Chase, Buxton advance after thrilling encounters

The Ministry of Education Ground on Carifest Avenue in Georgetown was a hive of activity on Saturday afternoon when eight secondary school boys’ teams competed in the quarter-final round of the ExxonMobil/Petra Under-14 Football league.
Playing on a field made slushy because of the recent inclement weather, many of the players found it rather difficult to get their scoring underway, and this factor proved to be the source of entertainment in the high energy encounters.
When Marian Academy came up against St. John’s College, the Marian boys knew they were up for a challenge, and as such played harder than they have ever done in the tournament. Unfortunately, St. John’s got the better of them, netting two goals early on in each segment of the game.
Being played on the other half of the ground at the same time was North Ruimveldt Multilateral versus Tucville Secondary, a match-up that was always set to be a thriller. With the score standing at 1-1 for most of the game, both teams put on their best performance in order to gain the advantage over the opponent. In the end, it was North Ruimveldt Multilateral who got the better of their opponent, ending the game on 2-1.
The second round of quarter-final matches brought even more entertainment, with some of the more experienced teams slated to take the field.
Buxton got their scoring underway as early as the 12th minute, with another goal some 4 minutes later. The ever improving Buxton team were in the driver’s seat by then, and never gave the Dolphin Secondary team a chance to gather themselves properly.
Large and in charge, Buxton netted some six goals to secure their place in the semi-final round.
However, the encounter to witness was the one between Chase’s Academy and Vergenoegen Secondary. Both teams came into the quarter-finals with large wins to their name, hence each one of the 22 players was confident that their team would come out victorious. The slushy fields proved to be a challenge for the fast paced Chase’s team, and saw their deficit of a goal down at half time a feat that has never been achieved by another team since the tournament’s inception.
In a shocking twist, Chase found the back of the net near the end of their allotted time, to level the scores 2-2 and send the game into extra time.
Chase quickly got ahead, but Vergenoegen soon replied with a goal of their own to level the score once again. Urged on their coach, the Chase boys found it in themselves to produce two more goals, which would ensure that they remain undefeated in the tournament.
St. John’s College, North Ruimveldt Multilateral, Buxton and Chase’s Academy will meet in the semi-final round on Saturday, 14th instant, at the same venue.