Digicel Schools Football Championship...Chase Academic Foundation crowned new champs

Digicel Schools Football Championship…Chase Academic Foundation crowned new champs

Aug 01, 2016 Sports

– Sir Leon win third place playoff

He has the distinction of scoring the first ever goal in the Digicel Schools Football Championship albeit for a different school, but yesterday Job Caesar netted perhaps the most important goal in his short career when he delivered a firecracker of a free kick in the 24th minute to hand Chase Academic Foundation their first title yesterday in the final against defending champions Christianburg / Wismar, at the National Stadium.

Part of the action in the final that featured new champions Chase Academic
Foundation and Christianburg / Wismar yesterday.

Played before a somewhat disappointing turnout that included Company CEOs Gregory Dean and Kevin Kelly, Head of Customer Care Sherwin Osborne, Tournament Co-ordinator Lavern Fraser, Guyana Football Federation President Wayne Forde, Director of Sport Christopher Jones among other dignitaries, Caesar lined up inches outside the penalty area to hit a cracking shot over the wall and into the far corner which eventually proved to be the vital strike of the game.
The two teams that have enjoyed many close battles lived up to all expectations as they traded heavy shots in both halves with Chase Academic Foundation clearly the better team in the opening period, creating quite afew chances and were unfortunate not to go to the break with a more decisive advantage.
However, from the start of the final stanza, Christianburg / Wismar played with more urgency and they too were unlucky not to net the equaliser with star player Omar Brewley spraying wide and Captain Kishawn Dey hitting a bouncing ball from a corner that landed in the box just over the crossbar.
All night Caesar and Kelsey Benjamin threatened, but a mixture of determined defending and errant shooting kept the match on a knife’s edge.
Shaquille Campbell, who had replaced Antwaine Gill at the start of the second period brought some energy to the Christianburg / Wismar side, but just as they had done, the new champions led astutely by Captain Jeremy Garrett stood firm and shut down most of the aerial salvoes with admirable competency.
In the end when the final whistle sounded, it was a fitting final between two teams that were arguably the best in the tournament.
The winning team will receive $1million, while Christianburg / Wismar take home $700,000, all towards school projects.
In the playoff for third place, Sir Leon Lessons defeated a game, but clearly inferior Bush Lot team by a 4-2 margin. Adrian Aaron scored a brace in the 30th and 45+1 minutes, while Omari James and Keifer Brandt supported with solitary strikes in the 55th and 69th minutes respectively.
For Bush Lot, Tyrone Miller and Shaquille DeHarte scored in the seventh and 71st minutes respetcively.
Sir Leon Lessons walked away with $400,000, while Bush Lot received $350,000 that must be utilised to benefit each institution.
In the individual awards, Caesar was named the Most Valuable Player; the Best Goalkeeper accolade went to Chase Academy’s Kevis Fraser with only two concessions, while the Highest Goal Scorer award went to Keifer Brandt of Sir Leon Lessons with 17 goals.