Lodge Secondary overcame Houston Secondary 2-0 on penalty kicks following a 3-3 score at the end of normal time when the fourth annual Digicel national U-18 knockout football championship continued yesterday at the Ministry of Education ground.
Lorenzo George opened the scoring for Houston Secondary in the 20th minute, slotting home his right-footed effort down the middle of the goal, after collecting a flat left-sided Akosi Jarvis cross within the centre of the penalty box.
It would quickly become 2-0 as Jarvis found the back of the net two minutes later. Racing down the left side of the field, Jarvis upon cutting into the area would unleash a powerful right-footed strike which evaded the grasp of the diving Lodge keeper and settled into the top right-hand corner.
Lodge Secondary would eventually pull one back in the 33rd minute as Jarrol Granum netted, placing his first time right-footed strike down the centre of the goal, after receiving a right-sided cross inside the six- yard area.
However the East Bank of Demerara unit would restore their two-goal advantage in the 54th minute as Jarvis netted his second, lobbing his right-footed effort over the advancing wall into the left-hand corner following a one-on-one match-up within the area.
The Jamoon Street unit should have pulled one back in the 50th minute after being awarded a penalty kick for a clumsy challenge inside the area, only to see Ryan Hackett’s left-footed effort come crashing off the left upright.
They would eventually cut the deficit to one in the 68th minute as Granum bagged his second, powering his right-footed penalty kick strike to the lower left-hand corner, following a hand ball infringement inside the centre of the 18-yard box.
Sensing a possible comeback, Lodge Secondary would push the fixture into a penalty shoot-out as Granum netted once more from the penalty mark in the 70th minute after being fouled within the left side of the box.
With no allotted extra time interval, penalty kicks were then required to settle the outcome. Lodge Secondary would take a 1-0 lead in the opening round of the penalty shoot-out as Houston Secondary missed from the mark, after the Jamoon Street side had scored the opener.
It would then become 2-0 as Lodge Secondary once again converted from the spot while Houston’s Idany Jobe fired his effort wide of the left corner. It would remain 2-0 as both sides missed their third attempts from the mark.
Needing to simply convert their fourth attempt to win the match-up, Lodge Secondary’s Orlando Gravesande would give Houston Secondary a much-needed lifeline as he missed from the mark.
However Houston Secondary would fail to capitalize on Lodge Secondary’s misfortune, missing their fourth straight attempt to seal the loss. Over at the Eve Leary ground, Queen’s College upset Carmel Secondary 4-3 on penalty kicks after normal time finished 2-2.
Joel Richards and Shemar Britton led the way for the winners with goals in the 48th and 74th minutes respectively. On target for the unlikely losers was Marlon Alleyne who netted a brace in the 10th and 40th minutes.
Over at the Victoria ground on the East Coast of Demerara, Annandale Secondary defeated President College by a 3-1 margin. Jeremiah Thorne led Annandale Secondary with a brace in the sixth and 33rd minutes while Demetry Grant found the back of the net in the 9th minute.
Scoring in a losing effort was Yuan Armstrong in the seventh minute.
