Two football teams are closer to a big $100 000 payday.
Come-from-behind wins were the order of the night, when the quarter-finals of the LIME Pelican Football Challenge played out in front of another bumper crowd on Sunday at the National Stadium.
In the opening encounter, Jose Y Jose Bajan Pride Ballers’ rich form continued, defeating 10-man DirecTV Red Snappers 4-2, while in the feature match Nulook 360 Connection needed a penalty shootout to defeat the favoured Top Bay Settlers 4-3 on penalty Kicks after a 2-2 draw in 120 minutes of play.
Bajan Pride started the match in a lively fashion, with forward Dwayne McClean scuffing chance from mere yards in the centre of the goal.
That opportunity brought Red Snappers to life and the game was tightly contested.
The second half resumed at 0-0, but within two minutes of the resumption, Kenroy Skinner made Bajan Pride pay for slack marking inside the penalty area easily converting an Andre Leslie cross from close range. Before Bajan Pride could revamp and reorganize Red Snappers were celebrating again.
A fine solo effort by Ricardo Carter in the 52nd minute was capped off with a fine finish. Carter dazzled his way around a couple of defenders and superbly finished with the outside of his right foot over a helpless Greg Jones who could only watch, as the ball sailed into the far corner.
Victory seemingly certain, Red Snappers’ style of play was more relaxed than in the first half. However, relaxed soon became complacent as McClean received a loose ball in the area and with a striker’s instinct struck powerfully with his right foot with one touch, into the bottom left hand corner.
Red Snappers’ problems soon got worse as custodian Richard Corbin was ejected for a foul on McClean. A lofted ball out of defence was too high for sweeper Jason Carter, Corbin was quickly off his line to cover his captain but McClean nipped the ball away and Corbin came crashing in.
A man down and no specialist replacement goalkeeper, Red Snappers may have thought their night could not get any worse. However, it did. Substitute Carlo Perry drew things level in the 78th minute in controversial fashion.
A heavy pass from midfield was thought to be too much for the sluggish forward, but he showed his determination by sliding in on stand-in goalkeeper Andre Bourne to score.
Many of the Red Snappers’ bench and spectators thought it was an obvious foul on Bourne as Perry came in quite aggressively.
Bajan Pride took full advantage of Red Snappers’ misfortunes, taking the lead in the 105th minute. St Lucian international forward Zaccheus Polius received a pass from midfield which left him one versus one on Bourne, and in his typical cool manner Polius’ finish was immaculate into the far post.
Red Snappers’ legs wore tired and Bajan Pride drove the final nail in the coffin when substitute Jason Collymore finished from close range in the 118th minute to send Bajan Pride into the semi-finals.
The feature match brought a lot of familiar faces and teammates against each other.
After a goalless first half, Top Bay drew first blood. National left wingback Ramuel Millar popped up in one of his familiar attacking positions and floated a cross in the penalty area, Arantes Lawrence outjumped his marker
and directed his header to the right of custodian and former club mate Kerry Holder, giving Top Bay the lead in the 67th minute.
360 Connection soon equalized, with a header of their own. In the 72nd minute, a cross was partially cleared, Zakidya Samuels found the loose ball and knocked the ball back into the area where the shortest man on the pitch was left unmarked to nod the ball past goalie Bernard Howell.
Top Bay soon regained the lead and it was Lawrence again. He scored his second in the 82nd minute, thanks to a precise pass from Curtis Odle.
Another moment of debate arrived in the 90th minute when the skilful Dwayne Stanford was adjudged to have been pulled down in the area by Top Bay’s captain Gregory “Lalu” Goodridge.
Extra time left the scores deadlocked and it was into the dreaded penalty shootout where 360 Connections custodian and captain Kerry Holder proved to be the hero, saving two penalties and converting the winning one.
