outfit the lead before April’s player of the month, Keithroy Freeman, equalized moments later heading in a corner.

Coach Anthony “Nets” Isaac of Newtown was pleased with the performance but said more work must be done defensively.

“I am about 80 percent satisfied, counting the last game we played against St. Paul’s. I think we did much better defensively, even though we gave up that soft goal,” Isaac said.

Manager of St. Paul’s, Austin Lewis, said the result is better than a loss.

“I appreciate the point,” he said.  

Sunday’s action saw SOL IAS Conaree FC and Bath United earning crucial wins at Warner Park.

Conaree edged Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs 2-1. Errol O’Loughlin scored both of Conaree’s goals from the penalty spot in the 38^th and 71^st minutes, while the lone goal from Spurs came from Steve Archibald in the 42^nd min.

Coach of Conaree Al Richards said it was an important win for them.

“It was a dog fight. I told my team that it was a derby…this win was needed tonight in order to get up back in the table in the top six. The guys came out and performed, fight to the end and I must say congrats to my team,” Richards said.

Hotspurs coach, Stephen Brown, said the performance of his team was good but it was unfortunate they were unable to get the win.

“The performance of the guys wasn’t bad at all. They really put in a shift. We had some unfortunate calls that went against us that I felt decided the game but outside of that, I am content with the performance of the team,” Brown said. 

In Sunday’s earlier match, Bath United trounced Security Forces FC 4-0. Goals were scored by Kenaicy Dorsett, Jalden Meyers, Omarion Bartlette, and Jahmal Lewis in the 19h, 1^st minute of first-half stoppage time, 62^nd and 81^st minutes respectively.

St. Peters FC continued their impressive winning run in the 2023 SKNFA Premier League, racking up their 6^th consecutive win after coming from behind to defeat Jones Group Sandy Point FC 2-1 on Sunday at Warner Park.

Sandy Point took the lead through T'Ondre Rouse in the 7^th minute before Shomari Hanley equalized for St. Peters 10 minutes before halftime. Shevene Boston got the winner in the 69^th minute.

In the second match of Sunday’s doubleheader, MFCR Old Road United Jets and Rams Village Superstars drew 1-1. Jardel Isaac got the goal for Old Road in the 9^th minute before Dahjal Kelly equalized for Rams Village in the 22^nd minute.

With this weekend’s results, Cayon Rockets remain at the top of the table, but only by three points as defending champions S L Horfords St. Paul’s United have narrowed the gap.

Cayon has 33 points from 14 matches while St. Paul’s United has 30 points. St. Peters are among the biggest movers as they are now in 3^rd spot with 27 points after racking up six consecutive wins.

Old Road Jets remain in 4^th with 24 points, Newtown United in 5^th with 22 points, and Village Superstars in 6^th with 21 points. Conaree FC are in 7^th with 20 points and a game in hand, Garden Hotspurs are in 8^th with 15 points, and Bath United is in 9^th with 15 points.

In the relegation zone are Saddlers FC, Security Forces FC, and Sandy Point FC with 11, 5, and 2 points respectively.

Hat-trick hero Keithroy Freeman led S L Horsfords St. Paul’s to a 4-0 victory over Fast Cash Saddlers United on Saturday in the first 2023 SKNFA Premier League fixture to play on the island of Nevis. The match was the first of a doubleheader at the Nevis Athletics Stadium in Long Point.

Freeman’s goals came in the 45^th, 46^th and 79^th minutes while the fourth goal came through Keshorne Warde in stoppage time.

Taju Clarke, a player with St. Paul’s, said the team prevailed despite not playing their very best.

“The performance you saw today was an overall good performance because we scored four goals and kept a clean sheet. There were instances when the game dropped off but our team, even though we fall off, we can regroup and score as many goals as possible,” he said before noting that the approach going forward would be to take it one game at a time.

He also had high marks for the Nevis Athletics Stadium as a venue for Premier League matches.

“The field is much better than most fields…despite it being open…it’s still a good venue,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Coach of Saddlers United, Samuel Phipps, suggested the performance of his team was below par.

“It was a really bad off day for us today. We lost 4-0. Nevertheless, I have to thank the guys for trying their best but again we gave up a soft goal just before halftime, and as soon as the second half began we gave up another soft goal, and that has been the trend since the first round. It was a tough loss,” Phipps said.

