Real Mona, Brown"s Town maintain lead in Super League

BY HURBUN WILLIAMS Observer writer

Sunday, January 04, 2015    

Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) Super League leaders Real Mona and Brown’s Town continue to plunder the opposition with convincing wins in rescheduled matches played yesterday.

At Butter Cup Park Real Mona hammered Rockfort 3-0 to move to nine points in Zone A, with Jordan Moses scoring all three goals. Meanwhile Brown’s Town continued their march to the top of Zone B with nine points from a comfortable 2-0 win against UWI.

In other matches Maxfield Park were held to a 1-1 draw by Rae Town at Maxfield Park, Mountain View and Shortwood played to a similar scoreline, while Allman Town edged Santos FC 1-0 at Bell Chung Oval to register their first win of the season.

Allman Town, who remain unbeaten in the Super League, having drawn their previous three games, moved to six points along with Santos in Zone B, with Bull Bay second on seven points.

Playing a high-pressed game from the opening whistle Allman Town forced the former joint leaders Santos into making several cardinal defensive blunders before Leslie Johnson spun and fired a rocket past goalkeeper Russell Hosang in the 33rd minute of play to keep their unbeaten record in tact from four matches.

However, the Nicholas Stewart-coached Allman Town had to withstand a resurgent second half from Santos to hold on to their narrow lead. Goalkeeper Jovell Plunkett made the victory possible by framing several spectacular saves from very close range.

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Real Mona, Brown"s Town maintain lead in Super League

Sandals Whitehouse zoom in on Super League lead

BY PAUL A REID Observer writer

Tuesday, January 13, 2015    

WHITEHOUSE, Westmoreland — Sandals Whitehouse could take over the lead in the Jamaica Football Federation Charley’s JB Rum Western Confederation Super League this afternoon with a win over Jericho Rangers at Whitehouse.

With Savannah SC dropping points for the first time this season after being held 1-1 by Village United at Elleston Wakeland on Sunday, a sixth-straight win would see Sandals Whitehouse take over the lead.

The odds will be in Sandals Whitehouse’s favour, especially playing at home against Jericho Rangers, who are in ninth place on five points.

An added time own goal on Sunday denied Village a big win over Savannah SC, who had won the previous five games, while Wadadah FC and Salt Marsh United moved into third and fourth places, respectively, with wins.

The game at Elleston Wakeland started just over an hour late due to the late arrival of officials, but it was the home team that took the lead when Charles Grant found himself with just goalkeeper Neil Williams to beat and found the lower right corner of the goal in the 31st minute.

Savannah SC, who had scored 17 goals in five games, stormed back but could not breach the Village United goal.

Savannah SC found an unlikely saviour in Village United’s Roneil Cole, who turned a ball past his own goalkeeper Keith Hamilton in time added on as the Westmoreland club managed to get a point instead of dropping all three.

Wadadah FC won back-to-back games with a 2-1 win over a slumping Tomorrow’s People at Irwin High with all three goals coming in a nine-minute period late in the second half.

Deshawn Woolery who transferred from Granville FC gave them the lead in the 75th minute and Tyshan Hill doubled the advantage in the 81st minute.

Dalkeith McPherson pulled one back for Tomorrow’s People in the 84th minute but that’s the best they could do as they went down to their third loss of the season and slipped to seventh place on nine points.

Salt Marsh United are in fourth place after Travis Watson’s 60th minute goal gave them a 1-0 win over Holland United in their Trelawny derby played at Davis Pen.

The win was promoted Salt Marsh United’s third of the season as they stretched their unbeaten run to five games and improved to 11 points.

Montego Bay Boys Club seemed to have picked up some momentum beating Beaches Negril 2-1 at the UDC field for their first back-to-back win of the season and moved to nine points.

Beaches Negril, who are still seeking their first win since earning promotion to the Super League took the lead in the 48th minute and Boys Club had to wait until the 78th minute to get the equaliser from Glenroy Williams with Roshane Reid scoring the winner in the 82nd minute.

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Sandals Whitehouse zoom in on Super League lead

English Football League results

English Football League results:

Championship

Birmingham 0 Derby 4

Bolton 2 Blackburn 1

Bournemouth 2 Fulham 0

Brentford 2 Ipswich 4

Brighton 2 Reading 2

Charlton 1 Cardiff 1

Leeds 0 Wigan 2

Middlesbrough 3 Nottingham Forest 0

Norwich 6 Millwall 1

Rotherham 2 Huddersfield 2

Sheffield Wednesday 1 Blackpool 0

Watford 0 Wolves 1

League One

Bristol City 2 Yeovil 1

Chesterfield 3 Peterborough 2

Colchester 1 Gillingham 2

Doncaster 2 Coventry 0

Fleetwood 0 Bradford 2

Leyton Orient 4 Crawley 1

Notts County 0 Milton Keynes Dons 1

Oldham 1 Crewe 2

Port Vale 2 Sheffield Utd 1

Preston 1 Barnsley 0

Scunthorpe 2 Rochdale 1

Walsall 1 Swindon 4

League Two

Burton 2 Tranmere 0

Cambridge 0 Southend 1

Dagenham and Redbridge 0 Stevenage 2

Exeter 1 Cheltenham 0

Mansfield 1 Hartlepool 1

Morecambe 0 Carlisle 1

Newport 2 Plymouth 0

Northampton 2 Bury 3

Oxford 0 Shrewsbury 2

Portsmouth 0 AFC Wimbledon 2

Wycombe 1 Luton 1

York 1 Accrington 0

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English Football League results

Savannah, Sandals extend run in Western Confed Super League

BY PAUL A REID Observer writer

Thursday, January 01, 2015    

NEGRIL, Westmoreland — Being forced to play during the festive holiday season did not stop the Savannah SC and Sandals Whitehouse teams from extending their brilliant starts in the Jamaica Football Federation Charley’s JB Rum Western Confederation Super League.

