Violet Kickers snag St JFA Senior League title
BY PAUL A REID
Observer West writer
MONTEGO BAY, St James – Twenty years after they won their first of two National Premier League titles, Violet Kickers are the St James Football Association’s Sandals/ATL/Honda Senior League champions and are now set to participate in the Western Confederation Super League.
The season came to an anti-climactic ending in the return leg semi-finals when their opponents Reggae Youths refused to retake the field after a break due to a power interruption at Jarrett Park on Sunday night.
Violet Kickers led 1-0 when the game was held up in the 59 minute and 2-1 on aggregate after the first leg had ended in a 1-1 draw on Wednesday.
Referee Alton Brown waited almost 20 minutes for the bulbs to get back to maximum strength, before signalling for the two teams to retake the field, but only Violet Kickers responded.
Meanwhile, the Competitions Committee of the St James Football Association is to meet and make a ruling on the matter soon.
But barring an unexpected reversal, Violet Kickers will join Trelawny Major League champions Salt Marsh United as the first two promoted teams to next season’s Western Confederation Super League.
Meanwhile, in the other two finals played on Sunday, Heights FC and Somerton FC won the won the Dennis Barton/Weston King Division One and Guardian Group Division Two titles respectively.
Heights FC, last season’s Division Two champions beat Marl Road 5-3 on aggregate, winning the return leg 3-0, thanks to a hat- trick from Neil Clarke.
In the meantime, Somerton FC shocked red hot favourites Faulklands SC 3-1 on Sunday for a 4-3 aggregate, scoring the last three goals of the game after going down 1-0 and trailing 3-1 overall, after losing the first leg 2-1.
Faulklands SC had been unbeaten up to Sunday, but had shown signs of cracking late in the season and after not conceding a goal all season, conceded six in their last four games; two in the semi-finals against Cambridge United SC and four against Somerton FC, which avenged their only loss with Sunday’s win.
