The First Division promotion race could be over in the next couple of weeks.
BAA Wanderers, who trail the joint leaders Somerset Eagles and Flanagan’s Onions by seven points, will be hoping to keep the race open as they meet the top two in their next two matches.
BAA meet Eagles on Saturday night at Goose Gosling Field before playing Onions next weekend at the same venue, two critical matches for the club’s promotion aspirations as well as the other five teams hoping to clinch one of the promotion positions.
BAA’s loss to St George’s last weekend through a late free kick by Kyle Denbrook enabled Eagles and Onions to widen the gap at the top to seven points and with five matches remaining. They have their fate in their own hands as the other contenders must rely on BAA or Onions dropping points.
Another defeat by BAA tomorrow night would leave them ten points behind the pacesetters and all but out of the race with only four matches remaining after this weekend.
Eagles and BAA are two of the highest-scoring teams in the First Division, Eagles netting 43 in 13 league games and BAA 37.
That would indicate another high-scoring match although Eagles will be without their 16-goal top scorer, Nathan Rego, who is recovering from a shoulder injury picked up in last weekend’s win over X-Roads.
BAA are tied on 22 points with St George’s and St David’s, with Young Men’s Social Club are a further point behind. Social Club, beaten 4-1 by Onions last weekend, host St George’s at PHC Field on Sunday in another crucial match where the losers could virtually be eliminated.
St David’s should keep their hopes alive for another weekend when they welcome bottom team Ireland Island Rangers to the East End.
Onions, relegated last season along with St George’s, should maintain their push for promotion back to the top flight when they welcome Paget Lions to Goose Gosling Field.
After that, however, it could become tricky for the joint leaders with matches against BAA, Eagles and St David’s still to come.
All Sunday’s matches will start at 3pm as Premier Division matches have been rescheduled because of Bermuda’s two-match trip to St Kitts and Nevis this weekend.