Former champions Savannah SC made it five straight with a 1-0 win over Beaches Negril while Sandals Whitehouse chalked up their fourth win in a row, holding off Violet Kickers 2-1 in Montego Bay, St James.

Savannah and Sandals Whitehouse will meet in what is expected to be a mouth-watering match-up on Sunday at Frome when one team will lose its perfect record.

It was not so festive for former champions Wadadah FC who were clobbered 1-5 by promoted Salt Marsh United, while Granville FC edged Montego Bay Boys Club 1-0.

Ron Daley scored his league-leading fifth goal, in the 61st minute for Savannah, while handing Beaches Negril their fourth straight loss.

At the Green Pond High field, Sandals Whitehouse dug deep to beat Violet Kickers 2-1 and stay three points adrift of Savannah.

Damion Wynter gave Sandals the lead in the 15th minute, but Ryan Binns levelled the scores for the home team in the 70th minute.

Ronnie Whyte scored the winner for Sandals in the 80th minute as they escaped with all three points.

Salt Marsh got a memorable win in their drubbing of Wadadah FC with Omar Williams leading the way with a treble, scoring in the 19th, 37th and 71st minutes.

Garrel Gooden scored in the 53rd minute and Errol Plummer in the 77th minute before Alex McFarlane got a consolation goal for Wadadah FC in the 82nd minute.

At the UDC field in Montego Bay, Andrew Allen’s 41st minute goal was enough to give Granville a 1-0 win over Montego Bay Boys Club and move past Wadadah FC into third place on goal difference.

Both teams are on nine points, one more than Tomorrow’s People, with Salt Marsh United improving to sixth place on seven points, one ahead of Village United.

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Savannah, Sandals extend run in Western Confed Super League

English League results

English Premier League results:

Burnley 0 Liverpool 1 (Sterling 62)

Arsenal 2 (Sanchez 37, Rosicky 65) QPR 1 (Austin 79-pen)

Chelsea 2 (Terry 31, Costa 62) West Ham 0

Crystal Palace 1 (Dann 86) Southampton 3 (Mane 17, Bertrand 48, Alderweireld 53)

Everton 0 Stoke 1 (Bojan 38-pen)

Leicester 1 (Ulloa 48) Tottenham 2 (Kane 1, Eriksen 71)

Manchester United 3 (Rooney 23, 36, Van Persie 53) Newcastle 1 (Cisse 87-pen)

Sunderland 1 (Johnson 1) Hull 3 (Ramirez 33, Chester 51, Jelavic 90)

Swansea 1 (Sigurdsson 13) Aston Villa 0

West Brom 1 (Ideye 87) Manchester City 3 (Fernando 8, Toure 13-pen, Silva 34)

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English League results

South Africa"s cricket great Kallis for Caribbean Premier League

EXCITEMENT for Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2015 cranked up a notch yesterday with the announcement that South African cricket hero, Jacques Kallis, has been confirmed to join the draft list for next year’s tournament.

The news comes hot on the heels of last Friday’s announcement that the Caribbean Premier League is set to offer contracts to young cricketers from the Caribbean and ICC Americas region and will see these players rub shoulders with some of the game’s greatest players.

Each of the six CPL franchise coaches will no doubt be clamouring to secure Kallis at the official CPL 2015 draft, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in early 2015.

Speaking about joining the draft, Kallis said: “I have really enjoyed playing in the Caribbean with The Proteas and am looking forward to hopefully returning for the CPL. It is an amazing place with amazing people and I am excited to see what team I will be playing for. CPL has produced some fantastic cricket and the fans really bring a special atmosphere so I can’t wait to be a part of it.”

CPL international cricket director Tom Moody said the CPL will be happy to have another high-profile player to the growing tournament.

“The addition of these cricketing greats to the roster for CPL 2015 is testament to the growing success of the ‘Biggest Party in Sport’ which has grown significantly since its inaugural year. And, with players of this calibre getting on board, CPL is offering young Caribbean cricketers a great opportunity to test their skills against some of the best of their generation,” he said.

Kallis is regarded as one of the greatest of the game’s all-rounders, having scored more than 11,000 runs and taken 250 wickets in both one-day and Test match cricket as of 2013.

In 2008, he was named Leading Cricketer in the World in the 2008 Wisden for his performances in 2007 in addition to being the ICC Test Player of the Year and ICC Player of the Year in 2005. He has been described by Kevin Pietersen and Daryll Cullinan as the greatest cricketer to play the game.

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South Africa"s cricket great Kallis for Caribbean Premier League

White Hall tag Sligo View United 3-0 in INSPORTS Community League football

BY GERALD REID Observer Writer

Sunday, October 12, 2014    

WHITE Hall defeated Sligo View United 3-0 as the 2014/2015 Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) All-Island Community League Football Championship continued at the Tinson Pen Sports Complex in Greenwich Town last Sunday.

