President of the Barbados Football Association (BFA) Randy Harris urged 30 coaches who took part in the Grassroots Programme which ended yesterday to utilize seriously all that they had learnt during the training sessions.

The programme which lasted over a five-day period ended with a closing ceremony at the National Sports Council with a festive-type atmosphere in which young footballers ranging from ages six to 12 showed off their skills inclusive of passing, shooting and turns. The coaches who participated also received their certificates at the ceremony. Harris encouraged the coaches to create activities within their communities and schools.

Children and coaches who took part in the grassroots sessionsb

“I believe some of you will say that it is up to the BFA to organize activities for you. But I want us to start taking a different approach, I want you to use initiatives and start activities within your communities and within your schools with the young people around you. The BFA will assist when we can with equipment and other things that you would need through FIFA and CONCACAF,” Harris said.

He told the coaches he wanted to see more teamwork and sharing of information. He urged them to desist from criticizing each another.

“I want us to work as a team, I want the coaches to work together, share information, help each other, let us get away from the criticizing each other because everybody got their own little thing. Everybody is a bit different but if we work together and we share ideas, this will work to the betterment of football in Barbados.

“Let us take a different attitude going forward. Everything is happening, some people might say it is happening slowly but we can’t undo ten years of mediocrity in two years. But I can see a different attitude. We have had some very good coaching courses being offered for the first time in Barbados. We have licensed coaches who would be recognized all over CONCACAF. Hopefully with help we get to do the C licence and those of you who are fortunate to pass that course can go on until we get A licensed coaches in Barbados,” the president said.

Harris noted that within the organization there was a small board which consisted of committed members who go all out to ensure that they do as much as they can in order to see Barbados’ football develop.

Among the topics covered during the sessions were the coach as educator and his or her responsibility; the characteristics of the children; planning and conducting sessions based on their age; and how to link with various sporting ministries to help develop the Grassroots programme.

The BFA was praised for its newly implemented Grassroots programme by St Kitts and Nevis-born, FIFA Grassroots instructor Lenny Lake. He said FIFA wanted to thank the BFA for taking such initiative to develop the future of football on the island.

FIFA instructor, Lenny Lake

Lake told the coaches that they had the most up-to-date knowledge in grassroots development, and there was no reason why the BFA could not call on them. He challenged the coaches to be proactive and give back.

“There is no reason why you cannot get up, take the initiative, be proactive and go out and find some young boy, some young girl somewhere who need a chance to get that information. The information I share with you I am only here to give you as a messenger, it is really for the children. We cannot help ourselves, it can help them. So I ask and I beg you that when you leave here go back to your communities, go back to your schools, make the players that you interact with better players, and in the end better citizens of Barbados.”

Barbados Football Association (BFA) president Randolph Harris wants to see improved performances from national teams as they embark on a busy 2015 schedule.

During a Press conference held this afternoon at the Solution Centre based at the University of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, to announce the BFA domestic season which commences February 1, Harris said the BFA had invested in equipment to assist their member clubs and by doing this they were hoping to bring a certain level of organization within the BFA’s framework.

Barbados Football Association president, Randy Harris.

“The BFA is using its resources and have plans in place to assist all of our member clubs especially those in the Premier League Division which is our highest division. Also we have ordered quite a bit of equipment for the football and the footballers to help them with their football education and basically to bring a certain level of organization within all of the framework of the Barbados Football Association,” Harris said.

The Wildey Astroturf which will be the home for football on the island is incomplete, but from Harris’ projections it should be completed sometime around April this year. He said the BFA was hopeful that as soon as Town and Country Planning permission was given they could start the erection of the bleachers at Wildey.

Harris said the BFA had entered its national teams into some major tournaments this year and among them would be the Olympic tournament, the 2018 World Cup preliminaries, Under-15 men’s, Under-17 ladies and the beach soccer competition put on by CONCACAF.

BFA technical director Marcos Falopa will have the task of coaching the senior teams and Harris explained they could only deal with one coach at a time because of finances.

“The BFA is currently working on an extension for Marcos. His contract should be up the second week of February and hopefully we would be able to get an extension,” Harris explained.

The BFA president also touched on the initiative to get all coaches in Barbados licensed and he said they would climb from the bottom to the top.

“In the CONCACAF D licence, CONCACAF would decide which coaches have done well enough to go on to the C licence and then to the B and A if they rise to that level. But that is the CONCACAF coaching course. We have found difficulty in the BFA to really get most of our club coaches together out of football season.

“Basically we have offered a number of workshops probably over six of them in Barbados and when we look at the composition of the people who apply to do these courses they are the same old ones who have some sort of certification already or they are really not the ones that we would target at first. So we need to have some workshops for the clubs in terms of education not only of coaches but of administrators also so that we can target the people who are basically making the best impact on our players every week during the football season,” Harris said. while noting the time must come where our premiership coaches must be certified also.

He said the season, which starts on February 1, would be an interesting one with many top players transferring to other clubs. The second transfer window will be from February 15 to 20 and according to Harris this will be a window for persons who have not represented clubs prior to that date.

The Barbados Football Association (BFA) is hoping that the National Stadium is capable of hosting more than the Digicel Premier League.

With the league set to kick-off on Sunday at the Waterford venue, BFA president Randy Harris said he has high hopes the newly improved outfield at the Stadium will also be able to host the upcoming preliminary rounds for both the World Cup and the Olympic competitions.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY this afternoon, Harris said both the Stadium’s outfield and lighting had been recently upgraded.

He revealed a CONCACAF official was already on the island to carry out checks and to evaluate the Stadium’s state of readiness for hosting the Olympic matches.

The preliminary rounds for the World Cup are slated to begin on March 28, with the Olympic qualifying matches set to follow.

BFA president Randy Harris

“A lot of work has been done on the outfield and it is a completely different one to the field which footballers played on last year.

“Work has also been done on the lighting, which was also a problem. At this time the lighting is somewhat better, but there is still some work to be completed,” Harris explained.

“However, I’m still confident that the Stadium will pass the test which will allow us to host those international competitions.”

The BFA boss disclosed that Kensington Oval was also been discussed as a possible venue to host those international matches.

Barbados is set to face Guyana to officially signal the start of the new season and Harris said that match would be used to gauge how ready the venue was.

Speaking on the new season, he said the BFA had been preparing for kickoff since last year, and were expecting a smooth season.

However, Harris did reveal that one major disappointment was the fact that construction at their Wildey AstroTurf had not been completed for the start of the season.

“We have been preparing for the new season for a while, but I am a bit disappointed that we weren’t able to complete the construction in Wildey,” he admitted.

