South Castries will battle Anse La Raye on Sunday at the Dennery Playing Field in the first Tier 2 qualifier of the Saint Lucia Semi Professional Football League (SPFL) and gain direct access to the final.
The teams finished first and second in the league on 18 and 16 points respectively and will now strive for promotion to the SPFL Premier League.
Few pre-season predictions would have included these two teams at the top of the table. This is particularly true in the case of South Castries.
Feeder clubs in the area were non-existent three years ago, until a committee decided to take decisive action to reintroduce football in the constituency.
Additionally, the squad encountered several challenges during their league campaign, including an occasion where some of the marquee players were stranded overseas.
Despite these unfortunate circumstances, the team would go on to top the table and finish undefeated across eight fixtures.
South Castries Coach Tennaly Joseph indicated that the SPFL has brought a sense of professionalism to the unit. He believes that this, coupled with togetherness, has propelled the team forward.
“We’ve seen a difference,” Joseph said. “Before, [when] South Castries used to have training, six, seven players, eight players were [at] training. Now, on average, we have about 23 players training regularly,” he added.
“We’re not just a team. We create that family environment with our young players and let them see how important they are to the team.”
Anse La Raye also had their fair share of setbacks as highlighted by league president, Sommers Augustin. The team faced challenges including their players’ external work commitments, and match-day scheduling, but went on to concede the fewest goals in the league.
“The scheduling of the match-day fixtures was a significant issue. It meant we needed to find an alternative means to keep the players sharp and motivated,” Augustin noted. “Many of the players are unemployed, and have difficulties in having to find gear for training.”
Augustin went on to reveal the team is making use of technology ahead of the encounter to improve their chances of success.
“In terms of preparations for the playoffs, we’ve been reviewing some videos to analyze, to refine and improve our areas of weakness and further strengthen our overall game plan,” he revealed.
