Sugar Boys FC maintain 100% record of wins in BVIFA Super 6 Tournament

March 17, 2021 by

The Sugar Boys FC are now the only team with a 100 per cent record in the Super 6, whilst One Love FC were victorious in the Jamaican Derby against Lion Heart FC at East End / Long Look on Sunday.

Richard Morgan rose highest to seal the come from behind 2-1 win for One Love after Janel Frederick had put Lion Heart ahead in the 20th minute. Jalen Prentice saw his 30-yard free kick in the 56th minute fly into the back of the net with the keeper only able to get a glove on it diverted into the net for the leveler, before Morgan met Samuel Zeron’s cross in the 83rd minute to grab all 3 points.

“It was a physical and competitive game,” commented One Love Coach, Javon Carty, who saw his team rise to 5th in the standings with the win. “Worthy of any derby game, with lots of strong tackles, plenty of goal mouth action and it took a great move, ending in a pinpoint cross and a bullet like effort from our talisman, Morgan, to separate the teams.”

Also, at East End / Long Look, Wolues FC lost their perfect start to the tournament and slipped down to second in the standings, being pegged back by One Caribbean FC, who are in 6th, after racing into a two-goal lead.

Chester James in the 11th and Noel Maxwell in the 29th seemingly had put the Wolues well on their way to a fourth consecutive win, but first Carlos Septus in the 78th and then Gethin Jones in the 87th gave One Caribbean a share of the points in a 2-2 draw.

“It was a battle to the end,” noted One Caribbean FC Coach, Morris Mark. “The game was drifting, but Carlos created the drive for us to get back into the game and then with the full backs whipping in crosses, the momentum shifted. It’s was great to see youngster Jones popping up to slot home a deserved equalizer and definitely a moral victory for us.”

Meanwhile over on the recreation ground in Virgin Gorda, Sugar Boys FC claimed a 1-0 win against Panthers FC, courtesy of a Mohamed Kachour strike in the 78th minute to move into top spot and make it four wins from four.

The Panthers stay in 3rd place, whilst the Islanders, in 4th, closed the gap to just one point and began to look in top form as they beat Rebels FC, 3-1. The goals coming from Charles Bonnick in the 5th minute, Sheldon Harry in the 71st and Anfernee Johnson deep into added time at the end of the game.

Curtly Peters had managed to put Rebels level in the 27th minute from the penalty spot, but now that the Islanders have got themselves back into training, they are notching it up a gear and becoming a well-oiled machine again.

Filed Under: Football Tagged With: , ,

Sailor Thad Lettsome is scoring well on the college circuit

March 11, 2021 by
https://mcusercontent.com/850e1440dc10e214bb7b354cc/images/dc143017-38cc-4434-8c0c-1dd8b11a79be.jpeg

Last month the Royal BVI Yacht Club, which also serves as the sailing National Federation, announced that Thad Lettsome had qualified the BVI for the Cali 2021 Junior PanAm Games in the one person dinghy event.

This month, as his training for the majors continues, the college series is also well underway. Hours on the water are key as he switches from the Laser to team racing in a two person dinghy. Highly technical, fast and furious, the college circuit is hotly contested and and a place to spot the super stars of the future.

The first event of the spring season was the Nelson Rolsch Invitational regatta with one day of fleet racing1 and one of team racing2. Representing Tulane University, Team Angry Wave, Lettsome’s team finished third in both events.

This past weekend the team travelled to the University of South Florida for another two days of competition. Racing with the three-boat Team Green Wave, Lettsome’s team won Saturday’s team racing event with 13 wins and 2 losses.

On to fleet racing on Sunday, where ten teams of two boats duked it out for the honours. In windy and choppy conditions A-Divison skipper Lettsome put in an impressive performance winning one race and coming second in another to post the third lowest score of the day and secure fourth for Team Angry Wave.

  1. Fleet Racing
    Each team races with one boat in the A-Division and one in the B-Division.

2. Team Racing
For the team race, two teams of three boats face off head-to-head. The lowest combined score wins.

Results are here.

Filed Under: Sailing Tagged With: , ,

BVIFA Super 6 Tournament update

March 4, 2021 by
One Love FC and Panthers FC draw their match in the ongoing BVIFA Super 6 Tournament

As the BVI Football Association’s Super 6 tournament continued over the weekend at East End / Long Look, One Love FC and Panthers FC shared the points after a last gasp Richard Morgan winner was disallowed.