“We have some bleachers there that seat 1845 people and we were really hoping that things would have been ready.

“We expect though that by the end of March, middle of April that construction will be completed, and we will be able to hold some matches there,” Harris added.

He also revealed that the BFA had made a conscious effort to ensure all clubs would be paid their prize monies from the 2014 season.

The opening ceremony commences with a parade of teams at 4 p.m., followed by an address from Minister of Sports, Stephen Lashley and the match between Barbados and Guyana at 7 p.m.

A thunderous goal scored by midfielder Jomo Harris and a superb effort by captain Mario Harte helped the Barbados national side to come from behind and draw 2-2 against Guyana last night in a friendly international to signal the start of the Digicel-sponsored Barbados Football Association 2015 domestic season.

In front of an almost packed National Stadium, Guyana were off to a dream start having scored two early goals compliments of Sheldon Holder and Emery Welshman. Harris, however, would respond with a gem of a goal in the 36th minute. The ball came in from just outside the 18-yard box to Harris, the son of BFA president Randy Harris, and the youngster controlled the half-volley well on his boot and sent an unstoppable strike past an  outstretched Guyana goalkeeper Akel Clarke. The goal certainly did a world of good for the confidence of the Barbadian side which was under the guidance of Brazilian-born coach Marcos Falopa.

Before Guyana even knew what had hit them Barbados found the equalizer one minute later in the 37th minute through Harte who did what he usually does in the Barbados domestic season. The ball was played into Harte who turned the defender inside out, leaving him in his wake as he placed a wonderful shot into the bottom corner of the net to level the score at two a-piece going into the second half.

Guyanese striker Emery Welshman trying to shield the ball from the Barbadian defenders.

Both teams had everything to play for in the second half but neither managed to score that all important goal with several chances on both ends going abegging. Both Barbados’ custodian Dario Weir and Clarke made a few brilliant saves to keep their teams alive in the game and at the final whistle everyone went away a winner as the men in blue and the men in green fortified their defence to ensure a draw.

Earlier in the 12th minute of play Guyana striker Holder received the ball up the right side of the field and he controlled it nicely and turned with the ball around the defender and slotted it past Weir who had no chance of getting close to the ball which went some distance away from his right hand.

 The pressure was definitely on for Barbados to respond but the Guyanese never gave them the opportunity to, but instead scored another goal thanks to striker Emery Welshman in the 33rd minute.

The 23-year-old found himself in a one-on-one situation and managed to get past the Barbadian defender and hit the ball like a rocket from what appeared to be more than twenty yards out. The atmosphere and general response from the Guyanese supporters in the stands made it feel as though the game was being played at the Georgetown National Stadium. Such was the cacophony of noise. The Barbadian defenders really needed to step up their game with many of them being too far in their own half which allowed the Guyanese strikers to make deep inroads into offensive positions.

After the game during a short press briefing both coaches said they were satisfied with the result which they considered fair and from which they could  take positives.

Arantes Lawrence receives his MVP trophy and cheque from Digicel representative Krystal Smith.

Falopa said he was very glad to see the results and the goals scored by his players. He added that the players must believe in themselves and once they get more exposure they should do very well especially when they take on British Virgin Islands within a month’s time.

Guyana coach Jamaal Shabazz said he thought the game was a fair result and he thought the Barbadian players did very well.

“I thought the Bajan boys did very well you could have seen their fitness and enthusiasm and good quality. Looking at them you could see a lot of work has gone into them and I am very impressed.”

Earlier Pinelands’ striker Arantes Lawrence received the award for being the BFA’s Footballer of the Year 2014.

Rendezvous FC will not be cutting any slack in this year’s Digicel-sponsored Barbados Football Association’s Premier League season and they reinforced that message through a 5-0 drubbing of Pride of Gall Hill at the National Stadium last night.

Also featured yesterday evening in the opening round match was last year’s winner Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme (BDFSP) who drew 1-1 with the University of the West Indies. While in the other game Brittons Hill won 1-0 over a very young Notre Dame side.

Rendezvous who got promoted to this year’s Premier League competition got their campaign off to a fantastic start in front of a large crowd of at least 1 500 spectators. There were many Rendezvous fans in the stands and the players gave them exactly what they came to see through the Samuel brothers, Shandel and Miron. Romano Snagg opened the score in the 22nd minute of play when he dribbled the ball easily past a defender, and then squeezed a shot past Gall Hill goalkeeper Corey Bridgeman.

Shandel Samuel (left) had a great start to the season with three goals for Rendevous. (Picture by Morissa Lindsay).

In the 41st minute the Samuel brothers’ onslaught began through striker Shandel who made it 2-0 when the ball was chipped over the top and Samuel controlled it well and kicked the ball into the back of the nets to end the first half with Rendezvous in complete control.

The second half was no different as the boys from Christ Church stamped their authority once again through their Shandel who received the ball at the top of the box and curled it beautifully past Bridgeman to score just seven minutes into the second half.

Rendezvous were definitely having a great time intimidating the Gall Hill defenders and causing them nightmares. So it came as no surprise when the Vincentian-born Miron was brought down inside the box. Things just went from bad to worse for Gall Hill when Miron himself stepped up to take the penalty kick and scored.

Rendezvous’ style of play was very fast and their defending was on the ball. Gall Hill simply had no answers for them. Shandel then made it 5-0 with the help of his brother Miron who dribbled a few defenders and Shandel was there lurking right in front the goal bar to receive the pass and buried the ball into the back of the nets.

The first encounter of the day got off to a slow start with ball possession being shared between BDFSP and UWI. They went into the half-time break locked at 0-0. Action picked up markedly in the second half when UWI striker Rico Holder received a right-sided free kick in the 62nd minute inside the box and an attempt was made by the BDFSP defenders to clear the ball which ended up on the boot of Holder who controlled it nicely and scored to the right of BDFSP’s goalkeeper Dario Weir, the national goalkeeper.

That goal however was quickly cancelled out when BDFSP earned themselves a penalty kick after they won a corner and the ball was kicked in and handled in the area. Raheim Sargeant stepped up and made it 1-1 with a blast past UWI goalkeeper Tazieo Riley.

In the second game played Brittons Hill managed to defeat Notre Dame 1-0 thanks to a 75th minute effort from Dwayne Stanford with a superb free kick 25 yards outside the box. Two of Notre Dame’s players received red cards including veteran John “Nobby” Parris coming on for the last five minutes of play.

FIFA development officer for the South East Caribbean, Howard McIntosh, visited the Barbados Football Association’s administrative building (Goal Project II) at Wildey, St. Michael yesterday.

