Juggling act for some clubs to get schedule back on track
A few of the island's top football clubs will be forced to play a juggling act in order to get rescheduled games played before the end of the year.
That's the verdict of the Bermuda Football Association's league and cup committee chairman Charles Clarke who spoke about the problem after teams were given time off for Friendship and league fixtures over the past few weeks. Those clubs who had three or more players involved with Bermuda's squad for the current Digicel Cup being held in St. Vincent have not had to play any matches.
Clarke said that it will not be too difficult for the BFA to reschedule the matches ? but he warned that the onus is going to be on the clubs themselves to be prepared to play the games within a short span of time.
"Yes indeed, to finish the first half of the season is going to be hard for some of these teams, but we have to finish the first half of the schedule by the end of the year," he said.
"We have already explained to them that they will have to make it up in the end if they wanted to postpone matches because they have quite a few players involved with the squad and they seem prepared to do just that.
"But when you are asked just before Christmas to make up those games in a short time it really could be a struggle and to be honest it's more of a juggling act for the teams and whether or not they will be able to play so many times within a short period is going to be the question."
Teams finding themselves thick in the reschedule scramble are Dandy Town, Somerset Trojans and Boulevard who had their Friendship Trophy matches postponed last Sunday. And it appears that the bulk of the eight Premier Division teams will be out of action again this weekend although one fixture remained on tap featuring Southampton Rangers and North Village at Southampton Oval.
Perhaps the break could be viewed as a blessing in disguise for many clubs who have been fully extended during the past two months which has seen them playing virtually non-stop in knockout and league fixtures.
The current interval period shows Dandy Town clear leaders of the Premier Division with 15 points from five games while Boulevard and Devonshire Cougars trail with 10 points from as many fixtures.
PHC are in fourth place with nine points followed by North Village on six, Somerset Eagles four, Somerset Trojans three and Southampton Rangers one.
Perhaps the focus this Sunday will be centred on the race in the First Division where Devonshire Colts continued their pursuit towards the title.
Colts are on a cold streak however and could be tested by third place Paget in their match-up at BAA field.
In their two previous outings Colts have struggled, one being a 3-1 defeat against previous league leaders Ireland Ranges in the FA Cup first round two weeks ago while they followed this up last Sunday with a 1-0 victory over X Roads in a Shield clash at Southampton Oval.
Should Colts slip, Ireland Rangers are poised to leap into the driver's seat of the division with an expected victory over X Roads in their tie at Malabar.
The west enders are coming off an impressive 9-2 triumph over Hamilton Parish in their last game and obviously will be boosted by that goal spree going into the X Roads match.
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Sunday
Premier Division
Southampton Rangers v North Village, Southampton Oval.
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First Division
St. George's v Social Club, Wellington Oval; Devonshire Colts v Paget, BAA; Prospect v Hamilton Parish, Police Field; Ireland Rangers v X Roads, Malabar. All games start at 1 p.m. Wolves v St. David's, Devonshire Rec., 3 p.m.
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Women's Division
Bisys Royals v SCC Hurricanes, Southampton Oval; Lady Cougars v Boulevard, Devonshire Rec.; Dandy Stars v PHC, St. John's. All games start at 1 p.m.
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Defending champions Dandy Town were this week drawn against PHC Zebras in an all-Premier Division match-up FA Cup second round tie to be played on December 19th.
Town and the competition powerhouses PHC will clash in the second game of a double header at Southampton Oval at 2.30 p.m. The opener will be a battle between Premier Division side Southampton Rangers and Commercial Division team MR Onions at 12.30 p.m.
Other games see Paget taking on Somerset Trojans, (White Hill, 12.30); Lobster Pot against Devonshire Cougars, (White Hill, 2.30); Robin Hood versus Ireland Rangers, (BAA); Boulevard taking on North Village, (BAA); Prospect v against Valley, (Police Field, 2.30) and Hamilton Parish going up against Key West Rangers, (Lord's, 2.30).