Winning a corner in the dying seconds, Richard Morgan appeared to have grabbed all three points for One Love when he latched onto the loose ball and fired home only for the referee to have already blown for full time, leaving the game tied at 2-2.

Abner Williams had put One Love ahead in the 20th minute before Nigel Sanderson equalized from the penalty spot 9 minutes later. Williams restored the lead in the 41st minute and then just after half time Sanderson leveled things up.

The Wolues FC had an impressive 0-4 victory over VG United with two goal salvos from both Timothy Parsons and Robbie Green.

Parsons opened the scoring in the 8th minute running onto a Phil Nelson through ball to finish first time past the oncoming goalkeeper. Green added a second later in the first half when he was the first to react to a saved shot and placed the ball into an empty net. The third came after Parsons skillfully lifted a pass over a defender and headed past the out rushing keeper for Green to smash the ball into the empty net and Parsons added the fourth after neatly volleying home from a brilliant Luca Reich cross.

The Sugar Boys FC took all 3 points from a tough battle against Old Madrid FC as German Gonzalez scored the only goal of the game in the 47th minute.

“The goal was spectacular,” commented McGraw Baptiste.“Both teams played well, and Old Madrid have improved physically – especially with their new signings. We missed quite a few clear chances in the second half, but overall, it was an exciting game.”

The Islanders FC also got their campaign underway with a 3-0 victory over One Caribbean FC, which came as a relief to Captain Ranalie Caines. “It was convincing in the end,” claimed Cains. “And a big relief after losing our first game (against the Wolues) and all the goals came from our brand of football, which was good to see.”

Sheldon Harry in the 9th, Kevin Fisher-Daniel in the 54th and Oswort Holder in added time at the end of the game from the penalty spot.

Standings as of 1st March

Coming up on Saturday 6th March, the Islanders take on Lion Heart FC at East End / Long Look with a 4pm kick off and on Sunday 7th March at East End, One Love FC face Wolues FC also with a 4pm kick off, whilst over on Virgin Gorda at the Recreation Ground, Sugar Boys FC are up Rebels FC at 5.45pm followed by Panthers FC playing VG Utd.
 

Filed Under: Football Tagged With: ,

BVIFA announces CONCACAF squad

March 4, 2021 by
BVIFA President, Mr. Andy Bickerton and Interim Head Coach Mr. Dan Neville

Interim Head Coach of the BVI for the CONCACAF 1st Round Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup, Qatar 2022, Mr. Dan Neville has announced a squad of twenty-one players for the two games to be played in Curacao later this month.

“The upcoming World Cup qualifiers are another great learning opportunity for the squad and part of our strategic plan to create opportunities for our top performing young players,” stated Neville. “We go into both games fully committed to being as competitive as we possibly can, we cannot guarantee results, but we can guarantee we will be organized, show immense national pride, put sweat on the shirt and have “a never say die” spirit!”

Squad: Phillip Jules, Daniel Gilford, William Butler, Kristian Javier, Giovanni Grant, Miguel Marshall, Jerry Wiltshire, T’Sharne Gallimore, Jamie Wilson, Joshua Bertie, Carlos Septus, Robbie Green, Tyler Forbes, Justin Smith, Luka Chalwell, Luca Reich, Liam Blok, Kevin Fisher-Daniel, Ikyjah Williams, T’Khoi Richardson and Charles Medway

Head Coach: Dan Neville

Asst Coaches: Clinton Percival and John Reilly

Fitness Coach: Javon Carty

Goalkeeping Coach: Morris Mark

Coach: Richie Morton

Manager: Wendel Nichols

Physio: Sheldon Harry

With Guatemala being 78 places ahead of the BVI in the FIFA rankings and St. Vincent 40 places ahead, the task is difficult but there is genuine belief amongst the squad that they can cause an upset.

“It is well known that we were looking forward to playing Guatemala at home,” commented Mr. Andy Bickerton. “However, the worldwide pandemic had different ideas and now we will travel to Curacao to face two tough opponents, but we have invested heavily in our youth program for the best part of a decade and although we may be one of FIFA’s smallest member associations, we are probably one of the most ambitious.”

