Matchday Twelve Review

With the first round of fixtures over and done with for the second-half of the season, the Caribbean Mega League is certainly looking refreshed after the midseason draft seeing each of the twelve sides pick up an additional three players to help them into what is bound to be a cracking end to the campaign. Republican Rabbits began the day top, despite failing to win in three matches, but they knew that Jamrock Juniors were breathing down their neck and had to hope to keep their Jamaican rivals at bay as they would go over to Haiti to face another team right in the mix, in the form of Vodou People. To add to the interest, Moko-Jumbies FC could also go top if results went their way.

Lot’s of big matches to focus on, but we start at Papa Doc Parc with the evenly-fought match between third place Vodou People and joint top Jamrock Juniors. Jamtastic hadn’t won a game in three and despite dominating Spicy Doves last time out they would go on to take a beating, and in this match we seemed to be following the same rhythm as the visitors peppered Guerry Romondt’s goal without joy, until just before the half-time whistle when Upston Edwards went up for a set-piece to score his second of the season. Knapton must have wondered whether his side’s bad run was on the verge of ending, but debutant substitute Marc Beldor had other ideas and only five minutes after entering the field he was wheeling a way in celebration as he equalised for Prodigy. Jamtastic would continue to apply the pressure on their hosts, bringing on their own debut striker in Dean Andre Thomas, but ultimately they struggled to take the win despite having thrice as many shots than their opposition.

The only positive from the Jamaican side’s point of view was that although they failed, so did Republican Rabbits as they recorded a second-straight 1-0 defeat with Juan Vélez failing to score for back-to-back games for the first time this season. In the reverse fixture on Matchday One, the Rabbits had hopped past Redonda Rockys but that seems like a long time ago now and this time Randolph Burton was the match winner- the right-wingers thirty-fifth minute strike was his fourth of the season and sees Andy Baxter’s team move further away from the relegation zone. This result was enough to knock them off top spot and down to third, which is their joint lowest position in the league and the furthest down the table they’ve sat since the fifth match of the season.

As well as Jamtastic overtaking the Rabbits we also saw Moko-Jumbies FC go into second place as they grabbed a win in Aruba thanks to first-half goals from Kimaree Rogers and Javiem Blanchette in a 2-0 win against Ajax Oranjestad. Meanwhile in Trinidad, the goals were all in the second forty-five with Jerome Charles scoring an injury-time debut winner for Limbo Leopards in a 2-1 win against relegation fighters Bermuda Tempest. In South America, Suriname Sharks also grabbed a home win, courtesy of a Shaquille Cairo strike against Bajan Boppers and finally in a match that saw six players make full debuts in the match between Spicy Doves and Dominica Dominoes, Reon Cuffy’s late goal gained the Doms a dramatic point, their first in eight games, and a 1-1 draw. Interestingly, Cuffy grabbed the goal in that game too and in getting his second goal of the campaign became their top scorer despite not having started a match yet under Wes Carter’s leadership.

More fun will follow next weekend, as Jamrock Juniors host Redonda Rockys, Spicy Doves travel to Moko-Jumbies FC, Republican Rabbits welcome Limbo Leopards, Ajax Oranjestad go to Bajan Boppers, Dominica Dominoes take on Vodou People and Bermuda Tempest battle Suriname Sharks.