The St. Croix Soccer Association wrapped up its weekend schedule Sunday with two games at the Schjang Ball Park in Estate St. John. In game one, the Rovers routed Prankston 4-0, while in game two the Skills got the better of Free Will Baptist 3-1.
Rovers 4, Prankston 0
The Rovers turned a 1-0 match at halftime into a 4-0 rout after getting three second-half goals against a spirited but overmatched Prankston club. The winners got the only goal they would really need when Larry Bedford found the back of the net 18 minutes into the match. Prankston did well the rest of the half to keep the Rovers from converting any more of their many chances.
The second half was all downhill for the losing team as the Rovers began to show their superiority. Terrence Jones made the score 2-0 Rovers with a goal 10 minutes into the second half. Bedford then recorded his second score of the match in the 55th minute for a 3-0 lead, and the rout was on. Joshua Cheatham’s 81st-minute goal ended the scoring for the match and gave the Rovers their 4-0 victory.
The Skills 3, Free Will Baptist 1
Free Will Baptist played a good Skills squad dead even at 1-1 for one half, but couldn’t stay with the more talented winners for much of the second half. The Skills, on the other hand, should have had at least three or four more goals, but could not finish what looked like relatively easy chances. The Free Will Baptist goalkeeper also came up with some great saves to keep his team from losing by an even greater margin.
The Skills’ Dane Thomas got his team in the scoring column nine minutes into the match on a nice drive. Free Will Baptist, however, got the equalizer in the 23rd minute off the boot of Alexander Bradshaw, and the score was all squared at one. Neither team was able to break through for a score for the remainder of the half as they went to the break knotted at 1-1.
The Skills came out fired up in the second half, creating several chances to take the lead, but time after time they failed to convert. Free Will Baptist also had a couple of chances but was turned away.
As the game wore on, the Skills’ fitness advantage became apparent and ball possession was heavily in their favor. It still was not until the 69th minute that they were able to take the lead, and this came when Mickey CruickShank ripped a shot into the net for the game winner. The icing on the cake came in the 79th minute on a strike from just outside the penalty box by Elvis Abardeen for the 3-0 final score.
