Barbadian football side Pro Shottas have booked their place in the Barbados Football Association’s top-tier Premier League for the upcoming season, and remain firmly in the driver’s seat to claim the Division One crown as the regular season enters its final stretch. The club’s promotion was officially secured ahead of their 4-1 victory over Technique this past Wednesday, a result that preserved their position at the summit of the Division One league table with just two fixtures left to play.
In an interview after the win, Pro Shottas manager Paul Croney described the promotion as a just reward for the relentless effort his squad has put in since pre-season training kicked off last November. “It’s just an incredible feeling. The lads have put in shift after shift in training ever since last November, so every single member of this team deserves full credit for what we’ve achieved,” Croney said. He added that the team’s success this season can be traced to two key factors: unwavering consistency in training, and the impact of three high-impact new signings that strengthened the squad’s spine.
Croney was quick to highlight the transformative influence of centre back Rommel Burgess, one of the club’s key off-season additions. A experienced veteran with both senior national team caps and experience playing club football overseas, Burgess has emerged as a locker room leader and a defensive anchor for Pro Shottas. “We don’t want to overlook the work every player has put in, but this group of new signings has made an enormous difference to our season. Rommel has been phenomenal – he works as hard as anyone and lifts up all the players around him,” Croney explained.
The club also boosted their attacking firepower by bringing in forwards Xavier Webster and Teondre Hinkson ahead of the campaign, a move that has paid major dividends. The pair now rank among the top goal scorers in Division One: Hinkson has found the back of the net 13 times, while Webster has notched 12 goals for the league leaders.
Heading into the final two matches, Pro Shottas hold a narrow two-point lead at the top of the standings with 52 points, compared to 50 points for second-placed Parish Land. Both Empire and Pinelands are still in contention for the title as well, as the two sides can reach the 50-point mark if they pick up maximum points from their remaining fixtures, leaving the title race wide open heading into the final week.
Croney’s side will face Barbados Soccer Academy in their penultimate match before closing out the regular season against Empire, and the manager said his squad is fully prepared to chase the title. “We’re not going into these games taking anything for granted. We know Empire will come out fighting just like they did in the first round, and our guys are ready to compete hard to get the results we need,” he said.
Once the Division One season concludes, Pro Shottas will shift their focus to the Prime Minister’s Cup, a prestigious knockout competition set to kick off in September that awards a $100,000 grand prize to the tournament winner. Croney is hopeful his team can build on their current momentum to deliver a better performance than they managed in last year’s edition of the cup, where they were eliminated in the first round. “Last year’s result wasn’t what we wanted at all – we didn’t make it past the first stage. But with the momentum and confidence this group has right now, I fully expect we’ll do great things in this year’s competition,” Croney added.