Unique Tropical Sport club soccer team withstood a late rally from Rovers to claim a hard-fought 2-1 victory Sunday afternoon at the picturesque Schjang Ball Park in Estate St. John.
The match, the second of two contested in the St. Croix soccer league, was as entertaining as they come; and the small group of fans that braved the heavily overcast skies did not go home disappointed.
Unique showed their class in the early goings of the match and was in an attacking mode from the opening whistle. Their aggressive play was quickly rewarded when Elroy Cuffy found the back of the net in the eight minute for the 1-0 lead.
Unique would continue to dominate play and the time of possession for the remainder of the half. Although they created a plethora of chances, they just could not convert on any and had to settle for the 1-0 lead at the half. Meanwhile they were also playing almost impenetrable defense that kept the Rovers to limited opportunities.
The second half started very similar to the first, with Unique again dominating the action. Ten minutes into the second half, striker Kevin “Tigan” gave the home team a 2-0 lead when from just inside the penalty box he found the back of the net with a right-footed rocket into the left corner.
As the half wore on, it was apparent that Unique were beginning to wear down physically. They would go into an attack but would be slow getting back on defense.
Meanwhile the Rovers, sensing the momentum shift, went on the attack and were able to pull a goal back in the 70th minute when Alex Washington beat the Unique net minder with a low shot into the right hand side of the net to get his team on the board.
Now trailing 2-1, the Rovers would continue to push forward and had many an opportunity for the equalizer. But with fatigue also becoming a factor for them, Rovers were not able to convert. Unique also had several opportunities, some much easier than what the Rovers had, but they also could not convert them into goals. The match ended with a 2-1 score and two visibly, very exhausted teams.
In the earlier match Prankston defeated Freewill Baptiste 2-1 in another tight contest.