He was in Barbados to inspect the progress of the facility and to meet with stakeholders in football. While on his visit he was also a guest on 94.7 FM’s popular radio show, Football Fiesta, hosted by Andy Thornhill.

FIFA development officer Howard McIntosh (second left) makes a point to the touring parting consisting of officials from Island Projects Construction and the Barbados Football Association.

During the radio show McIntosh expanded on the purpose of his visit. He spoke about the developments in football and the various avenues for self-development in the sport. McIntosh highlighted the opportunities for young footballers, boys and girls, to attain a university education through the sport. In addition, he mentioned the launch of the FIFA Grassroots program which is aimed at developing football skills in young children between the ages of 6 and 12.

Listeners were also able to learn of the various competitions that Barbados’ national teams are likely to participate in during 2015 and early 2016. Competitions such as the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships in El Salvador, the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifiers in March, the CONCACAF Boys Under 15 Championship, Olympic Qualifiers and the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Under 17 Championship.

Reigning Digicel Barbados Football Association’s Premier League champion Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme (BDFSP) trounced Direct TV Paradise 5-0 as action in local top flight football continued at the National Stadium yesterday.

The order of the day was five-love as Rendezvous also whipped Solaris Pinelands 5-0 in the second encounter. Brittons Hill made a last minute comeback to draw the game against Weymouth Wales 2-2 in the final match played.

BDFSP midfielder Raheim Sargeant and striker Rashad Jules scored two goals apiece along with one from Kyle Gibson against Paradise.

Raheim Sargeant from BDFSP (third left) trying to head the ball away from the Paradise defenders.

In the other game Rendezvous striker Shandel Samuel ended on a hat-trick while his brother Miron Samuel and Ramano Snagg scored the additional two goals against Pinelands.

Shandel Samuel (right) scored three goals for Renedevous against Solaris Pinelands.

After starting the league off with a 1-1 draw against newcomers University of the West Indies last Sunday, BDFSP sent a message through Paradise who played their first game of the season last night that they have ever intention of retaining their title.

The first half of that game failed to produce a goal but action picked up in the second half when BDFSP’s Sargeant crossed the ball from inside the box to Rashad Jules who nailed it into the back of the nets in the 57th minute.

Goal number two came in the 66th minute when the ball was ran up the right flank of the field and passed over to Chai Lloyd who tried from inside the box to boot the ball past Paradise goalkeeper, Saheka Duke, but was denied and Jules was there to score on the rebound.

Things just got better for the soldiers when Sargeant scored the third goal of the game when the ball was crossed over to him and he found the nets in the 78th minute.

BDFSP produced their fourth goal in the 89th minute when Lloyd assisted Sargeant who scored yet another easy goal with a right boater past the goalie.

Kyle Gibson got his name among the scores in the dying stages of the game when Jules looked to his left and send a pass to Gibson who took the ball on his boot and scored in the 90th plus minute.

In the second encounter Rendezvous scored in the 27th minute of play when midfielder Snagg sent in a nice floating free-kick over the Pinelands defenders and Shandel Samuel got a touch on the ball which went flying into the goal bars.

A couple minutes later in the 36th minute Rendezvous were once again on the attack when Miron Samuel earned a free kick from the left of the field just outside the 18 yard box. Miron curled the ball beautifully with a right-footed effort and Shandel was inside the box to guide the ball into the goal bars.

Rendezvous commenced the second half with a 2-0 lead. And, they took that lead to 3-0 in the 59th minute when Snagg ran past Pineland’s defender Jhamal Hinds and sent in a neatly timed cross to Shandel who gave the ball a gentle nudge to beat the keeper and score to collect goal number three.

Snagg was very fast up the right flank and managed to score goal number four in the 69th minute when he evaded two of Pinelands’ defenders and finished well with a low strike through the goalkeeper.

There was no stopping the danger man who went on the attack once again. This time Snagg’s pace saw him surge up the middle of the field in the 85th minute, collect a pass inside the box and deliver a powerful shot into the back of the nets.

Striker Kemar Headley put Brittons Hill ahead in the eighth and 12th minutes respectively when he scored both goals but Zidkigah Samuel locked the game 2-2 in the 42nd and 94th minutes penalties.

Weymouth Wales are now third in the 2015 Digicel-sponsored Barbados Football Association’s Premier League points standing on four points after they whipped Solaris Pinelands 5-1 at the National Stadium last night.

In the other game played Direct TV Paradise moved into fifth position on three points after they defeated Silver Sands FC 4-0.

Former Premier League champions Wales netted early in the 14th minute when striker Tristan “Fishy” Parris received the ball inside the box after a swift build-up and booted a shot to the right of Pinelands goalkeeper, Michael Spooner.

Tristan “Fishy” Parris on the ball.

As sweet as that opening goal was Wales were in a spot of bother when their captain Arantees Lawrence was sent off for unnecessary verbal remarks directed towards the referee. Wales however did not change their game plan in anyway and held basically a similar formation despite being down to ten players. Goal number two was added a couple minutes later when the ball was played up the field, through the middle, crossed over to the right to striker Jomo Harewood who controlled the ball well inside the box and kicked a low shot through Spooner who made a diving attempt but missed the ball as it went past his outstretched body to give Wales their second goal in the 30th minute.

Arantees Lawrence (leaping) charged after the ball and almost scored. He was sent off by the referee shortly afterwards.

Seven minutes later Wales made it 3-0 when the ball broke from the left of the field and Harewood was in place to finish when he blasted his shot past the keeper in the 37th minute to grab his second goal of the game and put Wales in a firm position leading into the second half.

Pinelands played a bit more defensively when the second half got underway but could not stop the mighty Wales from scoring goal number four which came in the 54th minute through striker Kemar Headley. Headley received assistance from Parris who played the ball cleanly from the left to him and he controlled and turned with the ball and took shot at goal and scored in one movement. This despite efforts from Spooner who managed to get some gloves on the ball but not enough.

Substitute Jason King came on to replace Parris in the 75th minute and scored when Headley sent in a low free-kick which went through the feet of the Pinelands defenders and on to the boot of King who accepted the gift and struck a powerful goal to make it 5-0.

Pinelands managed to pull one back in the 86th minute through Lionel Paul but by that stage Wales’ fat lady had long been singing at the top of her voice.

In the second game played Paradise opened the score in the 20th minute when the ball was pushed up the right flank by Zico Phillips who chipped the ball powerfully over to the left to striker Jabarry Chandler who scored easily with a right-footed shot.

Chandler added another goal to his name when the ball was played inside the box and the talented striker somehow got his outstretched boot onto the ball in the 41st minute and scored to give Paradise a 2-0 lead at the end of the first half.