The 14 parishes will all be playing their parish competition with the champions of each receiving $50,000 and advancing to the second stage to be played on a knockout format.

Meanwhile, the overall winners of the INSPORTS All-Island Community League Football Championship will collect a whopping $500,000 along with the Champions Trophy; Second place $150,000, third place $75,000, and fourth place will receive $50,000.

It was White Hall’s third consecutive win in Zone ‘B’ in the parish of St Andrew, where they have already beaten Ranch 12 FC 3-2 and Angel Mafia United 2-1 to take an early lead on points.

The goals for White Hall were scored by Reinhard Bent in the 18th minute, Lasana Bent in 49th and Nicholas Henry in the 85th minutes.

Nannyville through goals from Omar Barnes and Theodore Artwell in the 26th and 38th minutes, respectively, clipped High Light View 2-1 at EXED Community College playing field. Teddy Williams got the losers’ lone goal in the 45th minute. Nannyville led 2-0 at half-time.

Up Link FC beat Woodford Strikers 3-1 with two goals from Andrew Harrison in the 60th and 75th minutes, and the other from Lorenzo Morgan in the 30th minute, while Kemarley Walton got Woodford Strikers’ lone goal in the 50th minute at Bell/Chung Oval.

Wayne Brown’s two goals in the 55th and 68th minutes carved out a 2-1 win for Special United over Stadium Gardens, for whom Tahj Douglas netted in the 46th minute at EXED Community College playing field. The winners led 2-0 at the interval.

Meanwhile, Little Africa tagged Bridge Side FC 2-0 after leading 1-0 at half-time, while Cookhorn Lane clipped Cooreville Gardens 2-1. Both games were played at Pembroke Hall Primary School.

The competition continues today with double-headers at four venues, beginning at 1:00 pm.

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White Hall tag Sligo View United 3-0 in INSPORTS Community League football

Premier League champions MoBay United host Rivoli United Sunday

PAUL A REID Observer West writer

Thursday, October 16, 2014    

TUCKER, ST JAMES — DEFENDING Red Stripe Premier League champions Montego Bay United will hope to make Rivoli United’s third trip to western Jamaica in 11 days another losing one when they meet in a first-round game at Wespow Park on Sunday afternoon.

Rivoli United lost back-to-back games to Reno FC at Frome Sports Grounds last week Thursday in the Flow Champions Cup KO, and then got a big 5-1 whipping on Sunday in the RSPL.

Despite this, Rivoli United are above Montego Bay United in the point’s tables — one point and two places — but have never won at Wespow Park.

Rivoli United are in fourth place on eight points while Montego Bay United are in sixth place with seven points.

Montego Bay United will be full of confidence coming into the game after a 2-0 win over promoted Barbican FC at the UWI Bowl last weekend, their first away win of the season after losses to Waterhouse and leaders Cavalier SC.

Strikers Allan Ottey and Omar Gordon will be expected to lead the Montego Bay United attack as they seek their third win and keep their unbeaten home record intact.

Montego Bay United have scored five of their seven goals at home and have conceded just once in Montego Bay, in a 1-1 draw against Reno in the opening round.

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Premier League champions MoBay United host Rivoli United Sunday

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE ROUND-UP - Man City go second, Lallana sparks Liverpool

Saturday, October 04, 2014 | 2:10 PM    

LONDON, England (AFP) – Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero scored late goals as Manchester City climbed to second place in the Premier League with a hard-earned 2-0 victory at Aston Villa on Saturday.

Villa offered dogged resistance, but Toure broke the deadlock with a characteristically languid strike in the 82nd minute and Aguero lashed home a second six minutes later.

Victory takes Manuel Pellegrini’s side to within two points of leaders Chelsea, who host Arsenal on Sunday.

“When we have just eight minutes to go you are a little worried, but I trusted that one of those chances would be scored because we have important players to do that,” Pellegrini told Sky Sports.

“It is very difficult to recover the points against a team like Chelsea and the only way to do it is to win every game.”

With Eliaquim Mangala back in the team, defending champions City bossed proceedings in the first half at Villa Park without ever truly exposing their hosts.

Aguero hit the post from James Milner’s pass early in the second period, but Villa quickly counter-attacked and City goalkeeper Joe Hart had to save from Kieran Richardson.

Belgian striker Christian Benteke made his return for Villa as a substitute after six months on the sidelines with a ruptured Achilles tendon, but it was City who dominated the closing stages.

David Silva prodded wide and Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan saved from Aguero, Mangala and Frank Lampard, before Toure made the breakthrough with a curling left-foot shot from the edge of the box.

Aguero made the points safe in the 88th minute, gathering a pass from Milner and crashing a shot inside the right-hand post.

Earlier, Adam Lallana opened his Liverpool account in style as his side claimed a first win in four league games by edging West Bromwich Albion 2-1.

Lallana put Liverpool ahead in the 45th minute at Anfield with his first goal since signing from Southampton.

After wriggling away from three defenders, the England midfielder poked the ball to Jordan Henderson, whose clever back-heel freed Lallana to arrow a left-foot drive into the bottom-right corner.

Saido Berahino equalised with a 56th-minute penalty after Dejan Lovren was penalised for a foul on the West Brom striker that appeared to take place just outside the area.

