By Neto Baptiste
Teams continued to battle for the two available playoff spots in the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Second Division on Wednesday while Attacking Saints secured automatic promotion to the First Division with a 2-1 triumph over Golden Grove.
Saints defeated home team Golden Grove 2-1 with goals coming from Requan Daniel in minute six and Kerron McKenzie in minute 44 for the winners, as they move to 40 points and second in the standings with one match remaining. Closest rivals, Sea View Farm could only get to 35 points while Jennings United, already promoted, leads the completion with 43 points and one game in hand.
Daryl Samuel scored the lone goal for Golden Grove with a 31st-minute conversion as they remain on 23 points and ninth on the 15-team standings.
Meanwhile, Sea View Farm dropped crucial points in their bid to challenge for a playoff spot when they were beaten 3-2 by Bethesda also on Wednesday.
A double-strike from Markland Wright in minutes 48 and 56 had given Farm a 2-0 advantage before Bethesda took control of the match in the second half with strikes from Chunsae Martin in minute 60, Kurt Richards in minute 67 and O’Shale Simon in minute 78.
Bethesda move to fourth with 31 points but have played their quota of 18 matches.
Also, Freeman’s Village were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom of the table Tamo FC as they too dropped crucial points in their bid for a playoff spot.
Malik Charles put Freeman’s Village in charge of the contest with a 35th minute conversion before Adonijah Dyett secured a point for Tamo FC with a 71st minute strike. Village moved to 30 points and fifth in the standings after 17 matches, while Tamo FC moved to four points.
In the other match played on Wednesday, CPTSA Wings beat Real Blizzard 3-1. Kit-Tanna Thomas, Dorian Meade and Raheim Andre each scored once for Wings while Tahari James scored the lone goal for Blizzard in minute 60.
