The third edition of the SKNFA Super Six Playoffs kicks off this Friday at 6:30 pm for the first time at the SKNFA Technical Centre in St. Peters. Each team will play their first three matches at the Technical Center and the remainder of the playoffs including the best of three finals series, will play at the Warner Park. Here’s a quick preview of the six teams that made the cut this season.
Defending champions SL Horfords St. Paul’s United topped the regular season once again and are in pole position to defend their premier league title. By their standards, they didn’t play remarkably well, but found their gear in the second round, which was enough to leapfrog Flow 4G Cayon Rockets, which led the table for most of the season. They topped the table with 43 points and are looking to do the same in the Super Six Playoffs.
For Cayon Rockets, this has been a remarkably improved season compared to last year. They have led the table most of the season, but have never quite had their full-strength team most of the time, which makes their second-place finish, just a point behind St. Paul’s, a remarkable accomplishment. If they stay healthy and have all their top players at their disposal, Cayon could do some damage in this year’s super six.
Finishing third in the SKNFA Premier League table this season, Rams Village Superstars had what many will call the tale of two rounds. Round 1 was less than desirable, suffering defeats and earning a mixed bag of results. But in the second round, they conceded very few goals and found their top gear, dispatching teams with much efficiency, which harks back to the Village we all know in their championship heydays. Finding their form at the right time, Village will be a handful for most teams this playoff.
In 4th is Super Six playoffs’ debutants MFCR Old Road United Jets. This may not come as a surprise to most pundits, as Old Road has been knocking on the door of the Super Six for at least the past two seasons, under the tutelage of their well-seasoned coach Alexis Morris. Now, with a core of young exciting players, Old Road could light up the playoffs if they can recapture the form they had at the start of the season. Still, just making the playoffs is an accomplishment in of itself, making them an interesting prospect this postseason.
Last year’s beaten finalist SOL IAS Conaree FC left it late to secure their playoff spot. As for most seasons, Conaree’s regular season performance was mixed; some high and some lows. But they always find a way to make the playoffs and sometimes, stage surprises as they did last season. Suffice it to say, playoffs Conaree is not the same as regular season Conaree.
And just edging it into the playoffs is the return of one of the most winningest teams in St. Kitts Nevis football history: Newtown United. Newtown had a promising start to the season and even started off round two with solid performances. But down the stretch, thy inexplicably suffered a mixed bag of results, which saw them drop down the pecking order and scrape through to the playoffs by two points over St. Peters FC. Now, they have to make their season count with a view of bringing back the glory days of Newtown to the fans and the community.
Friday’s matches to kick off the Super Six Playoffs will see Village Superstars vs Old Road at 6:30 pm followed by Cayon versus Conaree at 9 pm. On Saturday defending champions St. Paul’s United will take on Newtown United at 7 pm.