Central Castries have booked their place in this year’s Saint Lucia Semi Professional Football League (SPFL )Tier 1 finals, following their victory against fellow title contenders Gros Islet.
With this win, the team continues its undefeated season, with one massive fixture to play.
In the early minutes, Gros Islet dominated possession. Their assertiveness paid off in the 21st minute when Troy Greenidge gave the Northerners the lead. This lead was soon doubled when winger Baggio Edward clinically finished off a through ball.
The second goal seemed to serve as a wake-up call for the boys from the capital, who began to find their way into the game shortly after.
During the league phase, Central Castries had also been down by two goals against their rivals, Gros Islet, at the same venue, only to make a comeback and win 3-2. A 40th-minute goal from Simeon Francis once again signaled the team’s undying spirit and sparked another comeback.
Central Castries’ resilience was rewarded in the second half when a penalty, given away by center-back Sebastien Ribot, was calmly slotted home by Francis to level the game at 2-2. A tense battle ensued for the remainder of the 90 minutes, resulting in a draw and forcing extra time.
Gros Islet’s troubles deepened when substitute Tonius Simon was shown a straight red card for what the referee deemed a dangerous tackle in the second half of extra time. Despite having a man advantage, Central Castries couldn’t capitalise, and the match went to penalties.
Goalkeeper Joshua George emerged as the hero, saving Gros Islet’s second penalty. Central Castries ultimately won 5-4 in the shootout.
In a post-match interview, Central Castries assistant head coach Ryan Desir indicated that while the coaching staff was “disappointed” with the way his team started the game, he was happy that his team would battle it out for the first ever SPFL title next week Saturday.
“We’re not sad about where we’re going” Desir said. “We’re going to the finals. We’re happy about that. But we’re disappointed that the performance was in the first part, how it was. Hopefully, in the finals we could put that aside and come guns blazing from the first whistle and dominate the game and win in the 90 minutes.”
Central Castries will be well rested as they await the winners of Qualifier 2 to be played on October 23. All is not lost for Gros Islet, however, as they will have a second bite at the cherry, following the Eliminator between Dennery and La Clery.
