The inclement weather couldn't stop football, and why should it? With
Match-Day 2 having been concluded on Sunday, 15th, it's now all to play for in the final day of
The RYGO League. The positions have shuffled around in the league table after Sunday's showdown and the undefeated Tridents have staked a claim for the title. The points separating the
Tridents from the rest of the pack are extremely slim, which creates a tantalising finale for the
Final Match-Day. We saw an action packed day of football with some fantastic goals, incredible individual skill and pervasive team chemistry at the forefront of
Match-Day 2, where every team had something to play for. Here's the complete review.
EARLY KICK-OFF
GINGA F.C 0-2 TRIDENTS
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| Luke St. John feels the force of what the Tridents had to offer |
With both these teams being comfortably nestled in a decent position in the league table after
Match-Day 1, this tie was always going to be one where gaining three points would be absolutely vital. As the referee's whistle blew, the sparring ensued. Both
Ginga and
Tridents tried to get down to their usual passing game in attempts to control and dictate the pace of the match, and we were entertained with accurate passing and equally as good defending. But it would be Tridents who struck the first blow to dent the hopes of the Samba boys, with a sublime finish scored by an ever impressing
Tareq Branch - a player every team must be aware of by now - who came off the sidelines to notch the first goal of the day.
Ginga continued to press in search for an equaliser and should have considering the amount of chances they created, only to have their efforts thwarted by a solid
Tridents defence and a resistant goalkeeper in
Kadeem Legall.
Chris Austin and his Samba Boys were then downed by a second goal after continuous probing around the mouth of Tridents' goal area. Tridents broke away on the counter and who other to score their second but
Tareq Branch? With a duo of step-overs, Branch turned his defender inside-out to find the back of the net with a clean strike. The match finished 2-0 with Tridents grabbing the points and top spot in the table after a hard test against
Ginga.
STARTING LINE UP:
GINGA F.C TRIDENTS
Luke St.John (C) Ian Clarke (C)
Ryan Forde Paul Lucas
Jerome Walker Damien Harrison
Chris Austin Kyle Smith
Rashad Babb Kadeem Legall
Zico Callender Caleb Morgan
Desend Whitehall Christopher Greenidge
SUBSTITUTES
Neil Forde Tareq Branch (2 Goals)
Ross Farley Dario Harewood
Gooners v Apropos Sporting Club (Default win for Gooners)
The Gooners were scheduled to take on Apropos Sporting Club for the simultaneous early kick-off but the only whistle to be blown, was the one signalling the end of the game as the referee had little choice but to bring the tie to premature conclusion due to the absence of ASC. This handed the Gooners a default 5-0 win, and an additional three points.
Section 1.8 of the constitutional rules state that:
Teams must be on the pitch and ready to begin the match at the appointed kick-off time. If a team is more than 10 minutes late their opponents may claim a 3 – 0 head start, and at the referees discretion a 5 - 0 win. Having patiently waited for half an hour, the Gooners were then handed their default victory.
LATER KICK-OFF
FRANKENSTEINS 3-4 FOOTY BOYZ F.C
We were gifted a seven goal thriller in this highly competitive game, which featured last week's table toppers Frankensteins and fifth placed Footy Boyz F.C. The Reds went into this one undefeated and surely full of confidence, while the Boyz knew what their job entailed and duly stuck to their task. This tie is an easy contender for Match of the Day, as the goals were phenomenal and the resilience of both teams provided an entertaining match for the onlookers. Both teams stuck to their attacking philosophy, with the Frankensteins needing a win, as the pressure was thrusted upon them from Tridents' earlier result. And if Footy Boyz were to remain in touching distance of the leaders, they too needed a positive result from this tie. Turn up the heat.
Captains Tito Grazette and Daniel Rowe , respectively of Frankensteins and Footy Boyz F.C, led their teams out as any captain should. They were both very inspirational for their sides, putting in a grueling shift. Rowe himself got on the score sheet with a well struck free-kick, as did his fellow team mate Shaquille Layne - who was on fire in Match-Day 2 with his terrier like hounding, nipping at the players of Frankensteins, turning defence into attack once he won the ball with silky dribbles and decisive passing.
Rene Best of Footy Boyz capped his league debut with a finely taken goal, driving through the field and finishing quite cooly. Frankensteins found goals in Renaldo Waithe and a solid brace from Jesse Turton. Kevin Hughes played his usual game for the Reds, keeping his defence water-tight, while Ashikio Graham provided another outlet in which to start and break up attacks. This pressure left goalkeeper Ahmed Lashley busy in keeping the Frankensteins out, who pulled off good saves and organised his defence well at times.
