A 90th+3 minute penalty kick conversion from Omar Brewley propelled four time defending champions Wismar/ Christianburg to their sixth consecutive final edging Sir Leon Lessons 2-1 in the semi-final of the Digicel Schools Football Championships yesterday.
With the score 1-1 at the Leonora Sports Facility in front of a sizeable crowd, Brewley was tasked with the responsibility of sending his side through, after the referee signalled for a spot-kick for a handball infraction.
Stepping up to the mark, the national U17 forward placed his right foot shot into the lower right corner to break the hearts of the Sir Leon Lessons supporters.
With the win, Wismar/Christianburg secured a rematch of the last year’s final against Chase Academy after the latter crushed Bush Lot Secondary in the other semi-final.
While it was not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, it was an uninspiring performance from the holders as they were outplayed for large parts of the contest by the challenger.
Sir Leon Lessons should have taken the lead in the third minute as they were awarded a penalty kick for a rash challenge inside the left of the box.
Surprisingly defender Ravin Naughton was asked to take the spot-kick but failed from the distance as he directed his effort onto the crossbar.
David George was the next party guilty of wasting a good opportunity in the 18th minute as his right foot shot was denied by the legs of the goalkeeper from inside the right of the box.
The chances continued to be spurned by the Georgetown unit with George once again the culprit in the 37th minute as he directed his shot straight at the custodian from inside centre of the box, after collecting a right side pass from Adrian Aaron.
For the Lindeners it was possession without penetration as they entered the halftime interval without recording a strike on target amid the physical play of their foe.
It was until two minutes into the resumption that the champs threatened, with Brewley forcing a smart save from the goalkeeper low to his left from inside the centre of the box.
Nevertheless, Sir Leon Lessons deservedly snatched the lead in the 53rd minute as O’Neil Sharp scored, racing onto pass inside the left of the box before lashing a powerful shot with took a defection off the challenging defender and settled into the left side.
Amid the cheers of their supporters, the Georgetown side almost doubled their lead in the 72nd minute as Sharp made his presence felt once more. Stealing the ball from the defender on the left side before entering the left of the box, Sharp fired his effort onto the base of the left post.
The chances continued to be crafted for Sir Leon Lessons as George, after fighting off the challenge of two players while racing into the centre of the box, fired his shot straight at the advancing goalkeeper in the 81st minute.
Sir Leon’s failure to convert their chances came back to haunt them as Shaquille Campbell scored one minute later to send the crowd into a frenzy.
It was a goal that highlighted the resilience of the champs and the shortcomings of the challenger as Campbell directed his header down the centre of the net after latching onto a right side cross from a free-kick, in the process setting up the dramatic end.
Meanwhile, two time North Georgetown champion Chase Academy stormed their way into the second consecutive final, crushing four-time Region #5 champions Bush Lot Secondary 10-0.
It was a record humbling for a semi-final matchup as the contest was basically over at the end of the first period, with the Georgetown unit recording four unanswered goals amid stifling possession.
So severe was the Georgetown outfit’s monopolization of the possession that the Berbicians only recorded one shot on target in the half.
Nicholas McArthur started the rout in the seventh minute with a powerful strike from the top of the box, which took a slight deflection off a defender and settled into the roof of the net.
McArthur made it 2-0 as he recorded his second in the 22nd minute, slotting home first time into roof of the net, after collecting a flat left side cross from Kelsey Benjamin.
It ballooned once more in the 31st minute as Benjamin got his name on the scorer’s sheet, unleashing a powerful right foot shot into the top left corner, after cutting into the left of area.
Benjamin then sealed his double in the 39th minute, skipping past the challenges of two defenders while cutting into the centre from the right side before rifling a strike into the right corner.
The lopsided contest continued in the second period as a further six goals were fashioned. Ryan Hackett took over the goal scoring responsibility as he netted twice in the 60th and 64th minute.
Completing the rout were Stephon Reynolds, McArthur, Shamol Smith and Joshua Williams in the 85th, 86th, 88th and 90th+1 minute respectively.
The two teams will now lock horns in the grand finale on July 31st at the National Stadium in Providence while the losers will face-off in the third place playoff.