In the 58th minute of the second half a free kick was taken by striker Armando Lashley and his delivery rolled through Silver Sands’ porous defense and Phillips was in place to smash the ball past Silver Sands’ goalkeeper Gabrielle Layne.  Lashley scored the fourth goal of the game in the 73rd minute and at the end of game Paradise’s confidence would have been lifted significantly after receiving a 5-0 drubbing from Rendezvous FC last Sunday.

The National Stadium has passed the test. Time to see if our local footballers can do the same.

After four years in the wilderness, football fans will once again be getting a taste of international football at the Waterford venue.

Word of that has come from president of the Barbados Football Association (BFA), Randy Harris, who has revealed that the stadium has been given the go-ahead to host a World Cup qualifier on March 22, which will see Barbados take on the United States Virgin Islands (USVI).

Harris told Barbados TODAY in an interview earlier today it would be the first time the island would be hosting an international match since 2011, when Barbados also hosted a World Cup qualifer.

He said this was a testament to the hard work which had been put it on the outfield at the stadium to bring it up to scratch.

Barbados Football Association president, Randy Harris.

“Obviously I am very proud because the National Stadium is the home of football in Barbados and it’s good to see that we will be able to provide the local fans with a taste of international football.

“The Stadium has undergone some upgrades, especially as it relates to the outfield and the lighting, so we are very pleased that work has not been in vain and we have been given a passing grade,” Harris maintained.

 The green light to host the contest was given by CONCACAF inspector, Christopher Craig, during his brief one-day stay on the island last week.

However, since then, there has been some issues surrounding the floodlights at the Stadium, which led to football being postponed last Thursday after a power failure.

 That problem also affected the Barbados Relay Fair on Saturday and football on Monday, which saw the lights blanking out for a short while.

Harris, though, is confident that issue will be sorted out before next month’s match.

“While I am a bit concerned about the issue with the lights I have been assured that persons at the stadium are working to get it rectified,” he explained.

“So I have no doubt that by the time March 22 comes around everything will be in order.”

The BFA president said he would love to see Barbadians come out and support the home side as they battle to qualify for the 2018 World Cup which will be held in Russia.

Barbados is currently ranked number 142, while the USVI are ranked 197.

“It is a big advantage to be playing home and I really want the whole of Barbados to come and support the team.

“Right now we are in the rebuilding stage and the team really needs that support. We have some young and exciting players, and I’m sure they would appreciate it if the fans came out and supported them,” Harris acknowledged.

He said that in the days leading up to World Cup qualifier, matches in the Digicel Premier League would be halted so as to ensure that the field was in perfect condition.

Clayton Kola Tonic Notre Dame recorded their first win of the 2015 Digicel-sponsored Barbados Football Association’s Premier League when they defeated Pride of Gall Hill 3-0 last night at the National Stadium.

The University of the West Indies played their second game and won 3-0 over Silver Sands FC.

In the featured game Notre Dame with a new-look team comprised mainly of youthful players opened up with a superb goal from at least 20 yards out from the boot of striker Akeem Hill who dribbled two defenders and took a superb shot at goal that curled and went into the right corner of the goal bars past Gall Hill goalkeeper Jerome Blackman. That was in the 13th minute.

Gall Hill produced a few scary moments inside their opponents half but Dames defended well and they did so more than Gall Hill defenders who at times were caught napping which allowed Notre Dame to lead 2-0 due to an own goal scored inside the box in the 36th minute by Gall Hill defender Jason Bovell. Instead of clearing the ball out of the danger zone Bovell kicked the ball into the nets to the delight of the Dames.

Dames’ tactic of running the ball up the right flank and crossing over to strikers Zico Edmee and Hill through the middle seemed to work in their favour and produced a goal in the 36th minute when Edmee received the ball through the middle and took out the defender, and struck the ball with his right boot past Blackman and scored in the 76th minute of play.

Notre Dame striker Zico Edmee beat Gall Hill goalkeeper Jermone Blackman and scored.

The second game between UWI and Silver Sands saw a goalless first-half but that all changed in the 50th minute of the second half when a free kick was sent in from the right of the field and UWI defender Akeem Maloney headed the ball past Silver Sands’ goalkeeper Gabriel Layne and scored.

One minute later the Blackbird men scored another, compliments of Corey Barrow. The play was built up by striker Mario Harte who ran up the left flank, dribbled his way past the defender and took a shot at goal and was denied by Layne. Luckily for UWI Barrow was inside the box to capitalize on Layne’s mishap and scored with a wonderful strike at goal.

University of the West Indies goal scorer Corey Barrow heads the ball away during the match against Silver Sands FC.

Coming on to the end of the game in the 81st minute UWI scored their third goal of the game when the ball was played into the middle to Christopher Harris who danced around the defender and tried to score but the goalkeeper Layne made the save which was not clean enough and Shaquille Layne was in front the net and scored an easy goal.

Meanwhile football will move to the Empire ground this Sunday when the Premier League continues.

At 4 p.m. Klaytons Kola Tonic Notre Dame who won their first game of the league last night and are now on three points will play Silver Sands FC who are still seeking their first win of the league after playing two matches so far and losing both.

In the 6 p.m. clash Mackeson Brittons Hill will take on reigning premier league champions Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme (BDFSP) who are currently out front on six points after they won both of their games. That game will be the decider as to who will join Rendezvous who are on six points but as it stands Brittons Hill are currently in fifth position on four points and BDFSP in second on four.

The final match-up will be between Weymouth Wales who are in third position also with four points and Pride of Gall Hill who haven’t won any of their games so far and would be looking to come away with a win over former league champions Wales.

(Photographs by Morissa Lindsay)

Reigning Premier League champions Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme (BDFSP) and former champions Weymouth Wales FC are now tied on seven points in the standings after victories last night.

Digicel-sponsored Barbados Football Association Premier League action took place at the Empire Ground yesterday and Klaytons Cola Tonic Notre Dame held on to a close 3-2 victory against Silver Sands FC. The BDFSP defeated Brittons Hill United FC 1-0 while in the final game on the night Wales won 2-1 over Pride of Gall Hill.

Notre Dame wasted no time getting the ball rolling in the third minute when striker Dwayne Mars received the ball on the right flank of the field, cut back the ball and turned with it around the Silver Sands defender who found it difficult to defend. Mars sent in a cross inside the 18-yard-box and Ronaldo Seale was there to kick the ball into the back of the nets.

The ball is cleared by the Silver Sands defender as Notre Dame’s striker Dwayne Mars (centre) who had a major impact on the game tries to get possession.

