TORTOLA—Rangers added the knockout crown to the Virgin Gorda Nicholas “Eka Mouse” Samuel League title they won last month, with a 2-0, Sunday night victory over the Hairoun Stars at the Valley Recreation Grounds.
The defensive battle resulted in a scoreless halftime draw, before Noel Issac gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead 70 minutes into the contest. The Hairoun Stars gave the Rangers an insurance score, when they scored an own goal in the 78th frame.
“This was a very tough game,” noted the Rangers’ Avondale “Avon” Williams. “They came out in their numbers to win and we did not back down. It was a very good competitive game and we came out victorious so for us, it was a success.”
Williams, who helped the Rangers to their ninth title in 10 years, said while it wasn’t the first double victory for him, it was special to several new comers on his team. “They were very excited knowing that they had won back to back titles,” he noted. “Hopefully, we can go on next year and do the same.”
Regarding strategy, Williams said they played man to man, with each player responsible for marking someone, and stuck to their plan of attacking from early in the game, to see what they could get done. “Obviously, we came out nil, nil in the first half, but in the second half, we put ourselves together and got the victory,” he noted. “They had a number of first half chances and so did we, but none of us actually capitalized. Rohan “Chi Chi” Lennon had a solo run, met the keeper one on one and failed to put away the goal. Carlos Sutherland also had a chance against the keeper and didn’t score.”
Williams noted that the Hairouns’ Nano Ottley and a few other players had chances, but they did not capitalize. “I the goalkeepers have done a very good job in keeping them off to the extent that they could not finish,” he said.
