Matchday Ten Review

It’s hard to believe that this weekend marked the tenth matchday of Caribbean Mega League action, which included the fiftieth game and also the league tally was taken up to one hundred and twenty goals as Kennedy Isles’ injury-time tap in completed a big weekend of records. With the top two hosting lower-league opponents and overachieving Bajan Boppers travelling to under-performing Limbo Leopards, the bookies favourites were all pointing towards the predictable. The big question would be whether the sides could rise to the occasion.

The match of the day this weekend came from Sugar Lane in St Kitts & Nevis as Moko-Jumbies FC played out a thriller against Macauley Blencowe and his Bermuda Tempest boys. Kimaree Rogers grabbed the opener with his first goal in four matches to give the hosts a half-time lead and in truth they were dominant for the first eighty minutes of the match. Into the last ten minutes the game exploded into overdrive from one of the less likely sources. Kennedy Isles only came on in the sixty-second minute and it was his whipped corner in the eighty-third which led to Clyde Mitcham nodding home the second of the game and seemed to seal the points. However, into the final couple of minutes of regular time there was a twist as Bermuda Tempest fans were treated to another Tomiko Goater, his third of the season. The match was now officially back on and as the visitors surged forward in search of an equaliser they would inevitably be hit on the break meaning that Isles could finally put the game to bed.

Over at Penal Rock in Trinidad there was also a great game to behold at St. Stern’s Park as Limbo Leopards finally looked like the pre-season top four favourites they’d been expected to be as they rolled over the league’s form side Bajan Boppers with a resounding 3-0 win. As well as reducing Bop 2 da Top to just one shot all game they also managed to produce eighteen of their own, with Andrei Pacheco scoring an early one thanks to a Jamie Creighton layoff just on the edge of the box. Josimar Belgrave, who was brilliant all afternoon, grabbed himself a goal midway through the second-half and their top-scorer Jamal Creighton got his fifth of the season from the penalty spot late on. The win was emphatic and it takes Will Clark’s side to within just one point of their defeated visitors this time out.

Around the rest of the grounds there was also another win for Redonda Rockys who continued their form turnaround with a 1-0 win over Vodou People, meanwhile Suriname Sharks looked good value for an away win over free-falling Dominica Dominoes thanks to a couple of second-half strikes from Iveraldo Pengel and Giovanni Waal. Both of the top two would drop points at home in the final two games in matchday ten, as Jamrock Juniors endured a torrid 0-0 draw to Ajax Oranjestad and a last minute Junior Williams goal at Palo Park gave Spicy Doves a point against Republican Rabbits to deny them the chance to finally move clear of Jamtastic.

Next weekend will see us reach halfway and it will mean that every team has faced each other once. Jamrock Juniors will head over to Spicy Doves to try and end a run of two goalless draws as they look to leap above Republican Rabbits, who have a tough trip over to Vodou People in Haiti. Fresh from the big win this weekend, Limbo Leopards will host Redonda Rockys who have won three on the spin, whilst towards the bottom of the table Dominica Dominoes will look to put a stop to their seven week losing streak as they visit Ajax Oranjestad. Bajan Boppers could end the first-half of the season if they can beat Bermuda Tempest, whilst Moko-Jumbies could lose their third place spot to one of three sides, including their opponents Suriname Sharks.