Meanwhile, Bath United eked out a 1-1 draw with league Leaders Flow 4G Cayon Rockets in front of a Nevisian crowd for the first time this season.

After a goalless first half, Malik Hendrickson gave Cayon the lead in the 74^th minute before, eight minutes later, Jalden Myers converted a penalty to level proceedings.

Cayon Coach, Al Edwards, said the match was a tale of two halves.

“In the first half, we got frustrated and went away from the game plan. At half time we were able to look at some of the points that we needed to do and controlled much of the second half. The second half really belonged to us but we weren’t able to create much of the opportunities that we wanted,” he said, noting that it’s back to the drawing board for their next match. 

Coach Alex Claxton of Bath said it was important that the team picked up results from this match in front of the Nevisian fans.

“I think that it was very, very important that we pick up points from this game, knowing that it’s our first game at home,” he said. “This is something we were looking forward to and we are happy with the turnout and we wanted to make sure we didn’t disappoint our fans and our supporters,” he said.

The matches on Friday between Security Forces FC and Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs and SOL IAS Conaree FC and Newtown United both ended in 0-0 draws.

There were wins for Flow 4G Cayon Rockets, MFCR Old Road United Jets and S.L. Horsfords St. Paul’s United, as round two action continued Saturday and Sunday in the 2023 SKNFA Premier League.

Firstly, on Saturday, Flow 4G Cayon Rockets secured a 4-0 win over Security Forces.

Goals from Devontay Carty in the 27th minute and Carlos Bertie in the 30th and 33rd gave the Rockets a 3-0 lead at halftime before a Shaqkeem Butler 63rd minute strike completed the scoring.

In the other Saturday game, MCFR United Old Road Jets overcame a 0-1 halftime deficit to beat Newtown United 2-1.

Shaheem Prentice gave Newtown the lead in first half stoppage time before a double from Tiquanny Williams in the 51^st and 55^th minutes gave the Jets the win.

On Sunday, Fast Cash Saddlers and Sol Island Conaree played out a 1-1 draw.

After a scoreless first half, Tijani Fahie opened the scoring for Conaree in the 62^nd minute before Navaldo Champagne equalized for Saddlers 12 minutes later.

Saddlers coach, Samuel Phipps, was pleased with his team’s performance, despite giving up a soft goal early in the second half.

“Unfortunately, we went behind again with what I think was a soft goal, but nevertheless, traits of a good team, we always come back and try to level the score so I am pleased with the guys and their performance,” Phipps said.

Coach Al Richards of Conaree was disappointed as he felt his team should have won the match.

“I am very disappointed today in giving up these points today. I think it was a game for us to win. We didn’t defend well the set piece from Saddlers and gave up a goal. This was a chance to go up the table, maybe to 4^th position but we slipped it up again,” Richards said.

In Sunday’s second game, SL Horsfords St. Paul United secured a 2-0 win over Jones Group Sandy Point.

A 54^th minute penalty from Keithroy Freeman and a goal from Diandre Challenger in the 78^th minute secured the win after a scoreless opening half.

Manager of St. Paul’s, Austin Lewis, was not impressed with the performance of his team.

“The performance was not the best. I was not impressed with the performance today. I think we dropped our standard,” Lewis said.

Sandy Point player, Shaquan Pemberton, said the team played well but made a couple of mistakes, which cost them the match.

“I feel like the team played well today. Just a couple mistakes we made. Next time, we must come out and do what we do again,” Pemberton said.

On Friday, St. Peters FC scored a 2-1 win over Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs.

St. Peters took the lead in the 30^th minute through Shevene Boston. 52 minutes later, Spurs thought they rescued a point when Steve Archibald got their equalizer before St. Peters snatched victory five minutes later through Tyquan Terrell.

St. Peters Coach, Austin Dico Huggins, said despite this win, they still have a long way to go.

“The second round started today for us. We had a very interesting game…we had a training session yesterday and we were able to put some of the things that we did in training in order to be successful in the game. I think the game was very competitive and we managed to win the game. We are going to keep working because we have a long way to go,” Huggins said.

Assistant Coach of Spurs, Rohan Browne, said this result is disappointing.

“We worked hard to come back in the second half to equalize the game,” he said, calling the penalty call a “contentious” one.

“It’s disappointing and we worked hard,” he added.

In the earlier match up, Rams Village Superstars won by default as their opponent Bath United did not show up for the game.

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 59^th. 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.