But five minutes later, Raheem Sterling teed up Henderson to score the decisive goal with a low, first-time shot past England colleague Ben Foster.

“It was very satisfying. We had to show big character today,” said Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, who awarded a first league start to Rickie Lambert in place of Mario Balotelli.

“I thought the resilience of the players was fantastic and we were helped by the crowd, because they realised the team needed a lift. It was a big win for us.”

Henderson’s strike enabled Liverpool to bounce back from their mid-week defeat by Basel in the Champions League and saw them provisionally climb to sixth place in the table.

Senegalese striker Papiss Cisse prevented Newcastle United from slipping to a third consecutive away defeat by scoring a brace as his side twice hit back to draw 2-2 at Swansea City.

Swansea midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson set up goals for Wilfried Bony and Wayne Routledge early in each half, but Cisse replied on each occasion to buy beleaguered Newcastle manager Alan Pardew some breathing space.

“It showed great spirit and character,” said Pardew, whose side remain without a league win.

“There’s always pressure when you’re behind in a game, but it’s my job to try and lift the players and make sure there’s fight in their belly.”

Recalled striker Steven Fletcher scored his first goals of 2014 as Sunderland belatedly registered their first win of the campaign with a 3-1 victory at home to Stoke City.

Connor Wickham’s fourth-minute header for Sunderland was cancelled out by Charlie Adam’s low strike in the 15th minute, but Fletcher struck either side of half-time to send Gus Poyet’s side up to 11th place.

Substitute Ross Wallace scored a dramatic 96th-minute free-kick to earn Burnley a 2-2 draw at fellow promoted side Leicester City.

Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez set up Jeffrey Schlupp to put Leicester ahead and then restored the hosts’ lead after Michael Kightly had equalised in the 39th minute, but Wallace curled home an equaliser deep into stoppage time.

Meanwhile, second-half goals by Mohamed Diame and Nikica Jelavic gave Hull City a 2-0 success at home to Crystal Palace.

In Sunday’s other games, third-place Southampton visit Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United host Everton and West Ham United tackle Queens Park Rangers.

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ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE ROUND-UP - Man City go second, Lallana sparks Liverpool

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE WRAP - Chelsea preserve lead, Rooney off in United win

Saturday, September 27, 2014 | 1:38 PM    

LONDON, England (AFP) – Premier League leaders Chelsea conserved their three-point advantage by beating Aston Villa 3-0 on Saturday, while Wayne Rooney was sent off as Manchester United edged West Ham United.

Having drawn 1-1 at champions Manchester City last weekend, Chelsea continued their unbeaten start to the season with a straightforward win over Villa at Stamford Bridge.

Oscar gave Chelsea the lead in the seventh minute when he steered home a cut-back from Brazilian countryman Willian, who had seen his initial shot parried by Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

Diego Costa added a second goal just before the hour, glancing a header past Guzan from Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross to take his tally to eight goals in his first six Premier League games.

The Brazil-born Spain striker also played a role in Chelsea’s third goal with a shot that Guzan could only push straight at Villa defender Aly Cissokho, enabling Willian to stab home from close range.

“Even during the period the game was 1-0, when it could be open, it was always closed because we controlled the game,” said Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

“When we weren’t dangerous, we kept the ball. The result was a consequence of our dominance.”

Southampton remain Chelsea’s closest rivals after winning 2-1 at home to Queens Park Rangers, with Ryan Bertrand and Graziano Pelle finding the net either side of a Charlie Austin effort.

United climbed six places to seventh, eight points below Chelsea, after seeing off West Ham 2-1 at Old Trafford, but their victory was overshadowed by the red card shown to captain Rooney for violent conduct.

Injury problems forced United manager Louis van Gaal to give a debut to 19-year-old centre-back Paddy McNair.

But they took a fifth-minute lead when Rooney swept home Rafael da Silva’s cross to become the outright third-highest scorer in Premier League history with 176 goals; one more than Thierry Henry.

Radamel Falcao set up Robin van Persie to rattle in United’s second goal mid-way through the first half, but Diafra Sakho reduced the arrears for West Ham by nodding in after Enner Valencia’s header hit the bar.

Rooney was shown a straight red card in the 59th minute for kicking out at the fleeing Stewart Downing — his first club dismissal since March 2009 — but United’s 10 men held on to secure victory.

“I call it a professional foul,” said Van Gaal. “I’ve seen them a lot of times, but the referee makes another decision. But you can’t change it.”

Meanwhile, Manchester City withstood a fightback by Hull City to record a 4-2 win at the KC Stadium that saw them climb to third place.

With Willy Caballero preferred to Joe Hart in goal by City manager Manuel Pellegrini, the visitors went 2-0 up through a hooked finish from Sergio Aguero and a fine 22-yard strike by Edin Dzeko.

However, a pair of blunders by City’s new centre-back Eliaquim Mangala allowed Hull back into the game.

The France international headed Liam Rosenior’s cross into his own net in the 21st minute and then conceded a penalty with a high boot on Abel Hernandez, who converted from 12 yards to level the scores.

But after Yaya Toure had hit the post, David Silva released Dzeko to restore City’s lead in the the 68th minute before substitute Frank Lampard side-footed in his fourth goal in three games late on.

Earlier, Everton captain Phil Jagielka scored a sensational 92nd-minute equaliser to earn his team a 1-1 draw against derby rivals Liverpool at Anfield.

