BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - WITH no silverware since 2011, RAMS Village Superstars have taken the first trophy of the SKNFA 2016/2017 season when they snatched a 2-1 victory over Garden Hotspurs last evening (Dec. 18).
Viewed by a near capacity crowd in cold conditions at Warner Park, Village Superstars started the brighter of the two units when Kimaree Rogers opened their account in the 41st minute.
In that first half of the game, Hotspurs had created several chances of their own but none of them had seen the back of the Superstars’ net.
With the halftime break rapidly approaching, the Superstars applied more pressure on their counterparts but it bore no fruit.
However, in the 14th minute of the second half, Village Superstars struck again. This time it was through G'Vaune Amory who blasted home a strike that the keeper could not handle.
With the game firmly in the bag, the team from Basseterre took their feet off the pedal and their opponents bounced back in the game when Alexis Saddler struck in the 81st minute.
That strike seemed to have aroused the Superstars from their slumber, as they tirelessly worked the ball with some true-passes, thus creating a number of scoring opportunities; one of which their striker was faced only with the goalkeeper in defence.
However, much to the disappointment of the Village Superstars’ fans and supporters as well as their Parliamentary Representative Hon. Marcella Liburd, the striker provided the goalkeeper a very easy opportunity in protecting his charge.
Frustration crept in and coach of the Garden Hotspurs, Al Richards was ejected after he had left his coaching area to protest with the fourth official.
Captain of RAMS Village Superstars Joel Jeffers commended the play of their opponents, pointing out that “we knew it would have been end-to-end stuff based on what would have come out from the games before”.
He told SKNVibes that the victory meant a lot for his team because of the five-year absence of winning trophies.
“You know, we put in the work for this victory. A lot of people doubted us but the hard work paid off in the end. It means a lot to us. People may be saying that it is a small cup, but in the end it means a whole lot to us.
“We look at winning this trophy as a booster. Since 2011 we haven’t won any silverware. We have been to finals after finals and we have been dropping back, but in the end we won something.”
The league now takes a break for the Carnival season and would resume in January when teams will be vying for a spot in the Easter Cup.
