St Leonard’s are the new champions of the Coca Cola Barbados Secondary Schools’ Under-14 Football Competition after defeating Parkinson Memorial 2-1 in the final at the Wildey AstroTurf yesterday.
An own goal got St Leonards’ off to an early start and moments later they stretched their lead to 2-0 when Ray Francis comfortably placed his strike in the bottom corner.
However, a glimpse of hope came late in the second half from Parkinson through a free kick but that was only a consolation as St Leonard’s went on to win and claim the trophy.
St. Leonard’s coach Fabian Massiah said he had confidence in his players and was happy with the outcome.
He added that hard work throughout the season resulted in their win over Parkinson.
Parkinson coach Mike Cummins felt that his team could have performed better in the first half.
“I think we were a bit overwhelmed by the occasion. We didn’t have a few players in key positions because of illness, so I think that if we had the usual starting line-up we could have performed better , but I don’t fault the boys for making an effort,” Cummins said.
In the girls division, Lester Vaughan came from two goals down to win 5-4 on penalties against Alexandra.
Alexandra settled quickly after a steady opening period and broke the deadlock when Dawn-Marie Stevenson comfortably placed her shot in the top corner to give the St Peter side an early lead.
The lead was stretched when Rianna Cyrus capitalized on the Lester Vaughan goalkeeper’s error.
However, Lester Vaughan began pressuring their opponents in the second half and their persistence paid off when Tamika Campbell and Sharima Best scored and the game went into extra time.
Best said: “I feel great because I scored before the match had finished to force the game into extra time and I am happy for my team,” she said.
Lester Vaughan coach Adrian Mapp noted that his team played “sluggish” but he was still happy with the outcome.
“We didn’t play as well as I’d like; but all is well that ends well,” he said.
Alexandra coach Kirk Corbin said despite the outcome he was proud of his team.
“Penalties are always hard, but the girls played incredibly well to appear in the final again and our football has been developing tremendously,” he said.
In the third place play-off, Christ Church Foundation beat St Michael 2-0 with goals from Dishon Alleyne and Cliff Gooding-Edghill.
