Dieppe Bay Eagles Open Season Atop Table

BASSETERRE — TGE Dieppe Bay Eagles, who finished last season second-to-last in the SKNFA/National Bank Group Premier League, sit atop the standings after Week One following a 5-1 rout of 607 Construction Lodge Patriots on Saturday at the National Bank Group Technical Center, powered by a Lyandre Williams hat trick.

Reynaldo Matthew got Dieppe Bay moving in the 2nd minute, and Josiah Bradshaw doubled the lead in the 31st. Williams then took over, scoring in the 32nd minute and again in first-half stoppage time to send the Eagles into the break up 4-0. He completed his hat trick in the 54th minute to make it 5-0 before Lodge Patriots got on the board through Javern Matthew in the 62nd.

The match saw both sides reduced to 10 men. Lodge Patriots’ Ron Johnson was sent off with a straight red card in the 25th minute, leaving the visitors a man down for the majority of the contest. Dieppe Bay lost a player of their own in the 70th minute when Quasim Greene, already booked in the 25th, was shown a second yellow.

Jamar Johnson and Mirico Cranston were also cautioned for the Eagles, while Leon Huggins and Colin Jr. Norford picked up yellow cards for Lodge Patriots. No penalty shoot-out was needed.

Both sides made a flurry of second-half substitutions. Dieppe Bay rotated in Diandra’ Challenger, Sylvaughn Romney, Cordelle Romney, Alphonso Murray and Xavier Wilkinson, while Lodge Patriots turned to Saeed Hanley, Chavez Jarvis and Aldren Gumbs.

The five-goal haul gives Dieppe Bay a league-best +4 goal difference through one match, level on points with Village Superstars, St. Paul’s United and Newtown United atop the standings but ranked first on goal difference. It’s a sharp turnaround for a club that spent last season fighting to stay off the bottom of the table.

Lodge Patriots open the new campaign with a defeat, sitting ninth after Week One.