Semifinalists claim their berths

Dec 20, 2022 Sports

2022 KFC Goodwill Tournament…

– Golden Grove, SVB Academy find the ‘exit’

Kaieteur News – The semifinal ship has sailed with the four top teams aboard following three intriguing days of football in the 2022 KFC Goodwill Tournament.

Yesterday, the Group stage concluded in the Petra organised event with Desrey Fox Secondary School (DFSS), St. Benedict’s College (SBC), Christianburg/Wismar Secondary School (CWSS) and defending champs, Annai Secondary School, making it to the final four.

In the double header on Monday evening at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground, Annai squeezed past SVB Academy in their Group B match, 2 – 1, while the Group A match that preceded, saw DFSS trounce SBC, 2 – 0.

This DFSS player controls the ball on the right flank during their match against St. Benedict’s College.

On Sunday evening, the second day unfolded at the same venue, where CWSS and SVB Academy played to a 1 – 1 draw while SBC dismantled Golden Grove, 5 – 1.

This means that DFSS topped Group A with six points, SBC finished second with three points and Golden Grove ended at the bottom without a point. In Group B, Annai topped the charts with four points, while CWSS, on two points, finished as the runner up, ahead of SVB Academy (1 point).

Today the teams will rest, especially the visiting sides since they contested games on consecutive days. However, Wednesday (tomorrow) the action is scheduled to resume with the finalists being decided.

At 17:00hrs, the first semifinal commences between SBC and Annai then DFSS and CWSS collide in the other semifinal showdown from 19:00hrs, both at the MoE Ground.

SBC makes good first impression…

St. Benedict’s College are the current Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Premiership Title holders in their home land of Trinidad and Tobago, and have made a solid first impression in this edition of the tournament.

Their opening match against Golden Grove showed they had good chemistry, pace and control.

Braces from Jerell Griffith (16’, 24’) and Jeremiah Ottway (33’, 59’) along with a successful strike from Raheem Nelson (67’) powered SBC onto the board. Golden Grove’s Sharmar Warton (44’) was the scorer of their consolation goal.

Adrian Cabral controls possession for Annai in the second match on Monday evening.

In their second Group match against DFSS, it was a tougher terrain to navigate, but their performance was very credible.

The first half saw the teams looking almost evenly matched with near misses billed to both accounts but DFSS’s temperament kept their style of play simple and focused.

In the second 35 minutes, SBC’s form started to wither in the defensive line, which led to multiple shots on goal from the opposition. Eventually, the deadlock was broken when a lovely cross found Kimron Thomas just on top of the 6-yard box, where he easily fired past the custodian in the 60^th minute.

Four minutes later, DFSS made it a two-possession game with another goal from open play that was scored from a few yards outside the 18-yard box by Kenwen Percy in the 64^th minute. That goal put the victory beyond doubt.

SVB Academy turns up the heat…

The Surinamese team, SVB Academy, had a tough opening match on debut as they battled to a draw then put forth a contrasting performance, but unfortunately lost their second encounter.

They began their campaign on Sunday with a goalless opening half of see-saw battles against CWSS. The visitors found themselves down by a goal when Amani King scored for CWSS in the 40^th minute but perseverance and good defending led SVB to equalise through Darrel Sijpenhof in the 60^th minute.

Their encounter with the defending champions on Monday night proved quite a troublesome task.

Kimron Thomas is flocked by his teammates after he scored the opening goal for DFSS.

SVB executed the most impressive display of ball control for the entire tournament during the first five minutes of the battle and were rewarded with a 7^th minute goal from Pinas Denfinjo. Soon after, the visitors were awarded a penalty, which was sadly squandered.

After about 20 minutes of play, Annai began putting passes together to some effect. They were also awarded a penalty, which was squandered too. However, they managed to equalise from open play when Shavezz Moses found the back of the net in the 28^th minute.

The fitness factor then became evident along with a test of patience in the second half as Annai gained the lead for the first time in the tournament when Guy Moses scored in the 58^th minute, a goal that went unanswered.

This tournament is sponsored by KFC, Tiger Offshore Rentals, MVP Sport, Trophy Stall, Guyana Beverages Inc. and Demerara Life with support from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News