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By Neto Baptiste
Former three-peat top flight champions, English Harbour FC, will play in the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) First Division next season, following a comfortable 4-1 victory over Tryum FC in the body’s playoffs held on Saturday.
Contesting what turned out to be the lone game of an intended double-header at the FA’s Technical Center located on the Sir Sydney Walling Highway, English Harbour made light work of the struggling Tryum team to earn promotion to the middle tier of the domestic competition while Tryum was relegated to the Second Division for the 2025/26 competition.
English Harbour, who won the Premier Division three consecutive times spanning 1994 to 1997, moved to a perfect six points with the commanding win as they had beaten Second Division counterparts, Sea View Farm by a 2-1 margin in their opening fixture.
Ironically, it was Tryum that struck first when Swayne Thomas put them ahead in the 20th minute. The goal came just five minutes after they had been reduced to 10 men due to the automatic expulsion of Leroy Palmer by referee Kevin Peters.
English Harbour drew level on the stroke of half time via a Delroy Simpson strike — who hit the back of the net from close range in added time. Former national striker Akeem Weekes put English Harbour in the driver’s seat in the 67th minute before goals from Shadaeki Fredericks and Nosakhare Edoleyi in minutes 79 and 82, sealed the welcomed win for the Harbour men, while dooming Tryum to the Second Division.
Adding insult to injury, Tryum were reduced to nine men in added time after Mitchell Pryce was shown straight red.
Meanwhile, the clash between Premier Division’s Attacking Saints and First Division contenders Freeman’s Village Scorpions did not materialize. Scorpions did not show up for the match due to what reports state was a “scheduling dispute”.
Sources state that Scorpions were under the impression that the match was scheduled for May 4 following a request by the club to have it rescheduled from May 3 due to the unavailability of players.
Further reports, however, state that Attacking Saints have argued that they received confirmation from the ABFA that the match would be played on May 3 at the FA’s Technical Center. The matter has been passed on to the FA’s disciplinary committee who will rule on whether not Scorpions would have forfeited the match.
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