KFC Goodwill International Series: Semi-finals set after exciting 3rd round

Chase’s Academic Foundation is the last Guyanese school standing, while the likes of Jamaica’s Clarendon College, Trinidad and Tobago’s St Benedict’s College and Suriname’s VMO 4 will all proceed to the semi-finals of the KFC Goodwill International Series, set for Tuesday.
This is based on the results of four games played in the third round of the tournament on Saturday.
At the Queen’s College Ground, Thomas Road, St Ignatius Secondary pulled off their first win of the tournament, defeating Bartica Secondary by a 4-2 margin.
Bartica’s Reizer Reid opened the scoring in the 20th minute, but 11 minutes later, Stephon Sprosta levelled the scores. However, Bartica’s Arvel Smit handed his team the lead once again in the 35th minute.
Three minutes before the first half ended, Sharukh Nedd found the back of the net to equalise the scores once again, setting up an interesting second half. St Ignatius dominated the second segment as Reuel Aldie and Glenn Fredericks found the back of the net in the 59th and 69th minutes respectively to pull off the victory.

The second game of the day, also at QC, saw Carmel going down to Trinidad’s St Benedict’s College, who won to keep their preliminary record clean.
Malachai Webb was the man with the golden boot for the Trinidadian outfit, netting a hat-trick in the 12th, 38th and 50th minutes.
The KFC schools’ football action then moved to the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground on Carifesta Avenue, where 2022 champions DC Caesar Fox (Waramadong) Secondary bowed out of this year’s tournament on a losing note.
DC Caesar Fox found themselves ahead by two in the first half, as Kemron Thomas and Anthonio Isaacs found the back of the net in the 20th and 36th minutes respectively. The half ended 2-1 in the Guyanese team’s favour, as Suriname’s Matthew Soetosenojo brought up VMO 4’s first goal in the 45th+1.
VMO started the second half with high intensity and were rewarded almost immediately, as Keith Felter beat the Waramadong keeper in the 47th minute, while his teammate, Justin Jackson ,made it a 3-2 affair in the 53rd.
Arivin Djojoseparto extended the Surinamese lead once again in the 58th minute to 4-2, but Waramadong were able to pull one back before time expired. Their third goal in the 3-4 loss came off the boots of Bruce Williams in the 76th.
Finally on the day, a riveting contest between Jamaican powerhouse Clarendon College and a depleted Chase’s Academic Foundation finished in favour of the visitors, 2-0.
Missing four of their key players due to international duties, including their highest goal scorer Bryan Wharton and another striker Omar Sam, Chase’s Academy managed to hold their own, but the Jamaicans went one up in the first half, by way of a Daniel Clark strike in the 30th minute.
It was only until the dying minutes of the game that Jamaica would extend the lead, as Terron Williams netted in the 89th. While Chase’s had a handful of opportunities, their finishing was off on the day.
The tournament continues tomorrow, Tuesday, December 19, with the semi-finals at the Ministry of Education Ground.
Jamaica’s Clarendon College will take on Suriname’s VMO 4 from 18:00h, while Guyana’s Chase’s Academy and Trinidad’s St Benedict’s College clash at 20:00h, all for a spot in this Friday’s final. The teams are vying for a 2500 USD ($500,000 GYD) grand prize.