by JUSTIN MARVILLE
ST GABRIEL’S REIGN has come to an end.
The same can’t be said of primary school football’s most riveting rivalry.
The latest instalment of the BICO Zone 2 war is set to take junior soccer’s biggest stage, as ardent adversaries West Terrace and St Stephen’s booked their finals spots by beating three-time defending champs St Gabriel’s and Luther Thorne, respectively, in yesterday’s semi-finals at the National Stadium.
Nathan Worrell scored just moments after the opening kick-off before Jade Chandler added a second eight minutes after half-time as last year’s finalists St Stephen’s made a return to the title game with a comfortable 2-0 victory in the first game.
But while they awaited their chance at redemption against the kings, it was a rematch of a different kind that St Stephen’s will have to game plan for.
Rashon Crichlow couldn’t have left the Channel Enterprises-sponsored squad’s run to the finals any later, waiting until four minutes before injury time to head home the eventual winner in St Gabriel’s shocking 1-0 defeat. It was just the second defeat in three years for the Henry’s Lane side, who won successive crowns in 2008 and 2009, after first breaking on to the grand stage in 2006.
However, St Gabriel’s weren’t afforded the opportunity to play for a record fourth title, not after Crichlow took advantage of a fatal defensive blunder just moments before stoppage time.
Two of St Gabriel’s defenders failed to judge, and subsequently clear, a high ball bouncing into the area, and the opportunistic Crichlow pounced on the loose ball just in front of Chris Cobly to head it past the hapless custodian.
West Terrace were probably just as unfortunate not to have won by a wider margin though, after Justin Maynard’s stunning first-half goal was disallowed by the linesman.
But West Terrace would not be denied; and before long Crichlow’s strike secured them a spot in Thursday’s finale.