German brothers Raphael and Jamal Mönnig eventually came on to steady the ship for Footy Boyz, with Jamal proving to be very influential in defence, reading the game well before his opponents and settling play. As chances were squandered for both sides, it took a cracker to separate the two teams.
The Goal of the day, possibly the goal of the league came from a stunning 25 yard strike from Footy Boyz's Joshua Bynoe, who lasered his shot into the top right corner past a full stretched Josh Plaza - who has also been on top form.
STARTING LINE UP:
FRANKENSTEINS FOOTY BOYZ F.C
Tito Grazette (C) Daniel Rowe (C) (1 Goal)
Josh Plaza Shaquille Layne (1 Goal)
Ashiki Graham Mark Evelyn
Kevin Hughes Joshua Bynoe (1 Goal)
Renaldo Waithe (1 Goal) Ricardo Knight
Patrice Marshall Rene Best (1 Goal)
Jesse Turton (2 Goals) Ahmed Lashley
SUBSTITUTES
Jason Holder Jamal Lewis
Andre Leslie Raphael Lewis
Jeff Jackman Keith Warner
AMBITION 3-0 DIRECT
With both teams having endured a tough opening
Match-Day, this tie was another vital clash in
The RYGO League.
Ambition took control of the game from the start, with Captain Fantastic
Stuart Weekes scoring, notching his third goal of the campaign. Goals also came from
Jordan Fakoory and new comer
Brett Koster, leaving
Direct with no reply. An all round good performance from the Ambitious blues, who began their ascent in the table, subsequently piling the pressure on
Direct who are still yet to find their first win.
Trent Norville's
Direct put up a fight, but were short in gaining anything from it.
Joshua Parris and
Myles Norville again played with the desire that is worth some sort of reward but
Match-Day 2 was not to be their day. It is worth mentioning the good football that
Direct displayed, however lady luck continued to elude them when she was needed most.
The entire Ambtion blue boys worked as a team and showed real unity in Match-Day 2, kudos to them. Three and easy for Ambition.
STARTING LINE UP:
AMBITION DIRECT
Stuart Weekes (C) (1 Goal) Trent Norville (C)
Andrew Hoss Smith Myles Norville
Mario Marshall Joshua Parris
Drew Plant Renaldo Bignall
Chris Date Akeem Pitcairn
Brett Koster (1 Goal) Jomo Savoury
Brett Carrington Mark Williams
SUBSTITUTES
Jordan Fakoory (1 Goal)
James Hynam
SECOND ROUND
APROPOS SPORTING CLUB 2-0 GINGA F.C
Having lost their earlier fixtures, ASC and Ginga found themselves in a predicament by losing ground on the table toppers. It was another vital game in The RYGO League where three points were crucial for both teams.
It began as a pensive affair with both teams rather cautious at the back, but as the game wore on, the game became more fluent for both sides. Attack, defence - Counter-attack - defence and attack again was the name of the game, and both sides seemed to have been content with their game plan knowing eventually a goal had to be scored. And it finally did when Ricardo Baptiste slotted home the opener for the Ras-tacklers, as they worked the ball around a Ginga defence that collapsed.
This goal changed the game as Ginga were then forced to push more men forward. Captain Luke St. John was the driving force behind his team and worked hard, this seemingly rubbed off on his team mates as they finally got control of possession and began to look more organised going forward. Ryan Forde displayed some finesse and Austin showed his quick feet. Ginga continued to pile on the pressure only to be caught out on the counter. Renaldo Dublin received the ball in his own half, skipping past a Ginga player by the half-way line and powered down the left flank only to drive a low, pinpoint cross across the face of the goal, beating the defender and goalkeeper to find an open Shane Ward who made a lung busting run to tap the ball in the back of the net, capping off a phenomenal piece of play.
Despite the defeat, Ginga players Desand Whitehall and goalkeeper Ross Farley had a decent game. Sylvan Parris for Apropos Sporting Club also played with a commendable spirit and positive attitude that was beneficial to the atmosphere and buoyancy of The RYGO League.
STARTING LINE UP:
GINGA F.C APROPOS SPORTING CLUB
Luke St. John (C) Richard Jones (C)
Ryan Forde Sylvan Parris
Desand Whitehall Donald Johnson
Chris Austin Shane Ward (1 Goal)
Rashad Babb Renaldo Dublin
Zico Callender Rico Baptiste (1 Goal)
Tarel Waterman Kevin More
SUBSTITUTES
Ross Farley Keston Willams
Neil Forde
GOONERS 0-4 TRIDENTS
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| Anything Branch touches, turns to goals. |
Coming from a win each from their last game, Gooners took on the undefeated Tridents and were facing a team in red hot form. The Gooners struggled to get into their usual groove of play and were subsequently punished by a relentless Tridents - who at this point were 1 point clear at the top of the league. Goals from Bajan starboy Kyle Smith, Caleb Morgan and another brace by the lethal Tareq Branch rubbed salt in the wounds for the Gooners. Branch who had a day to remember scored four in total on Match-Day two, leading his team to two victories which made him the worthy recipient for Player of the Day.
