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St. Mary’s eliminate Saints
St. Mary's goalscorer Job Caesar (#17) heads the ball into the back of the nets.
By Rawle Welch
After being reduced to ten players following the expulsion of the nippy Job Caesar, St. Mary’s produced a remarkable performance to eliminate St. Stanislaus College as the Digicel-sponsored Nationwide Schools Football Tournament opened yesterday, at the GCC ground.
St. Mary’s rebounded from being down 2-1 at the half to defeat St. Stanislaus College 3-2 in an encounter befitting the ambitious initiative undertaken by the cell phone entity.
On target for the winners were Caesar (5th), Jermaine Fletcher (63rd) and Keeron Solomon (65th), while Travis Belgrave (28th) and Lawrence Wilson (38th) responded for the losers.
The game which started shortly after Minister of Culture, Youth & Sport Dr. Frank Anthony made the kick-off to signal the commencement of the game saw St. Mary’s immediately on the offensive and was rewarded very early when Caesar, a short and elusive striker rose above the towering Saints backline to deliver a well placed header into the far corner much to the delight of the sprinkling of fans in the ground.
Caesar, along with Fletcher and Solomon continued to create numerous chances to increase their lead, but poor finishing and too much individual play saw them go a-begging.
Happy to survive the initial onslaught, Saints gradually gained in confidence and got the equaliser through Travis Belgrave, who latched onto a ball squared across the goalmouth that had eluded the goalkeeper and a solitary defender to nonchalantly tuck it into the back of the goal.
Ten minutes later, they took the lead with Wilson finding the back of the nets from close range.
The half came with no addition to the score-line, but Saints looking the more composed of the two sides.
However, once again superior technical skills prevailed and even though St. Mary’s game tying goal came through an errant play from a Saints player, who inexplicably handled the ball in the penalty area, thereby forcing referee Mark Young to award a penalty which Fletcher buried in the far corner past a diving goalkeeper.
With everything to play for, St. Mary’s attacked with fervour and was justly compensated when Solomon hammered a powerful strike past a hapless Saints goalkeeper minutes before the final whistle sounded.
Ministers Shaik Baksh (front), Dr. Frank Anthony, Digicel's Gregory Dean and Chief Education Officer Olato Sam (back) meet the teams shortly before the start of play yesterday.
Earlier, Minister of Education Shaik Baksh did the draw for the playoffs, while Digicel’s Gregory Dean did likewise at the half time to indicate the quarter-final matchups.
Also in attendance yesterday were Digicel’s Head of Marketing Jacqueline James, Public Relations Manager Shonnet Moore, Events & Sponsorship Manager Gavin Hope and Chief Education Officer Olato Sam.
Dean, who opened remarks, thanked the Ministers for putting in their appearance, adding that it is significant since they both usually have very busy schedules, before urging the participants to play the games in the spirit of friendship and learn about each other during the tournament.
Dr. Anthony disclosed that he was indeed happy to be part of the experience which he deemed historic, while pointing out that his Government has been very supportive of such partnerships that help to offer more sports in schools.
“We in the Government have been striving to encourage more sports in schools, especially because of its benefits which include the fostering social cohesion and promoting healthy lifestyles,” the Minister stated.
He thanked Digicel, expressing the hope that the tournament is here to stay and could be used as the avenue to develop future stars in the sport.
Baksh said the tournament serves as another initiative to aid in the development of sports and education.
He revealed that the Ministry has implemented a special unit for the purpose of promotion of sports within schools, adding that he is firm believer that sports development must start in the school system.
The Minister advised the Organisers to ensure that they keep a good database of the outstanding players for future reference.
The competition continues today with another round of matches at various venues.
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