Limacol Schools’ Football League: Chase, Carmel stay perfect; Mackenzie upset Santa Rosa
There were a number of close calls on Sunday, but when the dust settled, it was the apparent underdogs that prevailed when the NEW GPC INC-sponsored Limacol Schools’ Football League resumed.
While Chase’s Academy did as Chase’s Academy do, the likes of Carmel Secondary and Mackenzie High worked overtime for their three points, setting up some exhilarating football action at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground, Carifesta Avenue.
The first game of the day saw a team effort getting Chase’s Academic Foundation over the line in a 5-0 drubbing of Christianburg Wismar Secondary.
A look at the encounter between Mackenzie High (yellow) and Santa Rosa Secondary
Bryan Wharton opened the scoring in the third minute, after which Kerstyn Gonsalves made it a 2-0 game in the fourth. The next goal was witnessed until the 42nd minute when Darius Chester found the back of the net. In the second half, Neeiaz Baksh and Justin Alcindor netted goals in the 47th and 71st minutes respectively to seal the win.
Next, Bartica Secondary enjoyed the upper hand over Carmel Secondary, before the Charlestown-based outfit staged an entertaining comeback.
Ian Daniels put Carmel ahead in the 13th minute, before back-to-back goals from Bily Smith in the 41st and 43rd gave the visitors the advantage. Smith first levelled the scores after converting a penalty opportunity and later capitalised on a free kick, with a header for the second goal.
Daniels went on to complete his hat-trick in the dying minutes of the game, to hand Carmel a 3-2 win. He outran the Bartica defence in the 67th minute to set up a one-on-one battle with the keeper before sinking the goal in the 70th, executing a sliding shot across the face of the goal for the game winner.
Next, Mackenzie High pulled off what could be the upset of the tournament, defeating Santa Rosa Secondary 2-1. Azizi Grant found the back of the net first for Mackenzie in the 13th minute with a right- footed shot into the opposing corner of the goal, but the lead was short lived as Santa Rosa’s Darius Willams levelled the scores via the free kick route in the 20th.
Later on, Dexter Milo would put Mackenzie ahead in the 43rd minute, with his team’s defence holding out for their first win of the tournament.