The average age of the squad for the first two games is just 20 and making a senior squad for the first time are Richardson, Chalwell, Reich, Williams and Smith – all of whom started in the BVIFA’s School Leagues.

Both matches are scheduled to kick off at 8pm and the BVIFA will announce full details on how to watch the games, and how to support the team by purchasing a match day program and match ticket in the next few days.

Saturday 27th March v Guatemala

Tuesday 30th March v St Vincent and the Grenadines

The venue is the Stadion Emilio Hato in Willemstad, Curacao.

Filed Under: Football Tagged With: , , ,

BVIFA to host CONCACAF International Women’s Day Football Fest

March 4, 2021 by

The BVI Football Association Women’s Committee led by Mrs. Mary Phillip will be holding a fiesta of fun filled football for females to mark CONCACAF and International Women’s Day on Saturday March 6th, 2021 at the East End / Long Look venue.

All 41 members of the Confederation of North American and Caribbean Football Association will be participating in the event in their respective countries. On each previous occasion, the BVIFA has put the spotlight on efforts to create more opportunity for girls and women to play the game.

The Women’s Committee promises this year’s event will be an even more fun filled festival to further enhance their ongoing development programmes and regional participation at tournaments.

“The intention of this day is to foster a relationship with all women in the territory with the BVIFA and more so the game of soccer with the involvement of young girls and women, learning the game, getting fit, staying healthy and disciplined,” said Phillip.

Phillip also hopes the Women’s Day will foster the spirit of teamwork, improve skills, build confidence and show the girls there is a benefit to being involved in football that goes well beyond the field and which can lead to educational opportunities and even careers which perhaps once were only pipe dreams stating that it’s an opportunity to see “relationships created that lead to friendships and then Championships!”

Following the success of the recently concluded Women’s Futsal League – won by the Wolues FC with a team of girls who have been together since Primary School days highlighting Phillip’s vision – the BVIFA already has wasted no time in implementing much more competitive action for the girls, including a series of Tortola v Virgin Gorda matches, with a game played on Saturday, 27th February at the VG Recreation Ground and an U13 girls’ exhibition game, which showed a vast array of talent and plans to enter regional competition.

The CONCACAF Women’s Day begins at 10.00am on the field at the BVIFA’s new stadium venue in East End/Long Look and is open to all females. The Day will include games, skills’ challenges, entertainment, refreshments, and a special guest appearance from the Honorable Mrs. Shereen Flax-Charles, a long-time advocate of empowering women in football and in life.

Filed Under: Football Tagged With: ,

Dion Anselm, Zoe Sorrentino are 2021 BVI Senior Squash Champions

February 16, 2021 by
Zoe Sorrentino and Dion Anselm are 2021 BVI Senior Squash Champions

The BVI Senior Squash Championships plate and finals took place at the Tortola Sports Club on Saturday, February 13. Fast-paced and exciting games were played between opponents in both the men’s and women’s matches.

Plate Final –
Zak Jelusic beat Ian Chambers 11-7, 11-9, 11-8
These two used to be flatmates so there were certainly bragging rights up for grabs when it came to this plate final. As always Ian gave it 100% but found Zak a bit too steady for him on the day. Zak took the spoils 3-0.
 
Women’s 3rd/4th Playoff –
Natalie Fay beat Mandi Atack 11-9, 11-6, 11-6
The first game was a very tight affair which could have gone either way. Natalie was her usual all action self while Mandi was playing a more measured game looking to pick off any weak shots that she could force from Natalie’s racket. It was nip tuck all the way however Natalie managed to sneak it 11-9. Even though Mandi had forced Natalie to do a lot of running in the first that didn’t stop Natalie in the second… she came out with the same energy and the quality of her squash slightly increased. Mandi was still very much in the game but Natalie managed to create a slight lead in each of the next two games and she never looked back… she closed the match out 3-0.
 
