‘No match-fixing was involved,’ claims Layou coach

Coach of the Layou Football club Wayde Jackson has vehemently denied any match fixing or accommodation in his team’s last match of the Big Eight in the Premiership {{more}} of the National Club Championships, last Friday night at the Victoria Park.

In the match, Campdonia-Chelsea thumped Layou 8-2, with Tevin Slater bagging five goals.

The win pushed ahead Campdonia-Chelsea, who were at the time on 12 points, and level with Avenues.

Avenues, at the time, had one match in hand, but Campdonia Chelsea had a superior goal difference, if Avenues lost their final encounter versus Je Belle.

Meanwhile, Slater’s tally put him past System 3’s Azhino Solomon for the competition’s top goal scorer.

The eventual margin of victory and the number of goals netted by Slater raised some eyebrows at the Victoria Park on the night, but Jackson told SEARCHLIGHT, that there were no pre-arranged deals.

“What can we get in St Vincent from fixing a match…. We played…. Why would I want to do that to the youths, who I have been coaching for so long and want them to go far?” Jackson asked.

“…It was simply a case where the other players were given a game…. The goal keeper did not get a game all season…. What should I do with a young goal keeper and who never had an opportunity to? What must I do, have him on the bench still in the last match and we can’t win anything?” Jackson asked.

Jackson conceded that because of inexperience, the occasion got to the goal keeper, hence, some of the goals scored against the team were errors on his part.

The Layou coach said additionally, the regular goal keeper has the ability to play as a striker, so he gave him the opportunity to show his wares in a different position, although there was nothing much in the match.

On the matter of Slater overtaking Solomon in goal scoring, Jackson said that he was unaware of the individual statistics .

“ …I respect the game of football too much to be involved in such a thing,” Jackson advanced.

Jackson said he was so disappointed with the outcome of the match, that he left the park immediately and journeyed to his Layou home.

Jackson, a teacher, who has coached the national Under-17 team and the St Vincent and the Grenadines schools’ team, and was assistant coach of the most recent National Under-20 outfit, concluded that he values his integrity.

Whilst there have been rumours of teams “selling out” to others, the issue of match fixing on the local Football scene came to the fore last November, when then first vice president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation Lloyd Small gave it as one of his 21 reasons for parting company with the rest of the national executive.