Steven Gerrard had put Liverpool ahead with a second-half free-kick, but he was upstaged in injury time when his former England colleague Jagielka drove an exquisite half-volley into the top-right corner from 25 yards.

“It has been a frustrating season so far, so to go 1-0 down and keep knocking at the door showed tremendous character. We need to keep showing character,” Jagielka told BT Sport.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, whose side are without a win in three league games, said: “We were clearly the dominant side in the game, but sometimes you don’t get what you deserve in football.”

Quick-fire second-half goals from Fraizer Campbell and Mile Jedinak gave Crystal Palace a 2-0 win at home to Leicester City, while Angel Rangel was sent off for two yellow cards as Swansea City drew 0-0 at Sunderland.

Saturday’s action concluded with Arsenal again dropping pionts following a 1-1 draw in another local derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

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ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE WRAP - Chelsea preserve lead, Rooney off in United win

Credit Union League enters remittance market

The Jamaica Cooperative Credit Union League, through its subsidiary, Centralised Strategic Services, will be going after the remittance market with its mobile payment solution, CONEC, which has signed an agreement with MoneyGram to provide remittance services.
Heston Hutton, Managing Director of Centralised Strategic Services, announcement on Wednesday that, with the company having received a remittance licence, it will be “going for remittance… aggressively.”

Explaining the advantage to customers of using the new electronic service, he said, “instead of them having to jump on a bus, to drive to the town to go sign up or receive remittance, they can pick it up from their phone in their backyard.”

The aim, Mr Hutton said, was to have consumers receive remittances via its CONEC mobile payment solution by the end of March next year.
He was speaking at a ceremony at which it was announced that Paymaster will be a point of  sales agent for CONEC.

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Credit Union League enters remittance market

Credit Union League enters remittance market

The Jamaica Cooperative Credit Union League, through its subsidiary, Centralised Strategic Services, will be going after the remittance market with its mobile payment solution, CONEC, which has signed an agreement with MoneyGram to provide remittance services.
Heston Hutton, Managing Director of Centralised Strategic Services, announcement on Wednesday that, with the company having received a remittance licence, it will be “going for remittance… aggressively.”

Explaining the advantage to customers of using the new electronic service, he said, “instead of them having to jump on a bus, to drive to the town to go sign up or receive remittance, they can pick it up from their phone in their backyard.”

The aim, Mr Hutton said, was to have consumers receive remittances via its CONEC mobile payment solution by the end of March next year.
He was speaking at a ceremony at which it was announced that Paymaster will be a point of  sales agent for CONEC.

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Credit Union League enters remittance market

Kaliese Spencer wins on Diamond League circuit again

Three time Diamond Trophy winner Kaliese Spencer was the lone Jamaican winner after producing another command performance in Monaco on Friday.

Spencer clocked 54.09 seconds to win comfortably ahead of World Champion Zuzann Hejnova of the Czech Republic, who was 7th in her first race of the season in 55.86 seconds.

Meanwhile, Veronica Campbell-Brown 10.97 and Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce a season’s best 11.01 were 2nd and 6th respectively in the women’s 100 meters. New American sensation Tori Bowie upstaged her more celebrated rivals speeding to a world leading 10.80 seconds to win.

American Justin Gatlin produced a personal best and world leading 19.68 seconds to win the men’s 200 meters ahead of Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade who was 2nd in 19.99.

National Champion Andrew Riley with a season’s best 13.18 was 5th in the men’s 110metre high hurdles behind top Frenchman Pascal Martinot Lagarde who clocked a national record 12.95 to win.

National Triple Jump champion, Kimberly Williams leapt to a season’s best 14.59 meters to place 3rd in the women’s event. The mark came on her third attempt. The event was won by Colombian Caterine Ibarguen with a world leading and Diamond League record 15.31 meters.

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Kaliese Spencer wins on Diamond League circuit again

Jamaican athletes face the sword at latest Diamond League meet

Jamaican athletes found the going tough at the IAAF Diamond League meet in Lausanne with only two podium finishes.

National 100m champion Nickel Ashmeade was well beaten over 200 meters, posting 20.06 secs behind Panamanian 2009 world silver medallist Alonso Edward who produced a quick 19.84. Yohan Blake faded to sixth in a pedestrian 20.48 seconds, signallig he’s far from his best after returning this season from a hamstring injury.

Andrew Riley was a third place finisher in the 110 meter high hurdles. Fresh from winning his third national title, Riley produced a late surge to clock a season’s best 13.23 behind winner Pascal Martino Lagard of France who won in a personal best 13.07 seconds.  

Kemar Bailey-Cole could only manage 5th in the men’s 100 meters which was dominated by Americans. Justin Gatlin lowered his own world leading time to  9.80 with Tyson Gay, in his first race back from drug suspension clocking a fast 9.93 for second.

Michael Frater 10.44 was second in the “B” race won by Great Britain’s James Dasaolu in 10.03.

The performance of the night came in the men’s 400 meters, where olympic champion Kirani James produced a Grenadian record 43.74 secs to turn back American world champion Lashawn Merritt 43.92 into second.

