By Neto Baptiste
Frontrunners, Freeman’s Village Scorpions, returned to their winning ways in the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Second Division on Thursday with a comfortable 4-1 triumph over FC Masters Ballers to take their tally of points to 42 after 16 matches.
The win follows a shock 4-1 loss to Golden Grove last week, but their latest victory opens a nine-point gap between themselves and second placed Bethesda FC who have 33 points after the same number of showings.
Darius Hector led the charge for Scorpions in Thursday’s win with a double, scoring in minutes 11 and 20. There were single conversions from former national player, Roy Gregory, who netted in the 62nd minute and Malik Charles who scored in the 66th.
FC Master Ballers’ lone strike came from an own-goal after Kahlique Kellman inadvertently put the ball into the back of his own net. The loss was Ballers’ second in 15 showings as they remain on 31 points and third on the standings.
Meanwhile, former three-peat Premier Division champions, English Harbour FC, recorded a massive 8-2 win over West Ham FC when they met at English Harbour.
For English Harbour, Oshane Blackwood and Nigel Graham both recorded braces with Blackwood netting in minutes 59 and 70 while Graham scored in minutes 78 and 85. There were single conversions from Clarence Marsh (8), Jaquon Watts (52), Yakira Hughes (75) and Wayne Philip (79).
Keithroy Richards had opened the scoring for West Ham when he netted in the 17th minute while Anderson Herbert scored the other goal in minute 82.
Two players, Lloyd Sheppard and Damian Azille, both of West Ham, were sent off two minutes apart in the first half.
The win lifts English Harbour to 33 points from 17 showings and into the top three on the standings, while West Ham remain on nine points from 15 showings and sixth from bottom on the 20-team standings.
Also on Thursday, Real Blizzard were 8-0 winners over Earthquake FC when they clashed at the FA’s Technical Centre.
Taharie James and Millique London both recorded hat-tricks with James scoring in minutes 10, 15 and 75 while London netted in minutes 36, 57 and 80. Jahquan Hunte (69) and Skerwin Boland (72) contributed with single conversions.
The win was Real Blizzard’s sixth from 15 outings as they move to 21 points from 15 showings, while Earthquake remain on 19 points from 14 showings.
The other scheduled encounter between Celtics and CPTSA Wings did not materialise.