Haynes stars as Enterprise lift Courts’ Pee-Wee Championship title
It isn’t often that you would witness the ice broken and immediately after the gridlock is set in place again, but that was the reality on Saturday afternoon when St. Pius Primary and Enterprise Primary put on a thriller of a final to decide who would emerge champions of the Courts’ Pee-Wee Under-11 Football tournament.
The two powerhouse teams went bang for bang, and it was only the first half, leaving the parents and supporters proverbially salivating at the prospect of more action from the next generation of Guyana’s best ballers.
Jashan Haynes (blue bib) was often locked in battle with Aaron Vasconcellos (on ball) during the final
In the 13th minute of the final showdown, Carlon Robinson struck the ball to the back of the net to put St. Pius Primary in the lead.
When the ball was set in the middle again, almost instantaneously Jashan Haynes took a shot at the goal, and connected in the top corner.
The once exuberant St. Pius were now as quiet as a mouse, while Enterprise took their turn to revel.
Following words of inspiration from two of Guyana’s national players, Jeremy Garrett and Marcus Wilson, the young ballers returned with fresh enthusiasm and determination.
Aaron Vasconcellos of St. Pius was visibly having an off-day on the field, yet the youngster kept firing shot after shot, giving the eventual ‘best goalkeeper’ lots of work to do.
However, the man who eventually found the winning goal was on the opposing side. Jashan Haynes returned in the 30th and, capitalizing on a freekick opportunity, went straight for goal, much to the pleasure of the Enterprise supports, who erupted in ecstatic cheers for a second time.
Favour was not on the St. Pius side, as chance after chance went awry, resulting in a 2-1 victory for Enterprise.
In the third-place playoff, North Georgetown outplayed Marian Academy to lift the trophy after a 3-1 affair.
Marian Academy drew first blood by way of a penalty kick, which was taken by Nayal George in the 13th. Another penalty opportunity, this time going the way of North Georgetown, was responsible for levelling the scores in the 32nd. The shot was aced by Nathan Peters.
Enterprise Primary were all smiles as they received their championship trophy from Courts’ Richard Allen
North Georgetown kept their composure as Shawn Douglas (36th) and Malik Fletchman (40th) both found the back of the net to steer their team away from danger.
In the individual prizes, it came as no surprise that Jashan Haynes was adjudged Most Valuable Player (MVP) and highest goal-scorer. The youth collected the lion’s share of prizes, which included one laptop, a tablet, an MVP Sports voucher and trophies for his exploits. Meanwhile, the tournament’s best goalkeeper also came from Enterprise Primary. In addition, Sterling Products, in a bid of goodwill, also rewarded Aaron Vasconcellos with a Samsung tablet for his exploits in the tournament.
Among the prizes that the top four teams received, compliments of title sponsors Courts, were Smart televisions, trophies and balls. The tournament was also supported by Sterling Products, MVP Sports, and the Ministry of Education (MoE). (Jemima Holmes)
