Clarendon College clinch KFC International Goodwill title

Clarendon College of Jamaica added another title to their 2023 collection when they pipped Trinidad and Tobago’s St. Benedict’s College in the KFC International Goodwill series final on Friday night.
Clarendon had earlier this month won both the DaCosta Cup and Olivier Shield in Jamaican School Football competitions.
In the opening minutes of the game, the two finalists looked evenly poised, but Clarendon managed to hold their intensity longer while wearing down their St Benedict’s counterparts.
A set piece from the corner allowed Clarendon to get into the box, but the ball was sent back out of the 18-yard area.

There it met the feet of Daniel Clark, who ricocheted it back into the nets for the ice-breaker in the 32nd.
The remainder of the half passed quietly, but the Jamaica side returned from the break hungry to extend the lead. As such, in the 53rd minute, capitalizing from another corner kick opportunity, Justin Hayles caught the rebound when his teammate missed the shot, and headed the ball into the goal for the Jamaicans’ second strike.
St. Benedict’s managed to pull one back, with Jeremiah Niles again showcasing his speed as he weaved through the Jamaicans’ defense to net the consolation in the 80th.

The goal seemed to motivate the Trinidadians, and their pursuit of the equalizer appeared instantly refreshed, but the Jamaicans’ tactics were superior, and they played a steady long ball to hold out for the 2-1 win.
Meanwhile, Chase’s Academic Foundation drubbed Suriname’s VMO 4 to seal third place in the competition. Leading from the front, Bryan Wharton opened the scoring in the 7th minute, and hit two majestic freekicks in the 58th and 60th minutes on his way to a helmet trick in the 64th minute.
Justin Alcindor backed up the score with a double in the 23rd and 73rd minutes, while Omar Sam found the back of the net once in the 31st for Chase’s 7-0 victory.
Clarendon and St. Benedict’s walked away with $2500 USD ($500,000 GYD) and $1500USD ($300,000 GYD) for first and second places respectively. Both sums were donated by President Dr Irfaan Ali.
Chase’s pocketed $1000 USD ($200,000 GYD), while the fourth-placed Suriname got $500 USD ($100,000 GYD).
In individual prizes, Chase’s Bryan Wharton was the tournament’s highest goal scorer, netting 11 times; while Clarendon carted off the best goal-keeper and most valuable player (MVP) accolades in Marco Thompson and Dante Walters.
This tournament was sponsored by KFC Guyana, ExxonMobil, Ansa McAl’s Lucozade brand, MVP Sports and Pacaraima Suites, with support from the Ministries of Education and Culture, Youth and Sport.