Down to the wire

It’s poised to come down to the wire with two rounds of play left in the 2018/19 Cayman Premier League, with only a point separating the team at the top of the table and third-place, with fourth place another point adrift.

Here’s how things stand through Wk 11, which was completed on the weekend of 16-17 February: Academy Sports Club maintained their run as the only undefeated team in the Cayman Premier League after 11 rounds of play, while a scoreless draw saw Elite Sports Club slip outside the top three after being atop the table for much of the season.

Academy beat Cayman Athletic 4-1 with Wesley Robinson, Jonah Ebanks, Romario Dixon, and Jimal Lawson all scoring in the first half. Academy has won eight of their 11 league outings with draws in the three other games and have 27 points.

Reigning league champions Scholars maintained their position in second on 26 points after a forfeit by Tigers FC gave them a 3-0 win. The West Bay club holds the edge over Bodden Town, who also have 26 points but a lower goal difference (+31 compared to +42 for Scholars). Bodden Town also took three points on the weekend due to a forfeit by Alliance FC.

Elite, who had looked like the title favourite for much of the season, sit in fourth place with 24 points after a scoreless encounter with Future Sports Club. Elite still has a shot at the title but will need to hope for misfortune for the three clubs ahead in the standings.

The title and the right to compete in next year’s Concacaf Caribbean Shield could very well be decided when Academy and Scholars meet in mid-March for their final game. Before that, Academy faces Future and Scholars play East End.

Bodden Town could usurp the significance of that showdown if they can take care of business against Sunset and Latinos and hope for an upset against Academy or Scholars in Round 12.

Elite could very well pick up a valuable six points over the next two match weekends but could still finish outside of the top three after a solid run that saw them top the table for several weeks.

Another race worth watching is the battle for the last two spots in the Challenge Cup, which will see the top eight clubs playing in a separate competition. Sunset FC and Latinos FC both have 15 points and sit 7th and 8th. Lurking is East End, who are three points back. Mathematically in with a shot, they could make things interesting but it’s a tall task for that squad to take any points from their remaining games against Scholars and Future.

While the top eight teams move on to the Challenge Cup, playing each other once in a league format, the bottom six Cayman Premier League finishers will compete for the Silver Cup in a similar set-up.

See table below

This weekend’s fixtures:

Saturday 23 February | 8:00pm: Latinos FC vs North Side at the Annex

Sunday 24 February | 5:00pm: Tigers FC vs George Town SC at the Annex

Sunday 24 February | 5:00pm: Elite SC vs Cayman Athletic at Ed Bush

Sunday 24 February | 7:00pm: Bodden Town FC vs Sunset FC at Bodden Town

Sunday 24 February | 7:00pm: Alliance SC vs Roma United at the Annex

Sunday 24 February | 7:00pm: Future SC vs Academy SC at Ed Bush

Sunday 24 February | 7:00pm: East End Utd vs Scholars International at Ed Bush

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