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Jamaican athletes face the sword at latest Diamond League meet

Waterhouse douse Tivoli in Premier League

BY HOWARD WALKER Observer senior reporter walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com

Wednesday, January 29, 2014    

Tivoli Gardens’ coach Glendon ‘Admiral’ Bailey experienced the sinking feeling of how Jose Mourinho reacted when the Portuguese gave specific instructions but could not prevent Robert Lewandowski from scoring four times against his then Real Madrid team during the 2012-2013 Championships League semi-final.

Mourinho was quoted as saying he told his defenders everything they needed to know about the Borussia Dortmund striker, yet still he scored four goals.

Bailey revealed to the Jamaica Observer that he gave specific instructions to his defenders especially the hard-tackling Ranike Anderson how to keep Waterhouse striker Gary McIntosh quiet.

But that plan went awry and McIntosh was able to score twice in the 48th and 75th minutes to propel the Drewsland team to a 2-0 win over Tivoli Gardens at the Edward Seaga Stadium on Sunday.

“We just never followed the instruction and we never showed up today. I talked to Ranike Anderson about Gary (McIntosh) and his ability to move off the ball. I gave him a simple instruction, track him and he didn’t do that,” said Bailey.

That plan did not work as McIntosh latched on to a Romario Campbell pass and fired a powerful left-footer past goalkeeper Deron Duncan in the 38th minute to give Waterhouse the lead at the interval.

“Half-time again, I said it to him, ‘If Gary go to the bathroom go with him and you see it again, he was nowhere to be found’,” Bailey reiterated.

He continued: “I said to Damion Gordon, ‘Gary is having a good game, he is strong and running off the ball, don’t square up with Ranike Anderson. Play off him so that one ball don’t beat the two of you’ and the second goal…one ball beat two men, so if they don’t follow instructions the coach will always have a torrid time at it. And today we just didn’t do that.”

McIntosh popped up again on to another through ball and calmly slotted home for a facile victory.

Tivoli Gardens, who were losing for the fifth time from their last six games, somehow remained in seventh spot on 21 points in a closely-knitted mid-table in which only two points separate fifth from the 11th-placed teams.

Waterhouse, on the other hand with their eighth win, moved to 28 points and consolidated third spot in their quest for a top four finish and a play-off spot. They are eight points behind leaders Harbour View on 36 and four adrift of second-placed Montego Bay United on 32 points.

Harbour View were slated to oppose Sporting Central at home in a return to Monday Night football last evening, with a chance of reclaiming a seven-point lead atop the 12-team standing.

“We have done some work and this is the fruits bearing now. We have been doing well and hopefully it can continue,” said winning coach Anthony Patrick.

“We asked players to step up. ‘Tuffy’ (Jermaine Anderson) is away now and we got some very good football from the youngster today and hopefully we can finish second,” added Patrick.

Teams: Tivoli Gardens – Deron Duncan, Christopher Jackson, Damion Gordon, Ranike Anderson, Kemar Flemmings, Rohan Reid, Kaemmar Daley, Jameel Thompson (Dawyne Smith 64th), Shawn McKoy, Junior Flemmings (Shavar Campbell 89th), Navion Boyd (Andre McFarlane 77th)

Subs not used: Davin Watkins, Kasai Hinds, Richard Williams, Jamie Robinson

Booked: Kemar Flemmings (35th), Anderson (39th), Gordon (61st)

Waterhouse – Kelso Cousins, Omar Walcott, Oshane Roberts, Kimorlee Brissett (Juvaune Benjamin 74th), Nicholi Finlayson, Jamoly Powell, Marvin Morgan (Kenroy Howell 85th), Romario Campbell, Kemar Brown (Damarley Samuels 68th), Hughan Gray, Gary McIntosh

Subs not used: Richard McCullum, Rohan Amos, Roderick Williams, Morice Ricketts

Booked: Jamoly Powell (31st), Hughan Gray (75th)

Referee: Karl Tyrell

Assistant Referees: Ricardo Morgan, Oyinco McTaggart

Fourth Official: Gawayne Scott

Match Commissary: Richard Nathan

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Waterhouse douse Tivoli in Premier League

City move top of Premier League with rout

LONDON, England (AP) — Manchester City used another rampant scoring display to replace Arsenal at the top of the Premier League with a 5-1 win at Tottenham yesterday, while Chelsea lost ground in the title race with a 0-0 draw against West Ham.

After beating Spurs 6-0 at the Etihad Stadium, Manuel Pellegrini’s side was unstoppable at White Hart Lane as well and extended their unbeaten run to 20 matches, in which time they have scored 69 goals.

City received a decisive boost when Danny Rose was sent off in the 50th minute for tripping Edin Dzeko. Yaya Toure converted the penalty before Dzeko made it 3-0. Etienne Capoue’s pulled one back, but Stevan Jovetic and Vincent Kompany added gloss to victory.

City now lead Arsenal by one point, with Chelsea lagging three points behind. Elsewhere, Sunderland beat Stoke 1-0 and Aston Villa defeated West Bromwich Albion 4-3 in a derby that saw six goals scored in the first half.

Since the thrashing at City and the subsequent sacking of coach Andre Villas-Boas, Tim Sherwood had overseen an upturn in fortunes at White Hart Lane, with Spurs undefeated under their new manager and having won their last four Premier League matches.

Pellegrini’s team was therefore expecting a tougher test at White Hart Lane.

They had the better start as the in-form Sergio Aguero went close in the fourth minute with a shot from an angle that hit the post.