Bostic and Holder-Price tried hard to bring a goal for their sinking Gooners, as substitutes Daquan Carmichael and Shaquille Griffith also tried to make an impact after coming on, but it was asking too much for the Gooners side.
The tie between Gooners and Tridents turned out to be a rather one sided affair, as Tridents continue their march to glory, building for next week's finale.
STARTING LINE UP:
GOONERS TRIDENTS
Carlos Brathwaite (C) Ian Clarke (C)
Omar Drakes Paul Lucas
John-Paul Holder-Price Damien Harrison
Christopher Bostic Kyle Smith (1 Goal)
Taurean Hall Kadeem Legall
Brenton Stewart Caleb Morgan (1 Goal)
Omar King Christopher Greenidge
SUBSTITUTES
Shaquille Griffith Tareq Branch (2 Goals)
Daquan Carmichael Dario Harewood
FRANKENSTEINS 2-1 DIRECT
Over on Field B, Captain Norville's Direct found it tough against Frankensteins, who ended the match with a 2-1 victory. Again, Direct put in a valiant effort against a strong Frankensteins side who needed to bounce back with a win to stay in contention for the title. Bignall scored for Direct while The Frankenstein Reds' enigmatic Renaldo Waithe scored his second of the day with a lovely strike, followed by his team-mate Patrice "Patzini" Marshall who finished Direct off with a sublime header, which all but put the final nail in their coffin.
Direct kept their wits about them and weathered the storm, attacking more as their confidence grew. Direct gave it their best shot and threw everything including the kitchen sink at a water tight Frankensteins defence. Their grit and hunger went unrewarded as the match finished 2-1, but were considered the most difficult team the Frankensteins have played so far in The RYGO League, with Frankensteins' captain Tito Grazette saying that they "had to dig deep" for the three points.
STARTING LINE UP:
FRANKENSTEINS DIRECT
Tito Grazette (C) Trent Norville (C)
Josh Plaza Myles Norville
Ashiki Graham Joshua Parris
Kevin Hughes Renaldo Bignall
Renaldo Waithe (1 Goal) Akeem Pitcairn
Patrice Marshall (1 Goal) Jomo Savoury
Jesse Turton Mark Williams
SUBSTITUTES
Jason Holder
Andre Leslie
Jeff Jackman
AMBITION 1-1 (4-5 PEN.) FOOTY BOYZ F.C
This tie was somewhat a derby due to the familiarity both teams have with each other. The common thread that they both obtain - players from these two sides have played together as one team in the past - are also friends outside of football and know each other from previous tournaments. With so much in common and such a wealth of history, it's only obvious that a rivalry would ensue between Ambition and Footy Boyz F.C - and what's a league without a rivalry?
It may not be the Mancunian Derby, El Clasico or Derby d'Italia but the players were as amped as ever to face their familar friends, now turned foes. With the hype surrounding the build up to the game we expected a cracker, which was intensified as kick-off drew nearer primarily because of both teams grabbing victories earlier in the day. The referee's whistle shrieked and Weekes' Ambition kicked off the derby. Both teams remained solid and there wasn't much separating both sides until Ambition were awarded a freekick in a dangerous position, right on the edge of the box. Ambition's set-piece specialist Mario Marshall stepped up and swerved the ball home with his left foot (bear in mind he's a natural right footer) in what was a classy delivery.
In the second half, the Boyz stuck it out and their hard work eventually paid off as Shaquille Layne brought his team level with his second of the day. The battle wore on until the final whistle, and with the score remaining poised at 1-1, penalties were to decide a winner.
Footy Boyz went on to win 5-4 on penalties after unfortunate misses from Stuart Weekes and Chris Date, which ultimately brought a close to an exciting Match-Day 2.
STARTING LINE UP:
AMBITION FOOTY BOYZ F.C
Stuart Weekes (C) Daniel Rowe (C)
Andrew Hoss Smith Shaquille Layne (1 Goal)
Mario Marshall (1 Goal) Mark Evelyn
Drew Plant Joshua Bynoe
Chris Date Ricardo Knight
Brett Koster Rene Best
Brett Carrington Ahmed Lashley
SUBSTITUTES
Jordan Fakoory Raphael Mönnig
James Hynam Jamal Mönnig
Kurtley Clarke
