It was a case of the usual suspects being guilty of winning when the Barbados Football Association’s Scotiabank National Youth Cup kicked off at various venues last weekend.
With hundreds of players getting into their first competition for the year, it was largely the better-known sides that picked up points on Saturday.
With the competition split into two tiers with the top one featuring teams that gave solid performances in last year’s inaugural tournament, the rivalries were rekindled this past weekend and are expected to rage on for the next few weeks.
In Tier 1, Pro Shottas came out swinging in their opening Under-9 game, as they swamped Launfal Soccer Academy 8-0 at the Kick Start ground.
Led by six goals from Sacha Pounder, the Player Of The Day for his division, Pro Shottas rolled to an easy three points. Pounder was good for back-to-back goals in the third, fourth, tenth, 11th, 26th and 30th minutes. He was given some support by Charles Bertrand and Elijah Jacobs.
Still in Under-9 division, Kick Start Hot Shots made the most of the home-field edge to show they were hotter than Mavericks Fire., putting eight unanswered goals past Mavericks.
Harry Smith led the charge with a hat-trick after goals in the third, fourth and tenth minutes. He was backed up by Jacob Gollop, who finished with a brace (fifth, 11th) and Kai Clarke, Beau Washington and Jeremiah Brewster.
The trend continued in the Under-11 as both clubs brought home hefty wins in Tier 1 as well. At the Pine Resource Centre, Kick Start Kickers came away 7-0 winners over Launfal with Under-11 Player Of The Day Joshua Waithe getting his team off the ground with a brace. The goals came fast and furious as Asher Walker-Linton, Seth Jones, Nathaniel Denny, Matthieu Clarke and Jordan Bryan all scored within 20 minutes.
Pro Shottas United had seven against St Andrew Lions at the same venue after getting started with an own goal. Zachari Yard jumped on momentum and went on to score twice, while Joshua Connell, Tremon Francis, Laea Blakeley and Ronan Lee all got their names on the board.
Fitts Village West Coast made a mark for themselves in Tier 2 at Kick Start with an 8-0 win over Ellerton. They had three players bringing home braces with Kellem Payne, Roniko Harding and Ethan McCollin all rocking the nets twice. The other goals came from Nathan Scott and Omar Harris.
Back in Tier 1 in the Under-13 division, Kick Start Hammers did just that to the Barbados Youth Service as they took a five-goal win at Blenheim. Khalil Vanderpool-Nurse had a beaver-trick in the 7-2 victory while Dominic Downes, Zion Mayers and Ethan Squires added to the tally. The Youth Service’s consolations came from Javonte Griffith and Shakira Bishop.
James Arthur was good for a hat-trick against Brittons Hill as he helped Notre Dame Youth to a 6-1 win at the same venue. Jabari Reid, Blair Spencer and Christian Gill added the other three.
At Parkinson Field, Tajio James of Flow Pro Shottas had three goals to take the Player Of The Day award in Tier 1 Under-15. Flow Pro Shottas razed Paradise Youth with eight unanswered goals. Aaron Jones, Zuhri Morris, Shakerr Edwards, Ryan Lashley scored two goals each.
Over at Meadow Road in Tier 2 action, new kids on the block United Stars Alliance manhandled Ellerton to finish six goals ahead. With a single goal coming from Reshawn Butcher, Ellerton were unable to keep the fledgling team at bay, as Shewayne Burke and Jacoby Gill both scored twice, while Tidre Arthur, Kevon Lucas, and Jaheim Wilson all had one each.
The action kicks back up tomorrow. Match information and results can be found at www.barbadosfa.com. (BFA)