Men’s 3rd/4th Playoff –
Luca Reich beat Rory Thornton 13-11, 11-9, 11-8
These two have been playing consistently over the past few weeks in order to sharpen up for the event. Anyone who’s witnessed any of their battles on a Monday has been served a treat as the matches are always fast paced, with 100% effort and some great rallies. This match was no different. Although Luca managed to get the win in 3 games… each game was very hard fought… especially the first two where Rory held game ball in the first and then led 9-7 in the second. Had he taken either of those games the match may have looked rather different. Credit must go to Luca for winning the big points and for not letting his foot off the gas when he was ahead in the 3rd (a lesson that maybe he learnt from his semi final!!).
 
Women’s Final –
Zoe Sorrentino beat Musonda Poole 11-9, 11-5, 11-8
Musonda started this game on fire and marched out to a 4-0 lead in the first game. As Zoe’s nerves settled she gradually clawed her way back in to the game by extending the rallies and hitting with great power in to the back corners. Zoe managed to sneak the first game 11-9. This was crucial and really gave Zoe the momentum as she came out looking much more confident in the second game. She started using her boast to good effect moving Musonda over the full court now. Second game to Zoe 11-5. Musonda is certainly a competitor and fought hard in the third game. Anything that was left in the middle of the court she finished with either hard low kills or soft drops to the front two corners. The game was anyone’s at 8-8 however Zoe then held her nerve and closed the match out with three solid points to once again be crowned TSC Women’s Squash Champion!
 
Men’s Final –
Dion Anselm beat Neville Sorrentino 11-6, 11-5, 12-10
Dion started this match at a really high intensity and he showed he meant business from the very first point. Unfortunately Neville didn’t quite have such a positive start. Right from the beginning it was apparent that he wasn’t on his ‘A game’. Dion was ruthless and capitalised on this as he should. He stormed out to an 8-1 lead and closed out the game 11-6. The second game followed a similar pattern where Dion ran out to an early lead and then managed to hold on to it for the remainder of the game 11-5. On top of his obvious skills with the racket, Neville is nothing if not a fighter and he got stuck in in the third and made it much tougher for Dion. He saved two match balls and forced a tie break at 10-10. Dion however once again showed his ruthlessness and closed the match out 12-10 and in doing so became our Men’s Squash Champion! While undoubtedly disappointed with his performance in the final, Neville dug in and made things as difficult as possible for his opponent but credit must go to Dion for sensing a slight drop in Neville’s usual level and being relentless in moving towards the finishing line.
 
Roundup –
Adam Murrills, tournament organizer and national squash coach noted that squash has more and more players joining all the time which can only serve to improve the overall level of competition.

“A big thank you to everyone that entered the event and I’d of course like to congratulate all of our winners!I look forward to watching this event continue to grow over the coming years,” said Murrills. “I’m also looking forward to watching some of our top juniors gradually start emerging in these events. Luca has led the way finishing third in the Men’s Event this year. I know he’ll be hoping to better that come next year’s event! There were also promising performances from Darci Reich, Oliver Henderson and Danny Henderson.”

2021 BVI Senior Squash Champions Zoe Sorrentino and Dion Anselm with tournament organiser and National Squash Coach, Adam Murrills
Filed Under: Squash, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

BVIFA Super 6 Tournament underway

February 16, 2021 by
  • Fitzroy Daley (Old Madrid) leveled the game with a penalty kick against the Rebels
  • Giovanni Grant scored a superb solo goal in the 75th minute, to put Old Madrid 2-1 up against the Rebels

The BVI Football Association’s brand new Super 6 Tournament got underway on Sunday, February 14 with Old Madrid FC using all their experience to beat Rebels FC, 3-1, at the East End Long Look stadium.

The unique format sees the member clubs vying for a top six finish whereby they will then play a round robin to see who can qualify for the best of three final in June.

Old Madrid certainly laid down an early marker showing their intent to grab one of the spots that ensures progression with what turned out to be a comfortable, but highly contested victory against a youthful Rebels team, despite going a goal down early on.

Jamal Sargeant put the Rebels ahead in the 17th minute and it was not until added time at the end of the first half that Fitzroy Daley leveled the game from the penalty spot. Giovanni Grant scored a superb solo goal in the 75th minute, to put Old Madrid 2-1 up, when after a mazy run down the left-hand side he calmly lobbed the Rebels keeper.

“It was like experience against youth out there and experience came out on top,” commented Kenrick Grant of Old Madrid. “They seemed very quick and aggressive in attack, but we capitalized on their mistakes in them keeping their shape and caught them on the counter.”

