Chase’s Academic Foundation have retained their Digicel Schools Football Championship title in emphatic fashion, hammering Annai Secondary 6-2 on Sunday evening at the National Track and Field Facility at Leonora, West Coast Demerara.
Annai’s Orville Daniels and Rushan Ritch engaged in an intense battle for ball possession (Akeem Greene photo)Champions! Champions! Chase’s Academic Foundation celebrate their sweet success
The Annai rout was led by Stephon Reynolds, who netted a hat-trick; Nicholas McArthur with a double, and Ryan Stephon Reynolds and Ryan Hackett in front of a massive and partisan crowd, which was graced with the presence of Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Sydney Allicock; Director of Sport, Christopher Jones; Guyana Football Federation President Wayne Forde, and several senior officials from Digicel.
Chase’s were immediately on the pounce, with winger McArthur being a constant threat with his somewhat menacing runs down the left. His efforts paid off in the 9th minute, when he nipped his way behind the back line after collecting a pass from Hackett to slot home what proved to be the beginning of the end for Annai.
Weaving his way down, Reynolds placed his shot outside the reach of custodian Leston Smith in the 17th minute.
Things went from bad to worse for Annai when their backline kept losing the ball in precarious areas because of the intense physical battle with Chase’s, which saw them being clearly mismatched.
Another Chase’s set piece came to fruition when Hackett hit a bullet-like shot that rebounded into the path of McArthur, who had no issue sealing his second goal in the 20th minute.
The odds were mounting against Annai, and a change in tactics saw them playing more of a “long ball”. Sherral Daniels brought Annai’s supporters to their feet with a brilliant effort which hit the cross bar.
Even though there were moments of lapses in play, Chase’s continued to look the more dominant team, and their superiority was solidified when Hackett etched his name on the score sheet with another of his classical left-foot shots; this one curling into the low right in the 37th.
A lapse from Sessi Norville in the 41st minute saw Orville Daniels releasing a right-foot missile from 25 yards out and Norville palming the ball into goal.
The second half saw a different Annai team, playing more compact and looking ominous.
The pressure they built burst into an opportunity for goal, with Sherral forcing his way into the penalty area and slipping one past a diving Norville in the 56th minute.
It was long after Chase’s that reminded the opposition who is boss via another skillful goal from Reynolds.
The battle had more see-saw moments, as the final play in the 85th minute brought another rousing applause from the audience when Reynolds made a dash down the right to whip the ball into the top right.
The final whistle was soon blown, and the players sprinted into a huddle of jubilation as they knew they had solidified their dynasty in school football and had pocketed $1,000,000 to go towards a school project of their choice besides the coveted championship trophy.
The dream run for Annai did not end in fairytale fashion, but they took home $700,000 and the corresponding accolade.
In the third place play-off, D.C Cesar Fox Secondary (commonly called Waramadong Secondary) got their first win over Christianburg/Wismar Secondary with a 3-1 scoreline in their favour.
Reon McNaughton (11th), Whitker Paul (25th) and Kevin Hastings (43rd) did the damage for the Region Seven unit, while Darwin Adolphus scored the consolation goal in the 67th.
The third and fourth placed teams won $400,000 and $350,000 respectively for a school project of their choice. Annai’s Sherral and Naidison Daniels won the Most Valuable Player and Golden Boot prizes, while Sesi Norville was deemed the best goalkeeper.
The seventh edition of the nationwide championships attracted more than 150 schools and catered for pupils under the age of 18.
