North Ruimveldt sealed their berth to the quarterfinal round, defeating arch-rivals South Ruimveldt 4-1 on penalty kicks when the round of 16 stage in the third annual Milo/Petra Organization Secondary Schools u-20 football continued yesterday.
Deadlocked at 1-1 following the end of normal and extra time at the Ministry of Education ground, the opening round of kicks would see the score become 1-1 as both sides scored from the spot.
North Ruimveldt would then take a 2-1 lead in the second round as they scored from the spot while South Ruimveldt missed. It would then get worse for South Ruimveldt as North Ruimveldt scored from the spot in the third round while they failed to convert once more.
Needing only a conversion to seal the match, North Ruimveldt would book their place in the final eighth as they scored in the fourth round. Prior to the shoot-out, Carl Griffith gave North Ruimveldt the shock lead in the 32nd minute.
In a moment of absolute madness, the South Ruimveldt custodian upon racing out of his area to collect a loose ball, passed the ball straight to Griffith who calmly raced into the area and slotted the ball past an advancing player down the middle of the goal.
However South Ruimveldt would level the score in the 50th minute as Levi Canterbury scored compliments of a right footed strike that struck the left upright and rolled into the back of the net from within the right side of the penalty area.
Due to the win, North Ruimveldt will now faceoff with Dolphin Secondary who edged Mae’s Secondary by a 2-1 score line. Joshua Perreira and Kester Grant scored for the winners in the eighth and 54th minutes while Hilbert Lawrence scored for the losers in the 32nd minute.
Similarly sealing their berth to the final eighth were defending champs Lodge Secondary who downed the Bishops High by a 7-1 score.
Despite playing with 10 men after Leon Blake was sent off in the 25th minute for handling the ball in the area, Jarel Grannum top scored for the winners with a double in the 10th and 62nd minutes.
Assisting with solo efforts were Keoma Crawford, Ryan Hackett, Shamar Dover and Stephan McLean in the eighth, 24th, 58th and 75th minutes correspondingly. On target in the loss in the 26th minute through a penalty kick was Joel Morrison.
With the win, Lodge Secondary will now lock horns with St. Mary’s High who crushed Kingston Secondary 7-1 in the opening match of the day. Rafael Charles led all scorers with a double in the 63rd and 71st minutes.
Completing the score with solo efforts were Curtis Kelman, Rafael Bollers, Kareem Caines, Colin Denny and Alyne Haynes in the 17th, 49th, 59th, 61st and 78th minutes respectively. Scoring for the loser in the 52nd minute was Terrence John.
The action will continue today at the same venue with the remaining round of 16 fixtures. In the opening matchup, Queen’s College will oppose Morgan Learning Centre from 11:00hrs while Queenstown Secondary will tackle East Ruimveldt from 12:30hrs in the second match.
In the third slated fixture, newcomers St. Joseph High will tackle former champs St. Georges Secondary from 14:00hrs while tourney favourites Chase Academy will oppose Richard Ishmael in the final fixture at 15:30hrs.
Winners of the event will pocket the championship trophy and $500,000 towards the building of any school project while the second, third and fourth placed sides will pocket $300,000, $200,000 and $100,000 respectively towards the funding of a school venture and the corresponding accolade.
On the individual side, awards will be given for the event’s most valuable player, highest goal scorer and best goal keeper while four full scholarships to attend Chase Academy free of cost will also be up for grabs.
