Lion Heart Stun Islanders, Share Top Spot
Lion Heart delivered a dominant 3-0 victory over Islanders at the A.O. Shirley Grounds to draw level with them atop the BVIFA Premier League standings. Ceejay Lampart's brace and a second-half goal from Glen St. John secured Lion Heart's clean sheet as the league heads into the Christmas break.
Lion Heart used a staunch defence and a Ceejay Lampart brace to hand Islanders their first defeat of the BVIFA Premier League season, beating them 3-0 Sunday night at the A. The result leaves both clubs level on 25 points with identical 8-1-1 records as the competition pauses for the Christmas break.
Lampart opened the scoring in the 35th minute and doubled his tally two minutes into first-half stoppage time (45+2'), giving Lion Heart a commanding 2-0 half-time lead. John put the tie beyond doubt with a close-range finish in the 71st minute, and Lion Heart's back line preserved a clean sheet that frustrated Islanders all evening. "From the start, I saw we had this game," Lion Heart coach Lenroy 'Left' Henry told Island Sun Sports. "I noticed they didn't have a middle.
It was weak and the defence flimsy, so we took advantage of that. They had no shots at goal in the first half, so compliments to the defence." Islanders coach Fitzroy Daly described the loss as "one of those days," noting squad availability problems. "We didn't start our strongest team today.
My entire middle is out for reasons that are very crazy, but it's just football," he said, adding that Islanders still lead on goal difference and that the result highlights areas for improvement. Elsewhere in the league, Wolues claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Rebels, with Ciaran Johnson scoring from inside the box in the 86th minute.
The win moved Wolues to 6-0-3 (18 points) while Rebels sit on 5-2-3 (17 points). Wolues coach Levi James called the victory "satisfying," despite a windy, disjointed performance. Defending champions VG United ran out 4-1 winners against cross-town rivals Avengers. Levron Williams struck twice (22', 25') and Latriel Williams completed a brace (29', 84') before Henry Caesar pulled one back for Avengers in the 89th minute.
Old Madrid recorded their first win of the season, edging Positive 4-3 in a dramatic match that featured two own goals by Positive. The result leaves Old Madrid with 3 points (1-0-8) while Positive remain the only winless side (0-0-9). One Love forfeited their fixture to Virgin Gorda Sugar Boys after failing to field a team; the Sugar Boys improve to 5-0-4 (15 points).
The BVIFA Premier League resumes after the holiday break with clubs reshuffling and a tight race at the top, where goal difference and squad depth will likely decide the title chase. Reported by Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway for The Island Sun.
Primary source: Island Sun