BARBADIAN TEAMS made a clean sweep of the four titles at stake when the 24th annual Barbados Cup football festival climaxed at the National Stadium yesterday.
Pro Shottas triumphed among the Under-19 boys; Kick Start defeated Step by Step of Trinidad and Tobago to take the Under-17 title while Empire blanked Notre Dame 3-0 in a battle of two local sides to win their first Under-15 crown.
Over at Banks, Pinelands prevailed 4-3 on penalties over Empire in theUnder-13 final after there were no goals in regulation or extra time.
Led by a hat-trick from midfielder Rashaun Brathwaite, who hails from Ellerton in St George, Empire thrashed the young Dames.Brathwaite scored his first goal in the 24th minute when his cross from the right side sailed over the head of custodian Akeem Hill and into the back of the nets.
Hill was replaced as goalkeeper in the second half by Patrick Garnett, who was immediately called into play when he blocked Jabarri Browne’s goal-bound run but Rene Rouse missed the open goal bars with the rebound.
However, Brathwaite sealed victory for Empire with goals in the 56th and 58th minutes, each time dribbling through the Notre Dame defence, marshalled by Shane Mottley and Robert Clarke, and shooting past Garnett.
“I feel great. Nobody expected us to win because we don’t have the better players in the country but what we have is a team. Together, everyone achieves more,” coach Andrew Tudor said. “I believe that if you work with what you have, you will be successful.”
In the Under-17 final, goals by national junior players Mark Williams(37th) and Nathanael Maynard (57th) for Kick Start condemned Step by Step to the runners-up spot for the second straight year after losing to Pro Shottas last year.
The second goal was set up by striker Josef Tingey, who made amends for some near misses in the first half, with an accurate square back pass, which Maynard pushed home.
Free kick
The closest Step by Step came to scoring was from a quick free kick by Romario Joseph to Che Doyle but his shot was pushed over the bars for a corner by Kick Start’s goalkeeper Romeldo Mayers.
“The boys performed really well, playing great football throughout the week, and on the day the better team won,” Kick Start’s coach Tony Hill told NATIONSPORT.
Pro Shottas maintained their unbeaten record in the Under-19 division, earning a 1-1 draw with Step by Step through a goal in the dying moments from Jadai Clarke after both he and senior Barbados trial invitee Kemar Headley had missed a couple of chances.
It followed victories over the Barbados Soccer Academy, Brittons Hill and La Romaine and a goalless draw with Kick Start.
Samuel Delice had given Step by Step a 1-0 lead in the 41st minute with a well-directed free-kick over the head of Pro Shottas’goalkeeper Romario Browne.
In the Under-13 championship match, Ronald Graham, Jaquone Hoyte, Roy Francis and MVP Chashawn Browne scored their spot kicks for Pinelands while Akeem Welch, Jeffrey Holder and Jakobi Forte were on target for Empire.
Earlier in the week, Carlton emerged champions of the women’s competition which was held at Dover.
