The 10th Edward ‘Screw’ Richmond Memorial Linden secondary schools Under- 18 Football Championship final will be a repeat of last year’s championship game, as reigning champions Christianburg Wismar ‘Multi’ Secondary and New Silvercity Secondary prevailed by identical 1-0 wins over their respective rivals, Wisburg Secondary and Mackenzie High, in their respective semifinal matches on Wednesday at the Wisburg Secondary School ground.
New Silvercity Secondary were able to qualify for the rematch after they scored a tense win, courtesy of their leading scorer in the tournament, Emanuel Atkins, whose left footer which came after a corner was taken by teammate Ojai Whittington.
Ojai Whittington
That goal evolved after the defence sent the corner away from the goal, but Atkins was there to receive, and did the honours of slapping it past the flailing hands of the Mackenzie High School goal keeper in the 48th the minute.
It proved to be the lone goal of the encounter, as New Silvercity placed themselves to capture their first crown at this level.
Their opponents in the finals, Christinaburg Wismar Secondary, came through a tough game against the home side, but were able to prevail after Omar Brewley planted a robust shot towards the goal from a free kick which was taken on the left side edge of the 18-yard box. The ball zoomed over the wall to the high rising substitute Raul Semple for the match-winning header in the 57th minute.
That did not deter the Wisburg side from mounting a number of raids, but stout defending by the Multi guys was enough to get them this important win and enable them to reach another final.
The Dellon Peters-coached Multi side will see Omar Brewley leading their attack, with fellow forward Randy Pickering being ably assisted from the midfield by Andre Mayers and Brinsley Allicock; while defenders Oshia Prince and Randy Douglas would be doing duty protecting Decklan Lee, who would be in goal.
New Silvercity is coached by Dwalon Farrell, and this time around, there is the feeling that things can take some mysterious turns, says Farrell. He has the leading scorer in Emanuel Atkins, who, with seven goals to his credit, was able to get his team into the final; and with other inform strikers in Ojai Whittington and Shane Haynes, New Silvercity have their best chance of carting off the championship.
Turning the tables on this Multi side will also depend on the schemer Donovan Alsopp, while Chad Henry and Seon Allicock will be taking care of the back line, as Deuel Thomas squats in the citadel.
Among the top prizes on offer are awards for the Best Defence Player, Top Goal Scorer, Best Goalkeeper, and the Most Valuable Player.
It is expected that officials from the Regional Education Office of Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berice) and the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) will be there to witness this year’s final.
The championship game this afternoon will be played at the Wisburg Secondary ground at 16.15hrs, prior to which the third place play-off game featuring Wisburg Secondary and Mackenzie High would be played at 14.145hrs.
