Soccer fans endured 10 month wait for the Haitian League to resume, and the season finally kicked off last Sunday. It was worth the wait. The first day of the 2025-26 Special Championship featured five highly entertaining games, three featured equalizers in the dying seconds and one featured an unbelievable 3-2 comeback victory. The 3-2 comeback victory was thanks to none other than Football Club Juventus des Cayes, the 18-year-old team that didn’t even make the playoffs last year. Juventus achieved the comeback win against Cavaly Association Sportive, a club with 49 years of experience, making the thrilling win even sweeter for the Les Cayes-based team. Juventus, nicknamed Solo, also accomplished the notable feat away from home at Parc Gerard Christophe in Léogâne. Elistin rode his former team, the Cavaly, around Cavaly held a two-goal lead at halftime, thanks to goals from Kervenson Louissaint and Anderson Joseph. Onelson Dorante narrowed Cavaly’s lead to one before Eddyson Elistin equalized with a penalty kick. Elistin, a former Cavaly player, celebrated despite his past with the team The 21-year-old midfielder celebrated by hopping on top of a teammate to pretend to ride a horse. Cavaly’s nickname is Cheval Rouge, French for Red Horse, so Elistin’s celebration was to ridicule his former club. Needless to say, Elistin’s celebration was the image of the first day of the season. Synvilcat Guetz scored the winning goal for Juventus. Joseph’s late goal: Skillful play or handball? Over in the Artibonite Department, Tempête Football Club’s substitute Peterson Joseph Jr. netted a 90+7th-minute controversial tying goal against Triomphe Athletic Club at Parc Antoine Levelt in Saint-Marc. It appeared as if the 29-year-old forward handled the ball in the box because he flicked it up to himself to get past a defender before shooting. “People are saying the ball hit my hand, but no,” Joseph told The Haitian Times on Monday night in a phone interview. “There’s no camera behind the goal, so you can’t properly see the play… But if you’re looking at me from behind, it looked like a handball.” Triomphe’s head coach, Dextra Nicolson, was furious, insisting it was a handball. “A disaster happened today at Parc Levelt,” Nicolson told Monde Info 509 after the game. “Tempête is a big team, and beating Tempête would’ve meant a lot to me, but what hurts is that the referee took the game away from us… The goal was a disaster, there was a handball.” Despite his controversial goal, Joseph was pleased to score the equalizer. He was subbed in about 10 minutes into the second half and completely changed the game, creating multiple chances. “It felt like a win for me because we scored very late,” Joseph said. “I said, ‘We can not lose this game, even if it’s a draw, we have to get it.’ I gave my all at the end of the game so we could find the equalizer.” Before Joseph’s goal, Michel Schwetskov gave Triomphe the lead in the 14th minute. Late drama unfolded in the Haitian capital, too Don Bosco Club de Pétion-Ville also drew their encounter after scoring a goal in the game’s dying moments, tying with Violette Athletic Club of Port-au-Prince 1-1. Monpoint Chris Wadel netted the tying goal in the 95th minute at Parc Saint Therèse in Pétion-Ville. As for Violette, Haiti’s under-20 player, Clifford Jean, scored the opener in the 62nd minute. This game was the first professional match played in Port-au-Prince since 2020 due to the ongoing gang violence. During their inaugural season last year, the Special Championship did not have games in Port-au-Prince. Defending champs stumble in season opener In the north, champions Real Hope Football Academy drew with Association Sportive Capoise 2-2. This game also had last-second drama. Jeff Alcimé tied it up in the 90th minute, seven minutes after getting subbed on. Ralph Charles scored ASC’s other goal in the 22nd minute. As for Real Hope, Mackenson Fénélon bagged a double, scoring in the ninth and 43rd minutes. Fénélon was the only player who shook the net twice, making him the top scorer after Day 1. Real Hope is missing several key players from last season because some are in the U.S., including star winger Rapha Intervil and Steve Mondestin. In January, these players obtained U.S. visas for their Concacaf Champions Cup two-game series against Mexican side Cruz Azul in February. They lost the series 7-0. Intervil is now wearing the colors of Kalonji Soccer Academy, an amateur club in Georgia. Ouanaminthe starts season on an off note In the other game in the northern region, Football Inter Club Association (FICA) got the best of last year’s runner-ups Ounaminthe Football club 2011, beating the northeastern club 3-1. Kedjon Colas, Augustin Patrickson and Jacob Jevely were on target for FICA. Wilinx ‘Dewoule” Joseph netted Ounaminthe’s lone goal. After this riveting first day, the league will return to action on Thursday to close the first round of play with three games. Cavaly will hope to shrug off their heartbreaking loss on Sunday in an away game against America des Cayes at Land des Gabions in Les Cayes, about 130 miles south of Port-au-Prince. Baltimore Sportif Club will welcome Triomphe at Parc Levelt at 5:00 p.m. and Don Bosco will clash with Racing Club Haitien at 4:00 p.m. at Parc Saint Therèse.