The Prime Minister’s Cup tournament kicked back into action this week with two hotly contested Group D fixtures at The Glebe in St George on Monday, delivering a stunning comeback victory and a surprise underdog win that shook up the group standings.
In the opening match of the evening, Deacons pulled off the most dramatic turnaround of the season so far, rallying from an early two-goal deficit to crush Chickmont 6-2. Chickmont got off to a flying start that no one saw coming, with striker Demar Stone netting the fastest goal of the entire competition just 60 seconds into the game. The situation worsened quickly for Deacons, when Norrin Corbin doubled Chickmont’s advantage in the 10th minute, putting Deacons on the brink of an early upset.
But Deacons refused to fold, beginning their comeback in the 24th minute when Shamaine Richards cut the deficit to one. Just five minutes later, Tevin Barker-Savoury equalized, leaving Chickmont stunned heading into the halftime break with the score tied at 2-2. Deacons turned the game completely on its head in the second half, taking control of possession and pouring on constant pressure. Richards scored his second of the night in the 55th minute to put Deacons up 3-2, and just seconds later, Xavier Bayne stretched the lead to 4-2, leaving Chickmont reeling.
Player-of-the-Match and Deacons captain Shaquon Haynes put the final nail in the coffin, scoring a late brace: his first came in the 79th minute, followed by a third goal for the captain three minutes later, sealing the lopsided 6-2 final score.
Speaking after the match, Haynes credited his team’s mental toughness for the comeback. “I did not expect Chickmont to score in the first 25 seconds of the game, but I just had to lift my team’s spirit and we fought back from there,” he said. Assembled ahead of the Brittons Hill tournament, the Deacons squad is made up mostly of First Division players, with several younger prospects also mixing into the roster. Haynes added that he never doubted his side would pull out the win, even after the shaky start: “I did not expect the score to be 6-2, I was expecting it to be 6-0 because they could not beat us. Once we enjoy ourselves and play football we always come back from two goals down all the time.”
In the night’s second fixture, Wotton pulled off a hard-fought 1-0 upset over Ellerton, with captain Keon Harding’s spectacular first-half free kick proving to be the difference. The game’s only goal came in the 13th minute, after Ellerton conceded a dangerous set piece 25 yards from goal, on the right side of the penalty area. Harding stepped up to take the kick, curling a stunning strike over the defensive wall that nestled just under the crossbar, leaving Ellerton goalkeeper Jamar Brewster with no chance to make a save.
The opportunity for the free kick came moments after Brewster had denied Rivaldo Massiah from the penalty spot, leaving Wotton unable to take an early lead from the spot. It was the chaotic scramble to clear the rebound from the saved penalty that led to the foul that set up Harding’s match-winning strike. It is Wotton’s first major result under new head coach Fabian Massiah, and the three points pushes the side forward in the tournament’s group stage.
After the final whistle, Harding expressed his satisfaction with the result and the team’s new direction under the first-year manager. “It feels great to help my team win the match and get the three points so that we can go forward in the tournament,” he said. “The work that the coach has come in and done with us has given the guys a different feeling. We came out and executed what the coach put out for us in training and we got the three points.”