Sat | Jul 25, 2026

Invaders eyeing more glory

Published:Saturday | July 30, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Members of the victorious Invaders Football Club raise the Trelawny FA National Rums Trophy after their 1-0 win against Kinloss in last Wednesday's second-leg final in Falmouth. - Photo by Adrian Frater

Western Bureau:

Invaders FC, who returned to the top echelon of Trelawny's football last week following their 2-1 aggregate win against Kinloss FC in the finals of the 2010/11 National Rums of Jamaica Major League, will be going all out to win the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Captain's Bakery Western Super League next season.

"Now that we are back in the Western Super League, our next step is to win that title and get back into the National Premier League (NPL)," said Roxroy Hardy, the captain of the Bunker's Hill-based Invaders. "Our supporters want to see us playing in the National Premier League again, and we intend to grant them that wish."

While they were elated at winning the National Rums of Jamaica Major League title and the $150,000 winner's purse, according to Hardy, qualifying for the Western Super League supersedes everything else.

In the 2003 season, the ambitious Invaders, under the guidance of former national striker Paul 'Tegat' Davis, won the Western Super League title and went on to qualify for the NPL via the JFF Confederation play-off tournament. They spent two modest seasons (2003-04 and 2004-05) in the Premier League before being relegated amid major financial woes.

"We have been rebuilding over the past six years and we are once again ready to campaign at the highest level," said Hardy. "We have a lot of good young talent and once we stay focused, I see no reason why we shouldn't do well."

In their first stint in NPL football, while the on-the-field aspect of their football was fairly decent, their off-the-field woes, which included major financial challenges, were great. In fact, at one stage when the club came under pressure from the JFF to pay over money owed to an investor, the Chris Blackwell-owned Allied Farms had to come to their assistance.

In the final against Kinloss FC, Invaders were held to a 1-1 draw in the first-leg game. However, in the second-leg game at the Ellis-ton Wakeland Youth Centre in Falmouth last Wednesday, Jevaughn Clarke's 11th-minute strike was enough to give them a 1-0 win and the title.