It will be youth against experience when the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) clash with Mackeson Brittons Hill in the KFC Knockout Cup football final today at 7 p.m. at the National Stadium.
The showdown, which will bring the curtain down on this year’s domestic season, should be a thriller with the energetic young and talented army football recruits, battling a Brittons Hill side, comprising several past and present national players.
Some pundits will no doubt install Brittons Hill, who defeated Silver Sands 2-0 in their semi-final, as favourites to add a second title to their lone knockout triumph in 2007.
BDF, who ousted defending champions Weymouth Wales on penalties after a 1-1 regulation and extra time scoreline, also have a solitary knockout title. That success was back in 1994 and more silverware for the BDF’s base is long overdue.
The Valery-based Brittons Hill team still depend heavily on the evergreen Gregory “Lalu” Goodridge, Barbados’ only home-grown footballer to play in the English Premier League, and another old-stager Luther Watson, who plied his trade as a professional in Ireland for many years.
Goodridge and Watson will have key roles in Brittons Hill’s midfield, matching strides with Kadeem Atkins, Shamar Edwards, Akeem Browne and possibly Raheim Sargeant, who along with defender Ricardio Morris only returned home yesterday from a ten-day trial with newly promoted Scottish Premier League side, Dundee United.
Even though both may be suffering from jet lag, Morris would most certainly be utilized in the centre of BDF’s defence as a replacement for six-footer Zico Phillips, who was red-carded in the semi-finals.
Both teams are blessed with two good tacticians, dictating proceedings with the English-trained Lennux Ferdinand guiding Brittons Hill and Asquith Howell, who reaped success at the school level for St Leonard’s Boys, coaching BDF.
The strategy of both Ferdinand and Howell will be crucial. Brittons Hill are likely to opt for Walton Burrowes, Hendy Richards and Arantees Lawrence up front.
This will mean that the seasoned national player Jeffrey Williams, who prefers a roving role wide on the right side of midfield, may be used in the central midfield position, interchanging with Goodridge, while Watson performs his usual hard-tackling defensive midfield duties.
The BDF’s defence of Jason Lovell, Paul Alexander, the lanky Teriq Highland, Morris and new recruit Baggio Harewood will have a tough task, containing Burrowes, Richards, Lawrence and Williams.
Goalkeeper Saheka “Rossi” Duke and his Brittons Hill’s counterpart, Kerry Holder, have been two of the best custodians on show this season, along with Wales’ Bentley Springer. They will have to be at their best between the uprights as any mistake in a final, can be costly with just one goal deciding the outcome in most cases.
BDF also have plenty of firepower in attack with national striker Mario Harte in excellent form. He will be supported by Kyle Gibson and Jamal Chandler with Chai Lloyd likely to start ahead of Nicholas Best, who missed a couple of chances in the semi-final against Wales.
Harte was a handful for the Wales’ defence in the semi-finals, easily going past their wing backs, something Ferdinand and the Brittons Hill technical staff, would’ve noted.
Hence, either Rohan Hall, a former BDF player with national experience, or Troy Johnson, who may be used on the left side of Brittons Hill’s defence, may be given specific responsibility to mark Harte tightly, if that is possible.
Rugged right wing back Omar Archer will not be left out should Howell decide to play Harte through the centre and allow Atkins to come down the left flank. Then, both Paul Straughn and sweeper Andre Gibson, the former Beverley Hills’ defender, will have their hands full restricting Harte.
But whereas Atkins has the speed and skill to sweep past any defender, he must also recognize that the team comes first and one should always pass the ball to a teammate in a better goal-scoring position.
Both teams also have a strong bench and even in the absence of the injured Riviere Williams and Rondelle Vaughan, Brittons Hill can call on Zadkigah Samuel, Travis Coppin and veteran Edwin “Ratty” Brereton, while BDF have Mario Williams, Tramaine Cobham, Carlos Barnett, Kemar Dottin, Dario Ward and reserve goalkeeper Terry Smith.
The final will be preceded by the third-place match between Wales and Silver Sands at 5 p.m.
