By Carlena Knight
The dry spell for the defending champions has ended as the PIC Liberta Blackhawks recorded their first win in the ongoing Antigua Premier League (APL) on Saturday night.
Playing in the first match of the double-header evening at the Antigua Recreation Grounds (ARG), the round-south team hammered Richie Rich Five Islands 4-0 with goals from Courtney Browne (18th own goal), Jamoy Stevens (67th), Xavorn Browne (77th) and Jesus Rodriguez (93rd).
Despite the win, the champions are not clear of the relegation zone as they sit in the 9th spot on the 10-team standings with six points, while Five Islands dropped to 8th with seven.
Former champions, Rawdon and Associates Parham, managed to gain one point out of their contest versus NNL Distributors Swetes, holding them to a one-all draw.
Swetes drew first blood with a strike from Shakkimba Williams in the 68th minute despite playing a man down as Rodney Michael was red-carded in minute 33.
The celebrations however would be cut short as Jondale Jno–Lewis would give Parham the equaliser in the 92nd minute.
Parham however remain at the bottom of the table with four points while Swetes are in 4th with 11 points.
Meanwhile, on Friday in the lone First Division match-up, Cool and Smooth ACT Empire defeated Police 2-1 while in the Second Division, Belmont FC thrashed Bailey’s Jewelery Young Warriors, 3-0.
Zahun Greene (23rd) and Nieke Watkins (64th) were the goal-scorers for Empire while Chad Vidal (71st) was the lone scorer for the lawmen.
Empire move up the ranks to 4th with 16 points while Police are in 9th with eight.
Belmont with their latest win are in 10th place with five points while Young Warriors remain at the bottom of the Zone Two table with one point.