Aguero looked unstoppable during the first half and put his team in front in the 15th minute, scoring for the eighth successive game when he slipped the ball past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris from David Silva’s assist.

The Argentina striker’s header then forced Lloris to a beautiful one-handed save. Unfortunately for City, Aguero picked up an apparent hamstring injury while sprinting for the ball and was replaced by Stevan Jovetic.

The striker’s injury was not a factor as City was awarded a penalty five minute into the second half when Rose was shown a red card for bringing down Dzeko with a tackle from behind. Toure converted by sending Lloris the wrong way.

A man down, Tottenham conceded another goal two minutes later, with Dzeko scoring from a rebound after Lloris saved Silva’s effort onto the post.

Tottenham’s Etienne Capoue pulled one back in the 59th from a corner, but Jovetic then found space in the area to beat Lloris, and Kompany rounded off a perfect night with a clean finish.

At Stamford Bridge, West Ham defended for most of the second half and managed to contain Chelsea’s assaults to secure an important point in its fight to remain in the top flight next season.

Demba Ba hit the post from close range in added time before Hazard missed two consecutive chances and Eto’o had a goal disallowed for a foul on Adrian.

Aston Villa edged West Brom in a prolific West Midlands derby. The Baggies led 2-0 after Chris Brunt opened the scoring and Fabian Delph scored an own goal.

But Andreas Weimann lobbed in to pull one back, Leandro Bacuna levelled and Delph made amends to put Villa ahead.

Youssuf Mulumbu equalised two minutes before the break before Benteke had the final say when he earned a penalty and slotted the spot kick into the bottom left corner in the 64th.

Benteke has now scored three goals in three games, helping Villa establish itself firmly in midtable. West Brom fell to 15th, just three points outside the relegation zone.

Adam Johnson scored in the first half to give Sunderland a 1-0 win over 10-man Stoke and lift his team out of the relegation zone for the first time since August.

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City move top of Premier League with rout

Action surges in Western Confederation Super League

PAUL A REID OBSERVER WRITER

Tuesday, January 28, 2014    

PITFOUR, St James — Tomorrow’s People, last season’s mid-season champions and defending champions Wadadah FC will this afternoon seek wins that will bolster their hopes for a place in the mid-season final of the Jamaica Football Federation’s Captain’s Bakery and Grill/Charley’s JB Rum Western Confederation Super League.

Tomorrow’s People who have scored 17 goals from their last four games, all wins, are in fifth place on 17 points and are facing a tough Granville United team in Pitfour where a victory would give them second place on goal difference over Savannah SC.

Wadadah FC’s three-game winning streak was snapped by Granville United last Wednesday but they are still in the running for a mid-season place and have an easier task when they take on a slumping Montego Bay Boys Club at the UDC Field. The champions are on 15 points and don’t control their own destiny as far as the mid-season race is concerned.

The race was thrown wide open on Sunday after leaders Reno FC and then second placed Sandals Whitehouse both suffered 2-1 upset losses to Savannah SC and Holland United respectively.

Despite losing at Frome for the first time in two seasons, Reno FC still lead with 22 points, two more than Savannah SC, with Sandals Whitehouse-18, Tomorrow’s People-17 and Holland-16 points behind them.

Over the past two seasons Granville United and Tomorrow’s People have met three times in the regular season and both have won once with the other game ending in a 1-1 draw and another close contest is expected.

As they proved when they beat Wadadah FC 2-0 last week and earlier when they stopped Reno 3-2, Granville are not to be discounted and despite being out of the mid-season finals race are still a formidable opponent for any team on any given day.

Wadadah FC should bounce back from their loss against a Boys Club team still seeking their first win for 2014.

On Sunday, Savannah SC, champions two years ago, won back-to-back games for the second time with a big come-from-behind victory over Reno who were threatening to run away from the field.

Denmark Gillings scored his joint league leading ninth goal in the 12th minute to give Reno the lead but Shamar Bernard brought the ‘home’ team level in the 44th minute just before the half-time break before Shanar Cattan gave them all three points in the 79th minute.

Sandals Whitehouse’s five game win streak also came to a halt when Holland United came from back-to-back losses to win their fourth game of the campaign.

Sandals gifted the home team the lead in the 9th minute with an own goal and Romaine Lewis doubled the advantage in the 14th minute. Tristan Sommerville pulled one back for Sandals in the 65th but that was all they could muster on the day.

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Action surges in Western Confederation Super League