Silver Sands responded almost immediately when the ball was deflected inside the box and Rico Forde headed the ball into the goal bars to level the scores 1-1 in the eighth minute.

Mars was in action once again for Notre Dame and scored when John ‘Nobby’ Parris took out a Silver Sands defender and passed the ball up the right of the field to striker Akeem Gill who crossed the ball over to Mars who was lurking inside the box and Mars finished well with his right instep to the right of the goal bar and scored in the 26th minute to make it 2-1.

The men from the Bayland went up 3-1 just before half-time in the 42nd minute when the ball was played inside the box to Gill who evaded his marker and chipped the ball over the head of Silver Sands’ goalkeeper Justin Johnson and scored.

Silver Sands however kept pressing forward and managed to score in the 68th minute when the Notre Dame defenders appeared distracted and Cleon Culley kicked the ball from 20 yards out and the ball was missed by Notre Dame goalkeeper Kareem Farrell and curled into the left corner post of the bars. However, that was far as they would get on the scoresheet and Notre Dame came away with full points.

The game between Brittons Hill and BDFSP saw neither team managing to score a goal in the first half with both sharing equal ball possession. The drought however finally ended in the second half of play when BDFSP played the ball up the left of the field to the BDFSP captain Romario Harewood and he kicked a low shot to the right of the custodian and into the nets.

Stefan Batson of Brittons Hill and BDFSP’s Chai Lloyd fight for ball possession in a game that was keenly contested.

Wales and Pride of Gall Hill appeared a bit unsettled when the two sides met last night in the final match but Pride of Gall Hill steadied themselves and scored in the 15th minute through Troy Speed. Three minutes later Wales worked the ball around and in the 18th minute they leveled the score when Wales’ striker Jomo Harewood received the ball and saw Gall Hill goalkeeper Jerome Blackman approaching and chipped the ball over his head to score. Another goal was added in the 23rd minute by Hadan Holligan to give Wales the 2-1 advantage leading into the second half and that was how the game eventually ended with a a few opportunities going to waste in the second half.

(Photographs by Morissa Lindsay)

Based on the season so far when Rendezvous FC and the University of the West Indies (UWI) take to the football field, one would expect some sort of fireworks but that was not the case last night at the National Stadium.

UWI surprisingly went down to Solaris Pinelands 1-0 while Rendezvous were held to a 0-0 draw against Direct TV Paradise when the 2015 Barbados Football Association’s Digicel-sponsored Premier League season continued.

In the featured game UWI created several goal-scoring opportunities thanks to good plays upfront from national captain and striker Mario Harte, midfielders Corey Barrow and Shaquille Layne that should have been put into the back of the nets but instead came to naught.

Pinelands did all in their power to keep UWI striker Mario Harte from scoring whenever he attempted to get the ball forward.

Barrow had his moment when the ball was played up the right flank of the field and passed over to Barrow who took a shot at goal from inside the 18 yard box but missed with the ball hitting the top of the goal bar and bouncing over the nets. A couple seconds later from the left of the field Layne found an opening and sent in a volley which was stopped by Pinelands goalkeeper Michael Spooner and cleared by a defender which earned UWI a corner kick but the play did not threaten Pinelands.

After those two scary moments for Pinelands they bounced back well when one of their players was brought down inside the box to give the Pinelands’ men a penalty. Dario Wilson  took the shot and scored to the left of the net in the 43rd minute. The scoreline remained the same up to the break but one would have expected UWI to come back out in the second half with some sort of response but that was not the case. The fact that the UWI made a few substitutions that only served to expose their back half and not help their case.

Rendezvous has had a relatively good start to their Premier League encounter but last night Paradise played impressively in terms of defense to shut down Rendezvous who played three games so far and won their last two matches 5-0 against Weymouth Wales and Pinelands.

Paradise’s goalkeeper Jason Boxill showed his worth with the gloves when he made two brilliant diving saves in the second half to deny Rendezvous despite persistence from Gregory Goodridge and the duo of Miron and Shandel Samuel.

Direct TV Paradise goalkeeper Jason Boxhill made a few impressive saves to keep Rendezvous from scoring.

Coming up this Sunday at 4p.m. Pinelands, currently in eighth position on three points, will take on Pride of Gall Hill who are still searching for their first win. The second encounter should be an exciting one between Weymouth Wales (third with a tally of seven points) and Klaytons Kola Tonic Notre Dame on six points and in fourth position. Once Wales’ top strikers Jomo Harewood and Tristan ‘Fishy’ Parris get going along with Notre Dame strikers Dwayne Mars and Zico Edmee one should expect an action-packed showdown.

The feature game of the night will be Rendezvous versus Mackeson Brittons Hill at 8 p.m. Brittons Hill are in sixth position on four points and should they defeat Rendezvous who are at the top of the standings on seven points they will jump to the top. Brittons Hill have played three games so far, won one match, drawn the other and lost one while Rendezvous have played three games, won two and drawn one.

Thanks to their skillful striker Miron Samuel and inspirational midfielder Jeffery Williams Rendezvous handed Mackeson Brittons Hill a 3-0 whipping during the Digicel-sponsored Barbados Football Association’s Premier League triple-header at the National Stadium last night.

Solaris Pinelands won 2-0 against Pride of Gall Hill who are still searching for their first win. While Weymouth Wales held on for a 1-0 victory over Klaytons Kola Tonic Notre Dame.

Pinelands captain Arantees Lawrence (No. 10) being ambushed by two Gall Hill defenders.

In the featured game Rendezvous were kept quiet by Brittons Hill who did not allow strikers Shandel Samuel and his brother Miron, Gregory ‘Lalu’ Goodridge and company much room to play the ball forward swiftly as they had from the start of the league against other teams. It was a scoreless first half marked by a few opportunities with stout defense from Brittons Hill the highlight.

But that all changed in the 56th minute of the second half when the ball was played up the field to Williams who was left exposed by Brittons Hill’s defenders and Williams from at least 20 yards out helped himself to a superb goal when he launched with his right boot and curled it to the right of Brittons Hill’s goalkeeper Tennyson Mings who tried but had no chance of stopping the spectacular goal.

That had Rendezvous supporters in the stands buzzing and they had another reason to celebrate in the 70th minute when danger man Miron showed his skills and cut the ball back with his left foot, then shifted it with his right boot around a Brittons Hill defender whom he left for dead and hit the ball into the left corner post of the goal bars.

Rendezvous’ star performer last night Miron Samuel (center) could not be stopped.

