Despite a bad season this year, Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs pull out all the stops to ensure the oldest football club in the Federation remained in top-flight football. Spurs easily dispatched of Mantab 6-1 on Saturday night in the first event relegation promotion playoff played at the SKNFA Technical Center to ensure they remained in the SKNFA Premier League. The playoff is part of a new format where the 9th place team in the premier league, plays the team that finishes 2nd in Division 1 to determine a place in the premier league for next season. Mantab was hoping to get into the premier league after an unbeaten season in Division 1 but missed out again after failing to claim the Division 1 title last week against Trafalgar Southstars.
Scoring for Spurs: Shervin Allen (9th), Shaquille Adams (41), Raceem Thomas (44), Rakael Allen (62), Shervin Allen (70), Jasean Jeffers (74)
After the matches, Assistant Coach of Spurs Rohan Brown, said the history of the club and beckoned his players to fight for their right to remain in the premier league. “It was important for us to finish off strong. It was a very rough season obviously. We didn’t expect to be in this position at the start of the season but things happen in football,” Brown said. “We told the players (we are) the first (football) club established in the country; should not be in this position o w have to make sure we stay (in Premier League).” He said the plan is to now build strong mentally and physically for the new season.
A very disappointed Derin Huggins, Coach of Mantab said the season was disappointing, having gone unbeaten in Division 1, but without premier league football. “I feel very bad because for the whole season, we’re unbeaten and then we put ourselves in this kind of jam so it’s it’s a very bitter-sweet season for us,” Huggins said. He said it will be a tough Division 1 season ahead as the teams that got relegated from the Premier League are strong teams.
So, with that result, the three teams relegated from the Premier League this season are Saddlers United, Sandy Point FC and Security Forces FC, with Trafalgar Southstars, the 2023 Division 1 champions promoted to the Premier League. That also means instead of 12 teams in the Premier League, next season will see 10 teams competing in the Federation’s top-flight football.