There will be football fever in Wildey during a busy weekend for the Barbados Football Association.
With the Premier League in high gear as the out-of-zone matches rage on, football fans will be in for a treat as exciting games are slated for the Wildey Turf over the next few days.
From as early as Friday night, the second round of the Stag Beer Champions Cup continues at various venues around the island. At Market Hill, Barbados Soccer Academy and Route 16 face off at 7 p.m. while Gall Hill and Parish Land do battle at 9 p.m.
At Briar Hall, Mavericks and Lodge Road have the 7 p.m game, while Chickmont FC and Benfica square off at 9 p.m. Over at Friendship, Checker Hall have a date with Wotton at 7 p.m., while Blackspurs and L&R United have the nightcap at 9 p.m.
Police and Ivy Rovers are up first at Bagatelle in the 7 p.m. encounter while the second match features Greens and Caribbean United at 9 p.m.
Saturday night will see the Premier League returning to the Wildey Turf with the first of two triple-headers. The embattled Rendezvous and Empire are set to face each other in the first match at 5 p.m. Rendezvous have been having a tough season as they have been missing their entire overseas roster.
This has seen them in poor form and a definite shoe-in for relegation. Empire, on the other hand, have all their full slate of players but are still struggling as they sit at the bottom of the Zone 1 table with only two wins in seven games.
Game 2 at 7 p.m. will feature Paradise and the University of the West Indies Blackbirds. Both teams are second in their respective groups and while a win will not see them overtaking the group leaders, a loss could see either team dropping a spot by the end of the weekend.
Saturday’s nightcap is almost sure to see Clayton’s Kola Tonic Notre Dame pick up points against Home Improvement Hardware Compton unless they can pull something magical out of the bag. The Dames are now fourth in Zone 1 and a win could see them moving back up to second. Compton are well down the ladder in Zone 2 with just three points to show from seven games. However, a win can see them getting out of the relegation zone.
Sunday’s first game will see Zone 2 leaders Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme taking on a fifth-placed Silver Sands at 4 p.m. The soldiers are no strangers to the league and their current form should see them doing well in the match-up. Silver Sands have been having a rough time in their first year back in the top tier and hover just over Empire in Zone 1 after having a good run in the Williams Equipment Preseason Cup.
With the 6 p.m. slot going to the final of the Barbados Masters Football Association, the nightcap game at 8 p.m. will be a showdown between Crane & Equipment Ellerton and Zone 1 leaders Weymouth Wales.
Ellerton have done well enough to be in third place in their group with two wins from seven games. However, the defending champions have a record that speaks for itself as they lead the entire points table with six wins and one draw for 19 points. An upset would see things open up and pay major dividends for Ellerton to propel them into a possible second place. (BFA)