A few minutes later Brittons Hill thought they had a goal when a shot was saved by Rendezvous goalkeeper Wayne Best who was unable to hang on to the ball. During the melee which ensued in front the bars Dwayne Stanford got his boot on to the ball and scored but the sideline referee in his judgement called it off side.

Rendezvous went on to score goal number three in the 78th minute when the ball was taken up the left flank by Shandel Samuel who was impeded when Brittons Hill defender Andre Gibson shoved him in the back in the area. Miron took the penalty and scored to the delight of his fans whom he entertained with a few dance moves.

In the second clash of the evening Solaris Pinelands defeated Pride of Gall Hill 2-0 under the guidance of captain Arantees Lawrence who returned to competitive action after he received a red card when his side played Wales over a week ago. Pinelands scored in the 82nd minute when Dwain Best was brought down in the danger zone. Lawrence took the penalty kick and scored to the right of Gall Hill goalkeeper Corey Bridgeman.

A few minutes later in the 87th minute another goal sneaked past Bridgeman when a cross came in from the left to midfielder Jamar Thomas who was inside the box and blasted the ball into the back of the nets.

In the first encounter Wales had Notre Dame under pressure from the first half and the second half was similar. Striker Kemar Headley in the 79th minute scored via a penalty when his teammate Haddan Holligan was brought down in the box by a clumsy tackle.

The champs are headed to the finals once again.

Defending champions Orange 3 Pinelands are just one game away from retaining their knockout title, after easily dispatching of Urban Vybz St John’s Sonics 71-60 in the semifinals of the Co-operators General Insurance competition at the Wildey Gymnasium last night.

Their opponents in tonight’s final will be Hilton Barbados Resort Warriors, who surprisingly thumped Pan American Life Insurance Warrens Sports Club 69-53 in the night’s opening match.

  Four of Pinelands’ starters got into double digits, which helped to negate a game-high 20 point performance from Sonics’ big man Akeem Marsh, who at one point looked capable of almost single handedly carrying his team to victory.

 But whenever it seemed as if Sonics were poised to make a run, Pinelands just found a way to answer back.

After a close first half, which saw Sonics hold a slim 33-31 lead, Pinelands threatened to run away with the contest in the third period.

 Four straight free throws by the Pine’s Jeremy Gill and a tough layup by Charles Vanderpool as he knifed through traffic, helped to extend the lead to seven (44-37) with 4:35 remaining in the quarter.

 However, Marsh responded with a baseline jumper, and capped off a 9-2 Sonics run with a three-pointer which helped to tie the score at 46-46 with 17 seconds on the clock.

  But Junior Moore’s “and one” move at the buzzer, ensured Pinelands headed into the final period with a three-point lead.

With Gill forced to the bench shortly afterwards after injuring his right ankle just two minutes in, Marsh once more took control.

 First he scored a left-handed layup over Vanderpool and then finished with a powerful two-handed dunk after being setup by Dwayne Kellman’s fancy pass, after splitting two defenders with a crossover to bring Sonics within one (53-52) with 7:30 left in the contest.

  A 7-1 Pinelands run though, fueled by Hally Franklyn’s tireless rebounding effort, sealed the deal and sent them through to their second consecutive knockout final.

  Franklyn outhustled his bigger and taller defenders on his way to grabbing three crucial offensive rebounds, and scoring eight of his team’s final 14 points in the final five minutes.

 Vanderpool led the Pine with 17 points, Gill had 15, Junior Moore scored 14, Franklyn added 13 and Ramon Simmons 10.

Philip Harewood scored 11 points and Dwayne Kellman 10 in a losing effort for Sonics.

 Earlier, Warriors point guard Tremaine Shaw marked his return to the Premier League after a two-year ban in winning fashion, helping his side to a dominant showing over Warrens – one of the pre-tournament favourites.

 Heading into the fourth quarter with a 46-39 lead, Warriors used a quick 6-0 run to put the game out of the reach of their opponents.

  Kenny Matthews was the main catalyst, as he punished Warrens’ slower defenders for not running the court, as he regularly converted easy fast break opportunities.

Warrens would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way, with a trey by Daniel Durant pushing the lead to 15 (59-44) with just over six minutes left.

 Matthews had a game-high 24 points, and he was ably assisted by Ricardo Touissant who contributed 15 points.

For Warrens Sports Club Pearson Griffith top scored with 15 points and Jamar King scored 10 points.

Barbados ended their two-game international friendly series against St Vincent and the Grenadines with an exciting 2-2 draw last night at the National Stadium to take the overall series 1-0.

Having won the first encounter on Friday night 3-1, Barbados were hoping to sweep the second game but St Vincent dug deep to come from behind late in the second half to share the honours in the encounter.

St Vincent and the Grenadines started the match-up with a high level of intensity which allowed them to take the lead just three minutes into the game when the ball was played inside the box to Vincentian striker Juma Gilkes who was left unmarked and struck the ball comfortably to the right of Barbados goalkeeper Dario Weir and into the back of the nets.

It only took the home side nine minutes to respond with a goal of their own and they did so somewhat fortuitously in the 12th minute, thanks to midfielder Hadan Holligan.

Barbadian midfielder Hadan Holligan (left) dribbles past two Vincentian defenders.

The ball was played up the right flank of the field by Barbados captain Mario Harte who kicked the ball directly towards the goal bars but it was blocked by St Vincent’s goalkeeper Sean Field who made the save but did not hang on to the ball and Holligan was in place to score on the rebound with a simple tap in.

Barbados captain Mario Harte (No. 9) produced a few threatening moments for St Vincent including this play when he out-paced a defender and almost scored.

With the game locked at 1-1 at that stage one would have expected to see more excitement and pressure being applied by both teams but that was not the case because St Vincent gifted Barbados a rather easy goal in the 17th minute.

It was sloppy work from St Vincent’s keeper Field who kicked the ball to his teammate on his right of the field. The ball was kicked back to Field who decided to pass it once again in the same direction and Barbadian midfielder Romario Harewood attacked the ball rather quickly and sent a powerful shot flying into the back of the nets to celebrate perhaps one of the easiest goals of his career.

The score remained the same leading into the second half in which both teams made a few substitutions. Barbados tried to do all in their power to prevent St Vincent from scoring but were unsuccessful.

The Vincentians’ breakthrough came in the 86th minute through Tevin Slater who found that all important equalizer when the ball was played through the middle to him. He dribbled his way past two Barbadian defenders and slotted the ball into the back of the nets giving Weir little chance.

After that goal Barbados had the opportunity to take the lead twice but thanks to two spectacular saves by Field who denied Harte and Kemar Headley. Both were clear-cut opportunities but kudos must go to Field for giving his team a share of the spoils under pressure.