Once Old Madrid had taken the lead, they began to dominate possession and created several good chances, especially from Kenmore Simmonds who seemed to lose his footing at the last minute when scoring seemed an easy option.

Simmonds though would make amends when he wrapped up all three points for his team with a strike in the 89th minute to make it 3-1.

In the other games, played over in Virgin Gorda:
Lion Heart FC beat Virgin Gorda United 2-1 with Janel Ferdinand scoring twice in the first half before Joshua Ramprashad pulled one back for VG Utd in the 82nd minute to set up a frantic last ten minutes. However, Lion Heart remained solid at the back to ensure all three points.

And Sugar Boys FC also got off to a winning start as they saw off the challenge from One Caribbean FC to secure a 2-1 victory. McGraw Baptiste from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute put them ahead before Michael Castello doubled the advantage in the 52nd. Kelvin Glasgow scored a late consolation for One Caribbean.

Weekend schedules:
Saturday 20th February –
One Caribbean FC v One Love FC – East End / Long Look – 4.00pm

Sunday 21st February –
Wolues FC v Islanders FC – East End / Long Look – 4.00pm
Panthers FC v Old Madrid FC – Virgin Gorda Rec. – 5.45pm
Rebels FC v Virgin Gorda Utd – Virgin Gorda Rec. –8.00pm

Filed Under: Football Tagged With: ,

BVIFA National Youth and Women’s Futsal Leagues culminate with All Star matches and presentations

February 16, 2021 by
  • Wolues FC BVIFA Women’s Futsal League Champions 2021
  • Panthers FC BVIFA U13 National Youth League Champions 2021
  • One Caribbean FC BVIFA U17 National Youth League Champions 2021

The culminating matches of the BVI Football Association National Youth Leagues and Women’s Futsal League took place on Saturday, February 13 at the National Stadium Venue in East End Long Look with a galaxy of future stars of the game on show.

In the U13 game, Panthers FC, THE Champion team overcame their All-Star opponents, 3-0, with goals coming from Myles Penn (2) and Lashawn Gibbs.

The U13 Girls Exhibition – added to the day’s play on an initiative from Julia Reich of the Wolues FC – saw a scintillating display that ended 2-2 with goals coming from Millie Cottreau, T’Nyah Richardson, Kyla Flax and Edith Ferrer.

The U17 boys, named as North Ballers and South Strikers by Coaches Richie Morton and Morris Mark, also ended as a draw, with goals from Ikyjah Williams and Sam Potgeiter.

The women’s game, which saw them playing on the full pitch and eleven a side after their Futsal Season, showed how quickly they are returning to full competitive action capability as Tola Broderick scored the only goal of a fast-paced game for Tortola in their 1-0 victory over Virgin Gorda.

All the coaches agreed that the day had been a great success, sentiments echoed by BVIFA Executive Board Members, Mr. Avanell Morton, responsible for Youth Development, Mrs. Loralee Walters-Abrams, the driving forces behind getting so much football organized throughout difficult times, and BVIFA Treasurer, Mr. Kenrick Grant, “It was an excellent day!” noted Walters-Abrams as both she and Morton congratulated all the players and coaches who had made it all possible.

After the dust had settled on some exhilarating displays on the field, the team and individual awards were presented.

U13 National Youth League
Champions; Panthers FC
Golden Boot; Myles Penn (Panthers FC)
Golden Glove; Akeem Paddy (Panthers FC)
MVP; Jaheim Bijai (Panthers FC)
Fair Play Award; (Old Madrid FC)

Individual Club MVPs
Morris Mark III (One Caribbean FC), Azaniah Glasgow (Old Madrid FC), Hugo Hlavacek (Wolues FC), Qu’yl Billingy (VG Utd), Myles Penn (Panthers FC), Kyle Farrington (Sugar Boys FC)

U17 National Youth League
Champions; One CARIBBEAN FC
Golden Boot; Adrian Padilla (One Caribbean FC)
Golden Glove; Oliver Henderson (Wolues FC)
MVP; T’Khoi Richardson
Fair Play Award; Old Madrid FC

Individual Club MVPs
Kemani Forrest (Old Madrid FC), Luca Reich (Wolues FC), Jaden Abrams (VG Utd), Adrian Padilla (One Caribbean FC), Jalen Prentice (One Love FC), Denvin Jones (Rebels FC).

