Cayon’s Statement Win, Newtown Holds Off Old Road

Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 11, 2023 (SKNFA) — It was a statement performance with a statement win for Flow 4G Cayon Rockets, as they dismissed SKNFA Premier League defending champions SL Horfords St. Paul’s United 3-1 in an exciting match on Saturday at St. Mary’s Park, Cayon. Malik Henderson got the goalscoring off for Cayon in the 34th minute with Mervin Lewis doubling that lead from the penalty spot in the 65th min. That was the beginning of a goal-burst in the match as three goals were scored in four minutes—Lewis’ goal was followed by a strike from Keithroy Freeman of St. Paul’s, one minute later. But then, the very next minute Devontay Carty restored Cayon’s two-goal cushion with a great strike from the left wing to seal the win for the league leaders. The performance pleased the home fans and head coach Al Edwards. “We stuck to the game plan as much as possible. We expected them to come at us in the first half, so we soaked up the pressure,” he said, noting the importance of keeping the opponent from scoring while hitting them on the counterattack. “I think Carty’s goal was a brilliant goal; down the flank, one of our strengths, and he came in and do what he had to do. I am pleased but it’s a very long season,” Edwards added.

St. Paul’s manager Austin Lewis said he was hoping his team would have at least scored before halftime. “I think the first half shows we are getting where we want to be, but it’s unfortunate that we didn’t come out with any goals in the first half. I think it was a very good first half,” he said.

In the earlier match, Shaheem Prentice delivered a man-of-the-match performance, scoring two goals to give Newtown United a 2-1 win over MFCR Old Road United Jets.

Shaheem Prentice (Newtown) 73rd min

Shaheem Prentice (Newtown) 85th min

Kaylon Liburd (Old Road) 90+1 min

Coach Anthony Nets Isaac of Newtown, explained the change in strategy from the first half of the match that gave them the upper hand. “We discussed (at halftime) that we weren’t getting any shots on goal…after we made the change for the second half, bring the other striker, we put more pressure on them,” he said.

Old Road’s coach Alexis Morris bemoaned a disallowed goal his team scored as one of the reasons for the loss. “We got the first goal but for some strange reason it was disallowed,” he said.  After a flying start to the league, Old Road has failed to win a match in their last three matches. This bad patch Morris said is unacceptable for his team. “It’s not something that we love. Two losses; one draw in the last three matches, for our standard is unacceptable. The players have to accept responsibility,” he said.