In the game on Friday night Barbadian debutants Headley and Jomo Harewood scored along with Jamal Chandler.  Chavel Cunningham scored just the one goal for St Vincent via a free kick from about 30 yards out.

At the end of last night’s game St Vincent coach Keith Ollivierre said he thought his team deserved to win the game. Barbados Football Association’s technical director Marcos Falopa admitted that their final game was much harder for his men but he was pleased with the fact that the Barbados players showed good reaction on the field.

Kickstart won 5-4 by virtue of penalties against Maxwell when the two sides played each other at Briar Hall, Christ Church in the Banks Beer Champions Cup on Tuesday.

It was a thrilling encounter between the two teams with the game going into extra time. It was an encounter that created some nail-biting moments for supporters.

Kickstart opened with a goal through Zaquan Ishmael in the fifth minute of play which put early pressure on Maxwell. Both teams played well defensively throughout the game and it took Maxwell very late in the second half to finally equalize through Alex Chandler. This meant the game went into 30 minutes overtime.

Maxwell took the lead during extra time when a cross came in from the left directly in front the goal which lead to a bit  of a scramble by the defenders before Marcelo Serieux got a touch on the the ball and scored.

This put Kickstart on the back foot once again and they needed to pull something out of the bag to stay in the game and that they did when Luke Humphrey kicked the ball into the wind from 25 yards out and the ball which appeared to be going out, dipped and went into the back of the nets to lock the scores at 2-2.

It came down to penalties and it was Jabari Brandford who scored the last penalty shot and sealed the game 5-4 for Kickstart.

Jabari Brandford of Kickstart celebrates after scoring the last penalty for his team which sealed the game.

In other matches played on the day, Wotton won 3-0 over Elite Sports Club, Benfica edged out Bydes Mill 2-1, Ivy Rovers defeated L&R 5-3 and Fairy Valley got the better of Exactly 1-0.

Mario Harte was in irresistible form last night scoring two of the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) goals in their 3-0 thumping of Pride of Gall Hill, as the Digicel-sponsored Barbados Football Association’s Premier League competition continued at the National Stadium.

Also in action last night were Weymouth Wales who brushed aside Silver Sands 3-0 with an intense showing in the second half of the game.

In the featured game UWI first scored from the penalty spot, compliments of Riverre Williams in the fourth minute of play. Despite a few chances the scoreline did not change going into the half-time break. Since the start of the league this year Gall Hill have not quite found their form and played like the team many have become so familiar with in terms of winning matches.

The UWI strikers, particularly Harte, ran rings around Gall Hill’s defence and when they were found napping UWI’s marauders took full advantage. In the 75th minute Harte ran off the right wing and allowed the ball to come to him and shot from at least 20 yards out into the back of the nets which was cause for celebration from teammates and supporters.

Five against one: by the end of the game Pride of Gall Hill were perhaps tired of the sight of Mario Harte (in yellow).

Two minutes into extra time Harte scored another similar goal when the ball was played up to the right of the field just outside the box and with Gall Hill defenders failing to do their job, Harte took a shot at goal and scored his second goal of the league since signing on with UWI.

Such was the headache he caused Gall Hill on and off the ball, that it seemed Harte could have scored at least a further two goals. His running off the ball caught the eye and was the reason he often found space to threaten the Gall Hill goal.

Apart for a few speculative long balls that UWI often intercepted, Gall Hill never seemed capable of bringing any type of parity to the scoreline.

In the first matchup Silver Sands lost their goalkeeper Shawn Cox 20 minutes into the game for apparently charging after the ball and in the process hitting one of the opponents. Playing with a ten-man team did not seem to affect Silver Sands too much in the first half which ended 0-0. However, fatigue was surely going to be a factor late in the game with the personnel disparity.

Wales continued their dominance of the ball in the second-half but Silver Sands held firm on defence even though there were creeping signs that they were flagging.

Wales’ Jabar Greene (No. 15) attacks the Silver Sands defence.

Something had to give and eventually Wales got on the scoresheet in the 84th minute when Corey McCollin scored thanks to striker Jomo Harewood.  The latter controlled the ball inside the box from the right side and passed it to Hadan Holligan in the middle of the 18-yard box. He touched it deftly on to McCollin who took a shot at goal and scored.

Three minutes later Holligan was in action once again when he took control of the ball and played it up the field before sending in a cross to striker Kemar Headley who headed the ball easily into the back of the nets.

Tristan “Fishy” Parris sealed the game for Wales in the 91st minute when he received the ball off the right flank with no Silver Sands defender in sight. He needed no further invitation and Parris took full advantage by running with the ball close enough to the 18-yard box before sending a shot wide off the Silver Sands’ goalkeeper Gabriel Layne and into the back of the net to complete the rout.

President of the Barbados Football Association Randy Harris wants to see more regional referees officiating in major tournaments especially World Cup and CONCACAF tournaments.

Harris comments came during the FIFA Regional Referees Instructors Course (FUTURO III) which was attended by FIFA Regional Referees’ Instructor, Peter Prendergast, at Blue Horizon Hotel on Saturday.

“Sometimes I am very disappointed when I see World Cup games, big CONCACAF games and I don’t see someone [referee] from Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados,” Harris explained.

He added: “I know it is a difficult task and while we have the two main ingredients here in the physical and technical area of football we all know there are other areas that we have to work with patience. Could you imagine if a surgeon makes a mistake? Then I do not see why there should be any difference in refereeing. All of us are working assiduously to make sure that our teams have higher rankings, perform better, and make it to all the cups. A lot of us are not thinking about the referees and we can’t have any gap between the development of the players and the game in the Caribbean and the standard of referring. So I want you to take this aspect of your training seriously.”

There are 30 participants with 17 technical and 13 fitness instructors from 13 countries and Prendergast  encouraged the participants to share their knowledge and help those referees in their own member associations to get to the top level.

(From left) FIFA regional referees instructor Peter Prendergast and BFA president Randy Harris share a light moment during the opening ceremony.

“All that we do here is for the development of referees and our member associations and with this development, you are a very active ingredient in its success. This course is designed for you. But it is not designed for you to keep the information to yourselves, it is designed for you to go back into your member associations and prepare your referees especially for regional and FIFA competitions. The main objective is to get your referees to the top level so they would represent your own member associations, represent CONCACAF in World Cup football and this is both male and female,” Prendergast said.

In order to reduce errors in decision-making the focus this year would be on technology training, while at the same time focusing on the area of communication and therefore a new regional management system will be put in place.