BVIFA Women’s Futsal League
Champions; Wolues FC
Golden Boot; Darci Reich (Wolues FC)
Golden Glove; Tinia Van Zoost (Wolues FC)
MVP; Darci Reich (Wolues FC)
Fair Play Award; Wolues FC

Individual Club MVPs
Morgan Creque (Panthers FC), Tahirah Bascombe (VG Utd), Tola Broderick (Wolues FC), Makeda Fahie (Avengers FC)

  • Tola Broderick (Wolues FC) congratluated for her goal
  • U13 l-r T’Kylah Richardson, Makalia Fergus and T’Nyah Richardson
  • U17 North Ballers V South Strikers
Filed Under: Football Tagged With: , , , ,

Thad Lettsome qualifies for Cali 2021 Junior PanAm Games

February 9, 2021 by
Laser Sailor Thad Lettsome at the Lima 2019 PanAm Games. PHOTO: Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway

Thad Lettsome has qualified the BVI for the Cali 2021 Junior PanAm Games in the one person dinghy event. The Games are scheduled to take place from 8-19 September in Cali, Colombia.

With COVID restrictions making qualification regattas impossible, the organizers looked back at recent Youth World Championship results for sailors across the PanAm region and selected just five countries in the first round of qualifiers for the ILCA (Laser) class.  

The BVI is in prestigious company and with this qualification is joined by some of the world’s biggest sailing nations – Argentina, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada and the USA.

Lettsome raced at his first Youth World Championships in 2017 when he was just 15 and finished as the top ranked sailor from the Caribbean. At the following editions in 2018 and 2019 he continued to lead the way for the Caribbean sailors and was also ranked in the top five of all sailors from the PanAm region.

In 2019, Lettsome received an invitation to attend the PanAm Games in Lima, Peru where he finished in 19th place.  Now 19 years of age and a player on the senior racing circuit, he has his sights set on representing the BVI at the Olympic Games and joining an elite group of just seven other BVI sailors. 

The 2021 Junior PanAm Games are the first edition of a new quadrennial event.  The sailing events will take place on Lake Calima from 16-18 September.

Athlete’s across 27 sports and between the ages of 18 and 22 in the year of the event and gold medalists will receive automatic qualification to the Santiago 2023 PanAm Games.

Filed Under: Cali 2021, Sailing, Thad Lettsome Tagged With: , , ,

Wolues FC win BVIFA Women’s Futsal League

February 3, 2021 by
Wolues FC win BVIFA Women’s Futsal League. Photo: BVIFA

The Wolues FC brought their BVI Football Association Women’s Futsal League campaign to a close on Saturday, 30th January with another victory, 3-1, against the Avengers FC, going six from six for a perfect season!

Already guaranteed the championship title in their first year of competitive play, the “Blue Wave” could have been forgiven for taking the foot off the pedal, but not so this group, as the players that have trained together for years as part of the Manatees Programme and played together for various school teams, showed true champion qualities in making sure they kept their 100 % record intact.

The Avengers would prove to be their toughest challenge yet and if it had not been for the alertness, composure, and bravery in the Wolues goal of Tinia Van Zoost, who played most of the second half with a broken finger, the unbeaten streak would have been over.

Darci Reich had put the Wolues up early to settle the nerves, but Laverne Fahie struck back before half time to level the game at 1-1. Undaunted and unfazed, the Wolues girls stepped up their game and Gabi Jermyn fired home a sublime half volley from a corner kick a minute later to make it 2-1.

A back and forth second period saw the Wolues passing the ball around, probing for the cushion of another goal, but also defending resolutely as the Avengers remained a constant threat and it wasn’t until the 44th minute when Reich settled matters with her second goal of the game.

It was a complete team effort and beautiful to watch according to many of the Wolues supporters.

The Coaches also noted that the perfect season was the culmination of the girls’ dedication to training and putting in so much hard work over a lot of years.

The “Blue Wave” should be congratulated for an incredible achievement.

The Wolues FC “Blue Wave” end the 2021 season with a perfect six-for six. Photos: BVIFA
Filed Under: Football Tagged With: ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »