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Rams Village Superstars bounced back from their opening weekend defeat last week, to trounce Fast Cash Saddlers FC 4-1 in SKNFA Premier League action on Friday at St. Mary’s Park in Cayon. Leroy Hanley got the goalscoring off in the 21st minute before Dequan Wattley of Saddlers equalized from the penalty spot just before half time. In the second half it was all Village, with goals from Dahjal Kelly, Devon Elliot and Kimaree Rogers in the 52^nd, 71^st and 80^th minutes respectively. Coach of Village Stephen Clarke, said the difference this week with was that his players were more competitive. “We competed. Against Cayon, I didn’t feel we competed hard enough. But in this game, I felt we competed a lot more and dealt with a lot of what Saddlers brought. We went on the training ground and basically worked on defending,” Clarke said. “I was pleased with the defense…we gave up one in the first half and kept a clean sheet in the second half so I will take that as a plus.”

As for Saddlers, their Coach Samuel Phipps blamed the loss on a defensive collapse. “We had a defensive collapse, especially with the first goal. Easy defensive error we made and gave Village a goal. We fought back and got a goal before halftime, and then after we came out (in second half), a soft goal again. It was a defensive error between defense and goalkeeper and then they were a bunch of (other) defensive errors. So, I think we have to go and work on our defense,” Phipps disclosed. 

In the night’s other match, home side Flow 4G Cayon Rockets held off a late surge from Hotsprings Bath United to win 4-2. Cayon started off lethargic, much to the chagrin of their fans. Cayon eked out a lead goal just before half time from Carlos Bertie. Devontay Carty doubled that lead in the 48^th minute with a breakaway run, but a stunning strike from yards out by Chris Browne in the 69^th min, kept Bath in the game. A second goal from Bertie in the 82^nd minute put Cayon back in the driver’s seat, but Cayon gave Bath some hope giving away a penalty, which was converted by Jalden Myers, four mins later. A couple of changes in the dying moments of the match by Cayon saw two of their substitutes combining to seal the victory for Cayon.

An excellent pass from Joshua Bradshaw, gave Raheem Davis a golden opportunity, which he converted in the 90^th min. After the match, Head Coach of Cayon, Al Edwards, spoke about Cayon’s slow start. “We got a bit complacent in the first half and went away from the game plan. So, in the locker room at halftime, we had to reiterate what we came to do; move the ball more quickly than they were doing and we were leading comfortable with two goals,” Edwards said. He noted that the goal Bath scored was due to complacency, as is usually the case. “Thanks to our subs and strikers we got that extra goal and felt comfortable until the end,” he said. The SKNFA Premier League continues this Saturday with matches at the Newtown Playing Field.

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