Amazing Annai annihilate Lodge for championship title

KFC Goodwill Tournament…

After years of being mere bridesmaids at nationwide schools’ football tournaments, Annai Secondary of Region 9 have finally had their moment of glory; which came when they emerged champions of the 2019 edition of the KFC Goodwill Tournament following a feisty encounter with Lodge Secondary.

Former champions of this tournament, Shiva Boys Hindu College from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, were sent packing in the semifinal, paving the way for new champions to emerge. Embracing the opportunity, Annai rose to the occasion, played a highly competitive game, and dominated the usually fiery Lodge Secondary team.
Sticking to a workable plan, Annai put Lodge under pressure early with two goals in the first 30 minutes of play; and those turned out to be the only goals scored for the entirety of the encounter. Eventual tournament MVP Junior Rodrigues first found the back of the net in the 20th minute, and two minutes later, a premeditated shot from outside the 18-yard box beat the Lodge goalkeeper, signalling the second goal.

While Lodge returned from the break determined as ever, their visibly injured star player Dorwin George was out of sorts, and the rest of the team scrambled to keep up with Annai’s pace. Lodge’s chances were, however, few and far apart, with players rarely making it past the Annai defense; which was a complete contrast to the way they had battled Shiva Boys in their semifinal encounter.
However, credit must be given to Lodge’s goal-keeper Rashad Roberts, who was resolute in restricting further goals from being scored.

As the final whistle sounded, the Annai team were joined in wanton jubilation by enthusiastic supporters who had showed up at every game.
The Shiva Boys Hindu College managed to saved themselves blushes by copping the third-place spot in the playoff against Region Seven’s Desiree Caesar Fox Secondary, aka Waramadong.
The team hailing from the twin-island republic drew first blood when Steven Thomas found the back of the net in the 15th minute. The encounter went on quietly until the second half, when Waramadong’s Ovid David rocked the net with the equalizing goal in the 55th minute. However, Waramadong’s high spirits were again deflated when Shiva Boys’ Adica Ash gave his team the lead with a goal in the 56th minute.

Waramadong dug deep for another equalizer, but it was not to be, as they missed a number of close calls. Then Adica Ash added the cherry atop the icing with a goal in the 89th minute to give the Shiva Boys a 3-1 victory.
The honours were shared as follows: Annai’s Lester Smith was recognized as the “best goalkeeper”, having conceded only five goals throughout the tournament. With seven goals to his credit, Shiva Boys’ Adica Ash copped the “highest goal-scorer” award, while Annai’s Junior Rodrigues was adjudged the tournament’s “most valuable player”.
Aside from the tournament’s title sponsor KFC, Guyana Coema Construction Services Ltd, Mike’s Pharmacy, the Trophy Stall, and Tiger Rentals were also part-sponsors of this Petra-organized tournament.