“We will be introducing technology in training, instant feedback, recording what is done and replayed on the spot and the use of still photographs and video recordings in an effort to improve training.

“The Caribbean will be divided into three groups with a technical and fitness instructor at the helm and each member association’s referee development officer will submit monthly reports to those individuals,” Prendergast explained.

Among those participating are Bermuda, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Island, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Cacaos, Trinidad and Tobago.

The regional course facilitates instructors specifically from the technical and fitness side of football as it relates to refereeing. The course will conclude this Thursday.

Goals were hard to come by last night as the 2015 Digicel-sponsored Barbados Football Association’s Premier League continued at the National Stadium.

The most exciting clash of the season between the two top teams Weymouth Wales and Rendezvous was an action-packed spectacle. But for all their sterling efforts the referee’s final whistle saw the two sides locked at 0-0 and forced to share the spoils.

Mackeson Brittons Hill defeated Silver Sands 2-0 thanks to striker Dwayne Stanford’s brace in the first match of the triple-header while Gall Hill and Direct TV Paradise also played to a 0-0 draw in the second game of the night.

Dwayne Stanford (right) scored two goals for Brittons Hill.

Though there was a reasonable crowd in place for the first two games, it was very noticeable that football fans once again only really began to file into the stadium in their numbers around 8 p.m. to see the top of the table clash between former Premier League champions Wales who are still leading the standings with 14 points and Rendezvous on 11. The crowd attendance pattern is something which the BFA might have to look at with respect to time scheduling in the future.

Wales did well to apply early pressure on Rendezvous who came out this time dressed in their blue and white uniform, a contrast to the yellow and red they wore at the start of the season. Rendezvous got immediately into the game and took control, stringing together a number of deft passes. Wales with Tristan Parris and fellow national players Kemar Headley, Jomo Harewood up front along with Hadan Holligan in the midfield, had Rendezvous in a spot of bother in the 19th minute of play. Carl Joseph was given a red card by FIFA international referee Gillian Martindale for serious foul play on Holligan.

That decision created a buzz around the stands from Rendezvous fans as Joseph made his way off the field and into the locker room. It made the game more interesting with Rendezvous at a numerical disadvantage with ten players but the Christ Church team handled the situation well.

Late in the second half Rendezvous had the opportunity to take the lead when Miron Samuel was taken down by Wales’ goalkeeper, Bentley Springer. Samuel stepped up to take the penalty himself and then the unbelievable happened when he placed the ball to the left, wide of the goal bar and missed out on a golden opportunity for his team in final minutes of play.

Rendezvous’ striker Shandel Samuel did not score but was busy defending throughout the game. Here he heads the ball away into safety.

Wales breathed a sigh of relief and responded through Headley who found his way into the box, took a shot at goal but thanks to excellent defending from Wayne Sobers who made quite a number of timely interceptions on the night, Headley was denied.

In the final minute Wales made one last attempt when the ball was played over to Holligan on the right side but instead of placing the ball flat and hard towards the goal he sent his shot sailing over the goal bars.

In the opening game Brittons Hill got off to a flying start in the 14th minute of their clash against Silver Sands thanks to Stanford who then came back in the second half and scored another. In the 68th minute the ball was passed from the right flank to Stanford who moved from the left quickly into the goal area, beat the off-side trap, and tapped the ball into the back of the nets quite comfortably.

A red card was also shared in the second game between Paradise and Gall Hill when Jabarry Chandler who had an earlier yellow card in the game was given another in the 63rd minute for a reckless tackle. Gall Hill who played with perhaps their best team of the tournament so far did well to hold on for the draw and moved into ninth place in the standings ahead of Silver Sands after capturing their first point of the season.

(Photographs by Morissa Lindsay)

Rankings be damned!

The United States Virgin Islands entered the National Stadium as the underdogs last night and just under two hours later when they left, they had beaten hosts Barbados 1-0 in the first round encounter of their 2018 World Cup qualifier.

Barbados are ranked 131 on FIFA’s list of footballing nations with the USVI at 197. But no one seemingly told that to either team last night as it counted for nothing.

USVI midfielder Jamie Browne was the man of the night when he scored the lone goal of the game for his team in the 16th minute.

The match-up which was described as difficult by the management for both teams was one which saw many golden opportunities go a-begging especially on the Barbados end.

Five minutes or fewer into the game and Barbados should have been one-nil up when Barbadian defender Hadan Holligan was brought down inside the box by USVI captain Dusty Good and a penalty was awarded. Barbados Captain Mario Harte stepped up to take the shot but it was saved by USVI goalkeeper Erik Mozzo who dived to his right and held on to the ball.

Barbados’ Hadan Holligan (No. 10) on the attack once again but denied by great work from USVI goalkeeper Erik Mozzo (right).

The groan of disappointment from spectators echoed around the stadium, including from Harte. But he would go goal-hunting again  and on one incisive foray into enemy territory he ran the ball down the right flank, dribbled his way past two USVI defenders and took a shot at goal but was again denied by the safe hands of Mozzo.

Captain against captain as Barbados skipper Mario Harte (in blue) heads the ball out of the reach of USVI skipper Dusty Good.

It seemed after those two threatening moves Barbados’ defenders and perhaps the entire team lost focus. This allowed Browne to wake them up when the ball was played up the right flank to him and with swift movement and accuracy, he shifted the ball past Barbados’ defender Ranaldo Bailey, ran the ball inside the box and chipped it easily over the head of Barbados’ goalkeeper Dario Weir. The custodian had left his mark in pursuit of the ball which was on its way into the back of the nets.

That was cause for celebration as USVI went into the second half with their slim advantage. In the 54th minute of the second half Barbados lost midfielder Jomo Harris who got a second yellow. But that did not stop the home team from pressing forward as they continued to search for that all important equalizer.

They had the perfect opportunity to level the scores in the 60th minute when Holligan was brought down yet again and Romario Harewood was given the task of taking the penalty but just like Harte his shot too was brilliantly stopped by Mozzo who had a fantastic game.

After the game Barbados coach Marcos Falopa admitted that the going was tough for his side, ranked 66 places higher than the USVI.

“It was a very difficult match. Some people say this team is not difficult but it was very difficult. We were playing with our under-23 mostly and the World Cup is a different story. It is not a friendly game, it is not a youth tournament. We still prepare this team and we believe this team could have done better but it was not to be,” Falopa said, while adding that last night was the first time he had seen a team missed two penalties during regular play in a game.

He went on to say that the Barbados team would need to prepare much better for their second game in the USVI on March 26.

“We have to change some defenders, sure we need time but we know what we need to change for the next [game] and I cannot tell you because it is my secret for next game.”