BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - IT was a must win for FLOW 4G Cayon Rocket and they came out and took care of business last evening (Jun. 15) when they downed SOL Island Auto Conaree 1-0 to square the series.
Playing in front of yet another capacity crowd at Warner Park, a Javien Blanchette strike was over shadowed when tempers flared with scuffles, tackles and jersey tuggings in what both teams saw as being an all important game.
Stopping short of being an all out brawl, the two teams could be faced with a number of suspensions before the third game in the best-of-three finals, since a number of players were shown yellow cards for their part in the scuffles.
According to one football pundit, players on both sides were getting involved in the on-field skirmish as if they did not care if they would be suspended for the third and final game when they were receiving cards.
Asked if he is concerned that several of his key players would be missing from the third game, Cayon’s Head Coach George Isaac explained that it is a championship game and such would occur, but he is optimistic that others could fill the void if suspension were had.
“I am not too sure about it but we are going to look into it and see if anybody got back to back card. If somebody is out, then somebody would have to step in and step up,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Conaree’s Head Coach Alexis Morris, like his counterpart from Cayon, stated that the due to the level of the game and what is at stake, it took a toll on the players who all want to win the championship.
He however told SKNVibes Sports that there is no excuse for the behaviour of the players from both teams, but he is hopeful that he would have all his players for the final game.
“Well it is a championship moment and these thing are going to happen...tempers are going to flare and so forth. Were the calls merited yellow cards? Some of them were, but if you are going to be fair, some of them were not yellow card worthy but it is the referees who are in charge of the game.
“We just have to hope that some of the players who have been cautioned tonight would be out for Friday’s game. We are hoping that that is the case and we would be back on Friday and play a much better game.”
Assessing his team’s performance, Isaac told the media that his unit’s performance was “okay”, adding that he was very happy with the way they fought from the first whistle until the referee blew the match off.
“We know that Conaree is a good team and we played hard to get the victory and we deserve it tonight. We always knew that they were a good team and we would have to come back strong again if we want to lift the trophy in the third game.”
On the other hand, Morris noted that there were a numerous opportunities created by his team, a number of which were not converted.
He further disclosed that on a number of occasions his team was caught flat footed which allowed the opposition to eke out what he described as a wonder goal.
“I think tonight, basically, we were a bit flat footed. Cayon was more organized in the possession of the ball and it caught us a lot. What happen to us was that we were not moving as we would normally do.
“I think that we, Conaree, would have given away the game in the first half. We would have had the chances...we had a three versus one and if we had executed that three versus one properly, nine out of 10 times would at least suppose to get a shot off..”
Action continues on Friday with the final match in the 2015/2016 Premier League when the championship trophy will be handed out. The first whistle will be blow at 8:00 p.m.
