Chase’s Academy meet St Benedict’s again in tonight’s final

Revenge was a dish best served with goals on Friday night at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground on Carifesta Avenue, as Chase’s Academic Foundation of Guyana flipped the switch on Jamaica’s Clarendon College to oust the defending champions from the Petra Organised-KFC Goodwill International Football Tournament in the semifinals.
Conversely, St. Benedict’s College of Trinidad and Tobago held their composure to defeat Guyana’s Annai Secondary in the other semifinal.
St. Benedict’s were the first team to book their spot in the final, getting past Annai 3-1. Jelani Scott opened the scoring for the Trinidadian side in the 8th minute, and followed up with a 20th minute strike to double St. Benedict’s lead.
Guy Moses found the back of the net in the 44th minute to ensure Annai pull one back just before the half, but try as they might, Annai could not find the equalizer, while St. Benedict’s Captain Derrel Garcia found the back of the net in the 65th to put out of reach any comeback notions the challengers might have been entertaining.

Then Chase’s Academic Foundation, losers to Clarendon College in last year’s semifinals, turned the tables on the defending champions by administering them a 5-4 defeat in a highly entertaining encounter.
Clarendon struck first through Ramario Thompson in the 6th minute, and Chase’s Academy took some time before they could find the equalizer. Eventually, Neeiaz Baksh headed an assist from Bryan Wharton into the back of the net. That assist had come across the face of the goal in the 23rd minute, and the goal levelled the scores.
Two minutes later, another advance in the box from Baksh was handled by the Jamaican defense, and it resulted in a penalty for Chase’s Academy.
Captain Wharton made no mistake in placing the shot into the far-left corner to give his side the lead.
Later, a cheeky shot chipped off the boots of Omar Sam surprisingly found the back of the net when Clarendon’s keeper had advanced out of his area. It gave Chase’s Academy an unassailable 3-1 lead at the half.
The second segment started with an infraction in the box that gifted Clarendon a penalty opportunity. Nicholy Forbes stepped up to connect the penalty in the 49th, but not long after, another Bryan Wharton assist resulted in Chase finding the back of the net. This time around, Omar Sam tucked the ball in for the goal in the 61st, and another penalty for Chase was also connected in the 67th by Sam to complete their five.
A blunder by Chase’s goal keeper Flavio LaRose cost his team their third goal, conceded to Chevon Richardson in the 71st; and later, Joshua Thom found the back of the net for Clarendon in the 90th, but by then it was a little too late for the defending champions, who will now have to contest for the third-place trophy.

Prepare for an exciting final
Meanwhile, prior to the grand finale today, the captains and coaches of the two teams met on Saturday for a face-off with the Championship Trophy. Hosted at the title sponsors’ Vlissengen Road location, KFC Finance Controller Marlon Chetnarine had words of praise for the tournament, and said he anticipates an exciting final.
“Supporting initiatives such as this allows us to contribute to the development of our community and the broader Caribbean, and to be a part of something truly impactful. We commend Petra Organisation for their dedication and hard work (in) organizing such an exciting and well-structured event. The competition so far has been an excellent showcase of sportsmanship, talent, and the unyielding spirit of the players, coaches and supporters,” Chetnarine said.
The coaches and captains of today’s competing teams also had their say on the final.
St. Benedict’s Coach Lewis shared, “We’re expecting a tough game, because it’s the champions of Guyana, and we will respect our opponents.”
Oronde Chase of Chase’s Academic Foundation said, “Tomorrow, we expect a great game. Tomorrow will be the third time that we’re playing this opponent, so we have quite an understanding of the type of game that they’ll play. So, we’re expecting to have a tough but a fair game as well, and an exciting one for the crowd.”
As for the players, Chase’s Captain Bryan Wharton has said they are focused on the big prize. “We come out to play our football; we didn’t come out to study nobody. So, we’ll just go, play we game, and do what we do best,” he explained.
St Benedict’s Captain Derrell Garcia, a man of little words, said: “We will respect the team, it’s a good team.”
The KFC Goodwill final, featuring Chase’s Academy and St. Benedict’s College, will be contested at the same venue this evening. It commences at 19:30hrs, while the third-place playoff between Clarendon College and Annai Secondary will get going at 17:30hrs.