Amazing Alfred leads Tiger Bay to Corona Championship

– future Stars thump Bent Street for 3rd

By Jemima Holmes

The lights at the National Gymnasium went off in the wee hours of Sunday morning after the final of the Corona 2019 tournament was concluded, but the name Deon Alfred is one that every spectator, player and official would surely remember for years to come.

Frontline man for the Tiger Bay team, Alfred had led his team to victory several times before, but the vicissitudes of playing a final is one that often trumps the best of players. However, the humble but confident Alfred, who had declared his faith in his team’s abilities at the pre-match press conference, rose to the occasion in the wee hours of Sunday to lead Tiger Bay to the Corona 2019 championship.
Tiger Bay’s strategy was to score early and put their opponents in a difficult position. This task was perfectly executed by Deon Alfred, who wasted little time in getting Tiger Bay’s scorecard ticking with back-to-back goals scored in the 6th and 7th minutes.
Back Circle’s frustration became increasingly evident as they failed to hit their target, and Josiah Charles added to their agony in the 11th minute with a third goal for Tiger Bay.
Back Cirlcle’s ‘lethal weapon’, Trayon Bobb, was able to break the momentum in the 15th when he netted his team’s first goal, but Alfred completed his hat-trick in the 19th minute when he had the score reading 4-1 one minute before the half had ended.
The boisterous spectators thought they would see another high score from Tiger Bay, but instead were treated to a noble fightback from Back Circle. The eventual second place team was more composed in the next twenty minutes, which afforded them two more goals, coming off the boots of Trayon Bobb (24th) and Stephan Mc Lean (34th).
Back Circle upped the pressure on goal in the final five minutes of the game, but the young Tiger Bay goalkeeper was able to weather the storm and hold out for his team’s 4-3 win.
Alfred’s hat trick in the final brought his goal tally to 18. This, coupled with his heroics throughout the tournament, rendered the situation such that a better MVP could not be named.
Prior to the final, Future Stars outplayed the experienced Bent Street to get their hands on the third place prize. Future Stars did well to rebound from the 8-5 drubbing they had received at the hands of Tiger Bay in the semifinal, and instead inflicted a similar humiliation on Bent Street with an 8-4 win.
William Europe led the way for Future Stars with a hat trick of goals in the 5th, 9th and 40th minutes. Keron Soloman (19th, 26th) and Jamal Cozier (34th, 38th) both contributed a brace, and Randel Bowman netted one in the 26th for Future Stars’ 8.
In reply, Sheldon Profit found the back of the net twice, in the 24th and 36th minutes; while both Clive Nobrega and Adrian Aaron scored once for Bent Street’s four, but they were never able to match the dominance that Future Stars brought to the third place playoff.
While Tiger Bay received $500,000, Back Circle had to settle for $250,000. Future Stars copped the $125,000 third place prize while Bent Street took home $75,000. The most valuable player, Deon Alfred, rode away with a Hero motorcycle compliments of Rose Ramdehol and Hero.
The Corona/ Top Brandz Distributors-sponsored tournament was coordinated by the Petra Organization.