Paradise extended their lead at the top of the table in the Barbados Football Association Premier League when action continued at the BFA Technical Centre in Wildey on Sunday.
Playing in the opening game of a triple header, Paradise defeated Bagatelle 2-1. They took the lead via Tyrel Rayside-Demondonca in the 18th minute, before Kamoil Griffith made it 2-0 three minutes later. Bagatelle pulled a goal back in the 61st minute, but Paradise held on to secure the win.
Following the game, head coach Mario Harte told Barbados TODAY while he was pleased with the result, his side needed to be more clinical moving forward.
“Well the first half was relatively easy and we were in control, but you know football is a game of different phases and I found that in the second half, most of the good phases were in favour of Bagatelle so kudos to them.
“Kudos to my guys as well for really putting up a fight and being resilient to get the points, because as you would have seen, we didn’t have a lot of options on the bench. We are obviously missing Sheran (Hoyte) who is suspended, plus a few more players, so getting the three points was the most important thing,” Harte said.
With the win, Paradise moved up to 27 points, two clear of their nearest challengers, defending champions Weymouth Wales.
Ellerton are third on 23 points, with Kickstart Rush fourth also on 23 points, but that duo is separated by goal difference, while Kickstart Rush have a game in hand.
While no team has enjoyed more than a four-point lead this season, Paradise has led the league cumulatively for the most weeks and Harte said his team has adapted well to the pressure.
“Yes, the guys are handling it well. I have welcomed the 4 o’ clock games (which we played) back-to-back honestly, because getting to play first puts the pressure on the other guys,” he explained.
During the evening’s second game, Ellerton failed to convert a number of chances, but ground out a 1-0 win over UWI Blackbirds, who remained in seventh position on 12 points.
Anson Barrow scored the game’s only goal in the 31st minute. After showing good control in the box, he slammed a shot past UWI keeper K’den Hee Chung. Earlier in the half, he had squandered a much easier chance to put his side ahead.
Ellerton’s head coach Corey Barrow was pleased to see his side return to winning ways following last week’s defeat to Kickstart.
“It was ugly but effective. An ugly win is better than a pretty loss, but I think we made the game way harder than it was supposed to be. At the end of the day however, to get the three points was the most critical thing.
“We see what’s going on in our Premier League, where just like the English Premier League the points are very close, very critical and
every game is like a final. So while I’m not really satisfied, I am grateful for the three points. Our lack of penetration is causing me a little concern however, because with the attack we have, we should be getting more opportunities and getting more goals,” Barrow contended.
In the nightcap game, Weymouth Wales initially struggled to break down a low block defense set out by St Andrew Lions, before completing a vital 2-1 victory.
Rashad Jules booted Wales ahead in the 36th minute, with Ranaldo Trim then scoring a spectacular goal in the 85th minute to give Wales a 2-0 lead. A Shamar Edwards penalty in injury time gave the St Andrew based side a brief moment of hope, but Wales hung on to claim the full three points.
As has been the case for much of the season, Wales looked disjointed at times and the pattern of play has not gone unnoticed by assistant coach Andrew Jean.
“It’s always good to get the three points, however, we’re not happy as a coaching staff with the end product in terms of chances created and chances missed. We missed a lot of chances tonight. Hopefully we can clean that up in practice and go forward, doing better,” he said.
“We’ve been doing a lot of attacking drills for the last two weeks. I think it has been one of our weaknesses for the season, so the guys just have to apply themselves a bit better. The focus is winning every single game for the remainder of this round. Obviously, we are still the defending champions and we think we’re going to pull it off.”
Premier League action resumes at the Technical Centre tomorrow evening with a double header from 7 p.m.
Kickstart can move back into second position with a win against the winless Wotton, who have yet to register a point this season and forfeited their last game.
The night’s second encounter will see Brittons Hill United looking to move back up to third position, when they take on Eyre’s Meatshop Pride of Gall Hill.
Brittons Hill are currently fifth on 22 points, while Gall Hill are eighth on 11 points and will be keen to put some more distance between themselves and ninth placed St Andrew Lions, who are relegation threatened on six points after 12 games played.
