It was the day before Halloween and two teams were on the end of some scary scoring at the TE McField Annex on Sunday. Premier League champions Elite smashed ten past newcomers Cayman Athletic and Scholars International stayed at the top of the table by taming the game Tigers. The two West Bay sides have easily shown the best early season form.
Last week Scholars announced they felt that their squad was so strong that they felt capable of winning the league and both cups, Dicigel and FA. George Town are double cup winners for the past two seasons and Elite won the league comfortably last term, so nothing can be taken for granted, especially at this early stage.
There were no games played at the Bodden Town field on Sunday because of a water-logged pitch, which means Scholars and Elite have stretched their lead at the top of the table to nine and six respectively, ahead of Bodden Town, Roma United and George Town who are all on seven points.
Cayman Athletic have a young, inexperienced side under coach Gillie Seymour. Their defence was exposed early on by Elite when Dwayne ‘Gaza’ Wright got his first and the scoring never abated after that. Gaza went on to complete his third hat-trick of the season and ten in total. Rene Carter hit a hat-trick too and the others came from Derrin Ebanks, Alex Belcher, Jedd Ebanks and the returning Calvin Jefford who has been out for a long time through injury.
Santangelo Bush got Cayman Athletic’s consolation goal in the second half when it was far too late to make any difference.
Scholars International, brimming with confidence after their unbeaten start, continued to impress. Carson Fagan had a relatively quiet game yet still hit two fine efforts and could have had a hat-trick had he not missed a penalty. He was substituted late on. The others came from Mark Ebanks and Nahun Rodriguez who after scoring for Scholars’ against the side he played for last term, quickly got himself sent off. First yellow card was for taking his shirt off in celebration and then Rodriguez got a second from Kenville Holder for kicking the ball away unnecessarily. Lauren Bennett got Tigers’ goal in the 4-1 defeat.
Elite technical director Greg Ebanks never disparages other teams nor players, but he does remain quietly confident. He thought the 10-1 drubbing of Cayman Athletic was surprising. “We are beginning to have a little more depth with players and hopefully this will enhance the challenge for the players to fight for playing time,” coach Greggy said.
Elite lost to Roma at the start of the season and drew with Scholars International, who Ebanks admitted were both “the better team on that day”.
He still sees Elite as retaining their league title. “Yes, it’s possible, once the players find the will to do so. But we have to work much harder than what we are doing and improve on training attendance.”
He can understand why Scholars feel they can win all three competitions. “Yes, that’s possible, Scholars have the quality players, coaching staff and a very good depth of players to do so. They have good motivation and have the talent. Their training sessions have been the best, probably compared to most clubs and this is a good sign.”
Ebanks hopes Gaza’s form lasts. “He has the potential to do so, hope all goes well for his health and strength.” In the cups, Elite hope to do better this time round. “Preparation is a key factor. When players don’t attend crucial training sessions, this eliminates a good chance. So hopefully we are prepared to commit to all sessions and have a positive result.”
Premier League continues on Sunday. At West Bay’s Ed Bush Sports Complex Tigers face Cayman Athletic at 5pm then Future play Scholars International at 7pm. The TE McField Annex sees George Town play Elite at 5pm before Bodden Town and Roma United face off at 7pm.
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