Defending champions Clarendon, Chase’s win big on opening day
…action continues today
The Queen’s College and Ministry of Education (MoE) Grounds were buzzing with excitement on Sunday as eight school football teams, including four from around the Caribbean, assembled for the commencement of the KFC International Goodwill Tournament.
KFC Marketing Manager Sadia Strand conducted the official kick-off for the tournament now in its fifth year, following the customary march-past exercise. The fast-food giant representative reiterated the company’s commitment to the endeavour.
Strand shared, “Now KFC is so honoured to be a part of the Goodwill football tournament and I would like to thank Petra Organisation for bringing us onboard for the fifth year. This will be the best one yet and I think it’s a great outlook into what we can expect from Petra Organisation in the future and for future KFC Goodwill Football tournaments. The competition is about to be fierce.”
Defending champions Clarendon College out of Jamaica got the ball rolling with a 6-2 victory over Annai Secondary in the opening game. Nicholy Forbes, after opening the scoring in the ninth minute, registered the tournament’s first hat-trick with additional goals in the 47th and 60th minutes.
Chase’s Academic Foundation celebrate one of their eight strikes
Dameon Simms (44th); Anthony Reid (50th) and Dusean Petgrave (71st) scored one goal each for Clarendon’s six while Adrian Cabral (40th) and Guy Moses (74th) were responsible for Annai’s reply.
After the game, Forbes expressed his confidence in his team’s ability to pull off the repeat.
“Feel really good. The team went out and we performed well. We just did what we’re supposed to do on the training ground and we execute it on the pitch,” Forbes shared with media operatives.
The Jamaica player added, “We lost some very important players, but some of the younger players stepped up and showed that we can do it, so we are very confident.”
The second encounter saw Trinidad’s Speyside High and Dolphin Secondary doing battle. With a brace off the boots of Shyon George in the second and 69th minutes and one from Daviel Thomas in the 23rd, Speyside secured the 3-1 win over Dolphin. Ezekiel Frank David netted the Guyanese team’s consolation, which had levelled the score in the 12th.
Then, Chase’s Academic Foundation put on a team effort to secure the biggest win of the day, thumping Suriname’s Henry Hassankhan Community School 8-2. Emmanuel Campbell broke the ice with a well- executed header in the 13th minute followed by strikes from Bryan Wharton (15th); Isaiah Ifill (60th); Tyrell Walcott (65th) and Jaden Christian (85th), in addition to a double off the boots of Omar Sam (63rd, 74th) and an own goal, which accounted for Chase’s eight. Ishan Dhanpal had netted one of Suriname’s two goals which locked the score at 2-2 at the half, setting the stage for Chase’s eventual comeback in the second half.
Clarendon College (yellow) were too much for Annai Secondary to handle
Chase’s Captain Wharton was optimistic about his team’s performances going forward, highlighting that three key players were absent from Sunday’s game on account of international duties.
Wharton reflected, “I think we had to dig deep, because two errors cost us both goals in the first half and it was like, we had to go into the second half with a bit more fight and you know, urgency. But we did it and we execute.
“I think it’s three key players and you’ll see the difference when we play with those players. We play a bit more exciting and you know, better to watch when we get those three players, but grateful for the victory most of all,” the Chase’s Captain said.
A clash between Trinidad’s St Benedict’s College and DC Caesar Fox (Waramadong) Secondary brought the curtains down on the first day’s action, with St Benedict’s prevailing 5-2.
Josiah Ochoa netted a helmet trick in the 18th, 23rd, 34th and 80th minutes after Derrel Garcia had opened the scoring for the Trinidadian champions in the 12th minute. For Waramadong, Kelvin McAlmont (51st) and Jim Carter (82nd) found the back of the net.
The tournament continues today with round 2 of the group stage. At 13:30h, Speyside take on Annai at Queen’s College Ground while St Benedict’s and Henry Hassankhan battle at the same venue from 15:30h. Later in the afternoon, Clarendon College will meet Dolphin Secondary from 17:00h at the MoE Ground while Chase’s Academic Foundation and DC Caesar Fox will clash, beginning at 19:00h.
