A forced goal-keeping change through injury coupled with dubious officiating influenced Chase Academy’s Georgetown South Zone Championship realization, defeating Morgan Learning Centre (MLC) 4-2 in yesterday’s grand finale of the nationwide Digicel Secondary Schools Championships.
The substitution of MLC custodian Ronell Roberts in the 23rd minute for a hand injury with his team in control leading 1-0 as well as poor decisions in crucial moments by the referee, aided Chase Academy’s comeback win to seal the title at the Leonora Sports Facility.
Kelsey Benjamin led the Kingston-based unit with a hat-trick in the 41st, 71st and 73rd minutes while Andre Trotz scored in the 59th minute. Netting in the loss was Orin Moore in the 17th and 78th minutes.
Chase Academy now advances to the quarterfinal round of the national playoffs. While the fixture promised much, the substandard officiating started as early as the 15th minute when Chase Academy was awarded a penalty for a dubious challenge inside the box.
However, Roberts would ensure that the score line remained unchanged as he denied Ryan Hackett with his leg low to his right.
MLC then stole the lead two minutes later as Moore netted, curling a free kick attempt from 24 yards out on the left side of the field, over the hands of the ‘keeper and into the top right hand corner to stun the crowd.
The matchup would be turned on its head after Roberts was substituted following the hand injury during a goal mouth scramble, after denying Benjamin at point blank range from the centre of the box.
This led to Moore donning the gloves. Chase Academy would eventually benefit from MLC’s forced substitution four minutes before half-time as Benjamin rose high to direct his header from the centre of the box, into the left hand corner of the net.
The second period would then witness Chase Academy taking the lead through an officiating error as Trotz scored while clearly in the off side position, finishing into the back of the net after being left unmarked within the box after an initial strike came off the post and fell into his path, despite the protest of the MLC staff and players.
With the wind knocked out of their sails, Benjamin would add further distance between the two sides with a powerful finish off the left upright and into the back of the net from the centre of the field, after evading the desperate challenge of his marker following a right sided pass into the box.
He would then complete his hat-trick two minutes later, lobbing the ball over the head of the onrushing goalkeeper while under pressure from his marker within the box before finishing into the empty net unchallenged.
The fixture would eventually end like it began as MLC was awarded another very contentious penalty kick following the tamest of challenges inside the area. Tasked with taking the spot-kick, Moore would make no mistake and buried his attempt into the lower left corner to add respectability to the score line.
In the opening affair, Sir Leon Lessons dismantled Dolphin Secondary by a 9-0 score line to walk away with the Georgetown South Zone title and a berth in the quarterfinal section of the national playoffs.
Despite holding out for the first 28 minutes, Dolphin Secondary would concede the early lead through an own goal as an attempted clearance by the centrehalf following a left sided cross, was inadvertently directed into the net.
It would then become 2-0 in the 42nd minute as Curtis Kellman scored, stabbing home into the net after an header from inside the box came crashing off the left upright and fell into his path following a left sided cross.
The score line would then balloon once more in the 43rd minute through Lonsdale George who blasted his effort into the left side of the net from inside the box, after racing away into the area while being challenged by a his marker.
David George would then make it 4-0 going into the half one minute later, finishing into the lower right hand corner from the centre of the box, after skipping past two markers following a solo run 36 yards out in the centre of the field.
With the matchup already decided in the opening half, five other goals would be scored in the second period to seal the title. George, Kevin Boters, Stephon McLean, Kellman and Amanick Muir scored in the 47th, 52nd, 57th, 80th and 87th minutes respectively.
