Guaya United, last year’s Eastern Counties champion returned to the top of the blink/bmobile National Super League standings and a win away from securing the title in its debut season, yesterday, after the club snatched a nervy 1-0 away win over FC Santa Rosa, in the penultimate round.
Former USA and Pro League-based striker Ryan Stewart notched yet another winning goal 10 minutes from time in an all-important win for Guaya, which on the contrary may have sealed FC Santa Rosa’s relegation to the Eastern Football Association Premier Division.
Santa Rosa’s final match will be played this Sunday in a must-win encounter with Club Sando, which too must win in order to stand a chance of winning the title. Club Sando was not in action yesterday as it was carded to play against withdrawn club Defence Force, which saw Guaya return to the top with an equal number of matches played.
Guaya remains in control of the league’s outcome. A win away to Siparia Spurs, on Sunday, will see it capture the title.
While FC Santa Rosa’s future in the competition looks grim, 2012 treble winner and consistent title contender Joe Public, suffered yet another loss, this time 4-0 to Real Maracas. Marvin Maxwell scored a hat-trick for Maracas, which was already safe from the drop.
Joe Public’s loss puts it in a must-win situation on Sunday when it travels to Arima to face the league’s most potent attacking team Malabar FC, at the Larry Gomes Stadium.
Joe Public sits on 22 points, one below WASA FC, the reigning league winner, which has been on an incline since the signing of former T&T international striker Stern John. WASA will travel to Tobago to face Stokely Vale, and a win will see the Waterboys remain in the competition for another year.
Results
Yesterday
Guaya United 1 (Ryan Stewart 81st) v FC Santa Rosa 0
Westside Superstarz 4 (Junior Spence 74th, Akim Ash 78th, Christon Freitas 89th, 90th) v Stokely Vale 1 (Jermaine Walters 84th)
Real Maracas 4 (Marvin Maxwell 1st, 36th, 52nd, Dillon Bartholomew 40th) v Joe Public 0
Saturday
Bethel United 5 (Dwayne Marcelle 7th, 55th, Neal Nolford 24th, Jeron Toby 70th, Kino Proctor 76th) v Siparia Spurs 2 (Andre Quashie 14th, Shackiel Henry 40th)
Fixtures
Sunday
Malabar FC v Joe Public, Larry Gomes Stadium, 4 pm
Stokely Vale v WASA FC, Plymouth Recreation Ground, 4 pm
FC Santa Rosa v Club Sando, UTT Ground, O’Meara, 4 pm
Real Maracas v Bethel United, Maracas, St Joseph, 4 pm
Siparia Spurs v Guaya United, Palo Seco Velodrome, 4 pm
Defence Force v 1976 FC Phoenix - postponed
Westside Superstarz - Bye
Standings
Teams Pld W D L F A Pts
Guaya United 22 18 1 3 55 25 55
Club Sando 22 17 3 2 65 24 54
Malabar FC 22 15 3 4 77 32 48
Real Maracas 23 9 4 10 41 30 31
Phoenix 23 7 10 6 32 39 31
Stokely Vale 23 9 2 12 36 51 29
Westside 23 8 1 14 37 57 25
Siparia Spurs 23 6 6 11 47 52 24
Bethel United 22 6 5 11 34 53 23
WASA FC 23 5 7 11 27 35 22
Joe Public 22 5 6 11 29 42 21
FC Santa Rosa 22 5 5 12 28 48 20
Defence Force 16 5 3 8 23 44 18