JustBet renews partnership with beach volleyball league

Sport

Sunday, September 08, 2013

SUPREME Ventures Limited, through its sports betting brand, JustBet, recently renewed its title sponsorship with the Jamaica Volleyball Association (JAVA) for the staging of the 2013 JUSTBET/TVJSN Beach Volleyball competition, to the tune of $2million.The JustBet/TVJSN Beach Volleyball competition will take the format of a series of three one-day tournaments open to all interested persons and was scheduled to start yesterday at Long Bay Beach in Negril. Participants will gain and accumulate points based on their final placement in each leg of the tournament. The tournament will continue this Saturday at Cornwall Beach, Montego Bay, and the following Saturday at the UDC Beach in Ocho Rios. All games begin at 9:00 am.Following the tournament, the top six teams will then advance to a play-off, which consists of first and second rounds, semi-final and final. The teams in the play-offs will be placed into two groups, of which, the first round will take the format of a one-day round robin on September 28, while in the second round, the top four teams will advance to a two-day round robin scheduled for October 5 and 6. The semi-finals will then be played on October 12, and the finals and third-place play-offs on October 13.In expressing the gaming company’s delight in partnering with JAVA, Andrei Roper, Senior Marketing Officer of JUSTBET, said: “We are very thrilled to be on-board with what certainly promises to be another exciting beach volleyball competition. Volleyball on a whole is always entertaining, engaging and exciting and this is what we want to create and bring out at each of the venues on match days. Therefore, we encourage all sports fans to come out and support your favourite teams on match days.”Major Warrenton Dixon, president of the Jamaica Volleyball Association, expressed his gratitude at the support from the sponsors, and his excitement for the start and the new format of the competition. He said: “The Jamaica Volleyball Association (JAVA) is pleased that for the second consecutive year JustBet and TVJSN have partnered with us to stage a major beach volleyball competition for local players. JustBet, who was the first to come on-board last year, injected a lot of impetus into our efforts to develop the sport of beach volleyball and their continued support this year will help us to sure up the foundation of our development. Last year resource limitation confined us to running the competition in Kingston. This year the increased sponsorship will allow us to take the competition closer to several players who felt left out in 2012. Additionally, we have been able to double the prize monies available to the players.”Other sponsors of the competition include Jamaica Blue Bottled Spring Water.Andrei Roper (left), senior marketing officer, JustBet, presents a symbolic sponsorship cheque to Jamaica Volleyball Association President Major Warrenton Dixon, recently.

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JustBet renews partnership with beach volleyball league

English Premier League results August 31, 2013

Latest News

Saturday, August 31, 2013 | 1:42 PM

Manchester City defeated Hull City at Etihad Stadium Saturday with substitute Alvaro Negredo heading home just after the hour mark before Yaya Toure curled in late free-kick to end the game 2-0.Other games:Cardiff 0-0 EvertonNewcastle 1-0 FulhamNorwich 1-0 SouthhamptonWest Ham 0-1 StokeCrystal Palace 3 -1 Sunderland Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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English Premier League results August 31, 2013

Play-offs will generate excitement in Red Stripe Premier League

NEWS that the Red Stripe Premier League title will now be decided by a play-off format is like great music to the ears.

The proposed format is: after the third round (33 games) the eight top teams will play off in two-way quarter-finals, two-way semi-finals, and a one-game final. Fun and excitement guaranteed, hopefully with good football.The detractors’ argument that the most consistent club should win is sound. However, I say they must prove their quality and consistency at the end, when it matters most. It just so happens that there are four elements to a successful competition: the clubs, the fans, the sponsors and the media. All must be satisfied if there is to be harmony and progress. What we have been having in the Red Stripe Premier League is a concentration on the ambition of the clubs only.Can you imagine the NBA ending after 82 regular season games without the play-offs? Or after all the violence and crashes in the NFL, there is no Super Bowl?First and foremost, the fans must be attracted and entertained. Without them the competition is no more than organised training matches between two squads. Local Monday night football (MNF) is a hit because all the four aforementioned elements are in sync. However, the majority of the games on Sunday are like very poor cousins at a Christmas party — scrappy and colourless. Interest for most of these clubs and their few fans nosedive in February once they can’t win the competition and are fairly safe. Only their appearance on MNF keeps them relevant. This should change as there will be more clubs in the hunt and more fans involved.Secondly, the sponsors must be able to maximise on promotion and sales. Where there are few fans this is impossible. The first half of the competition should now be the foundation to build on a massive push towards the run-in to the play-offs. Nothing better than to end in a crescendo for both fans and sponsors.We would have to go back over a decade to recall more than 10,000 fans in the stands at any local game. (Arnett Gardens seats less). Those were semi-finals and final games driven by excitement which could only be hosted by the expanse of the National Stadium.Comparing Jamaica’s league with those in Europe is a joke. They have over 100 years of history to call on, tens of thousands of dedicated and passionate, paying fans, world-class players and coaches, millions from television rights, and sponsors lining up at the club houses begging to come in. Jamaica’s football has none of the above. They play for promotion, to avoid relegation, for Champions League spots, Europa League spots, etc. Thousands celebrate and thousands cry at the end of the season.Whether we want to believe it or not, our cultural tendencies have shifted dramatically from Europe to the Americas. If you don’t believe me, check your sports channels on TV. Before this proposed change by the Premier League Clubs Association, only four of the top footballing countries in CONCACAF or South America played a straight league format at the top: Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and Argentina. Notably, Brazil is now loaded with money and football history. And, while Argentina does not have the money, they live and breathe football. Their average game attendance is much larger than Brazil’s.In this region, Canada, the USA, Mexico, all the top Central American countries and eight South American countries contest a play-off system. Include Australia as well. Theirs, like ours, are all “emerging league”, which have to compete aggressively for the sponsor’s dollars if not for the fans. They have bells and whistles at the end…not only at the launch. Jamaica football should be no different.However, I would recommend a couple of changes to the proposed format. Instead of having eight teams involved in the play-offs I would have seven. I would then reward the top team on points after the third round with a bye to the semi-finals. This would give them a chance to refresh their players and get ready for the big push for the title. The two-way semi-finals match up would then be drawn for transparency. Let’s get more fans involved and end the competition with a bang, not a “tush”.

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2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.

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Play-offs will generate excitement in Red Stripe Premier League