YOUTH LEAGUE FINALISTS CONFIRMED
The finalists for the 2024 Keith Gumbs U17 Tier 1 League and the Rams U13 Premier Youth Cup have been decided after exciting semi-final encounters. In the Keith Gumbs League semi-finals on Thursday October 10, Dieppe Bay defeated Newtown United 2-1. Dieppe Bay took a 2-0 first half lead, only for Newtown to claw one back late in the second half. Newtown had a lifeline by earning a penalty in the dying moments of the match, but the goalkeeping heroics from the Dieppe Bay goalkeeper ensured they walked away with the victory.
In the other semi-finals, Village Superstars came from 1-0 down to St. Peters FC, to win 4-1, with Jermaine Powell carrying the team on his shoulders scoring all of Village’s four goals. After the match, Village’s captain Carl Newton praised the resilience of his team mates and said his team had something to prove. “All weekend, we were focusing on beating them….(we) encouraged the players to go hard all the time, no matter what,” Newton said. He believes Sunday’s finals will be a tough one. “I think it will be an intense match. Aggressive match. Really aggressive.We are good for it. Looking forward to it,” he said.
Newton also hopes that Village Superstars can repeat the treble of 2020 where each of their youth teams won titles. “Back in 2020, we went on to the treble: under-13, under-15 and under-17. And we want to do it again.” So far, Village’s U15 team won the Atiba Harris U15 League (Tier 1) title a couple weeks ago and the U13 team is also in the finals of the Rams U13 Premier Youth Cup, which will be played on Monday.
It was all excitement in the Rams U13 Premier Youth Cup semi-final match between Conaree Fireball International and Saddlers Dream Chasers. Saddlers raced to a 2-0 lead and seemed destined to win in the second half. However, Conaree pulled one back and gave themselves some hope only to give up another goal from a defensive error, making the score 3-1. Conaree refused to give up however, and scored two goals in quick succession to tie the match and force it into penalties. Conaree booked their spot in the finals with victories on penalties. In the other semi-final match, it was a walk in the park for Village Superstars, defeating Dieppe Bay 3-1. The finals of the Keith Gumbs U17 Tier 1 League will be Sunday at 6pm and the finals for the Rams U13 Premier Youth Cup is on Monday at 6pm. Both matches will be played at the NBGC Technical Centre in St. Peters.
