Malabar Youngstars, Maloney maintain unbeaten records in EFA

EASTERN Football Association (EFA) holders Malabar Youngstars (19 points) continued their unbeaten run in the 2025 campaign on October 5 when they got a thumping 5-1 win over Heatwave FC (eight points) in their group A clash at the Arima Velodrome.

Midfielder Abraham Martin scored a brace to lead Youngstars, with Kendell Borneo, Jeromy Joseph and veteran striker Ricardo John scoring a goal apiece. Youngstars have won six of their seven matches thus far this season and have a four-point lead in group A ahead of CPC Athletic International Academy (15 points).

At Eddie Hart Ground in Tacarigua, CPC made a big statement when they hammered SKHY FC 7-0. Malachi Woodley scored a hat-trick to lead CPC, with Isaiah Isaac scoring a brace. Koby Morin and Damon Sankar scored a goal apiece. Also in group A, the third-placed Athletic United (12 points) also enjoyed themselves in front of goal when they defeated La Horquetta XF 6-1 at UTT’s O’Meara campus. Jeneke Danzell scored a hat-trick for Athletic United, with Kaylon Williams and striker Kesean St Rose also among the scorers as their team made light work of group A’s fourth-placed club.

In group B, FC Maloney (18 points) made it six wins out of six when they edged Wallerfield United (ten points) in a top-three clash. Isaiah Edwards and silky midfielder Jadel Carter scored for Maloney. In Tacarigua, group B’s second-place team Eastern Connect FC (13 points) dropped precious points when they were held to a 2-2 draw by the struggling Trincity Nationals (two points). Corie Dhanoolal and Chris Toussaint found the target for Eastern Connect, with Jaden Cordner and centre forward Malachi Celestine scoring for Trincity.

Also in group B, the fifth-placed FC Porto Arima (nine points) spanked the cellar-placed Zebulun FC 8-0, with last season’s runner-up CG Poseidon (seven points) edging USC Hummers 2-1. Nyrek Thornhill and veteran attacker Mikheil Peters both scored twice in Porto’s rout of Zebulun, with Codel Bailey and Tyrek James scoring the goals for Poseidon in their tight win over the Hummers.

After round-robin play, the top four teams from the two groups will contest the “Big 8” from October 26, leading up to the final on November 9. The EFA winners will pocket $15,000, with the second- and third-place teams receiving $10,000 and $5,000, respectively.