After moving to our new residence at Prospect Youth Centre the previous day, we started the morning with a relaxing session at the beach by the property. Our game started delayed as the first semi-final between UK teams Tottenham Hotspurs & Gillingham FC went into extra time & penalties, resulting in Hotspurs booking the first spot in the finals.
Starting Eleven:
GK: Ricardo Laing
Defense: Kristoper McDonald (left back), JahHari White (center half), Noel Walker (center half), Shaqkeil Campbell (right back)
Midfield: Romaye Davis (defensive), Shawn Daley (defensive), Oquasso Chong (attacking)
Forward: Ronaldo Robinson (left), Kellijah Morgan(centre), Kafui Douet (right)
Substitutes:
Trevaughn Irwin (GK), Sean-Michael McIntosh, Rojaughn Joseph, Junior Parker, Matthew Bell, Javain Green, Andrade Wright.
Both Jamaican teams went at it as the action was fast and furious.
Ramoye Davis made a shot from the top of the area, but it hit against the upright and came out of the goal. Moments later, Cavalier SC won a corner, and defender Shanthamoi Brown headed the ball home from 8 yards to lead 1-0 after 6 minutes. This was his 8th goal of the tournament, positioning him as the top scorer.
Only three minutes later, a defensive slip lets Cavalier free on goal, and a shot by their Captain Michael Allen was blocked but manages to roll over the line to put them 2-0 ahead early in the game. The half ended without any further goals. In the second half, Cavalier SC continued to press for more but we were pressing just as much. Quite a few yellow cards were issued in the passionate match between the two Jamaican teams. The battle continued throughout the second half but the score remained unchanged until the end of play.
Cavalier was able to hold us off from finding the net, and their two early goals were enough to progress to the finals against Tottenham Hotspurs. With disappointment following the encounter, the boys must keep their chins up as they’ve played notably well for the past 4 days against quality teams. HVFC will play for third place against UK’s Gillingham FC Academy on Saturday at 5:30pm.