By Michaelangelo Jacobus
Clarendon College out of Jamaica, as they started, ended flawlessly and undisturbed. Clarendon also made history by winning the fourth edition of the KFC Goodwill International Schools U-18 Football tournament in their first outing. Taking on bridesmaids (for the second consecutive year) St Benedict’s College, they had no real hassle easing to a 2-1 victory at the Ministry of Education ground on Carifesta Avenue last night.
The first half saw Clarendon’s midfield out-pass and out-maneuver a rash and reckless St Benedict’s attack. They would eventually wear down St Benedict’s defence as well and scored a soft goal through Daniel Clark in the 32nd minute to go ahead deservedly. The half went without further goals or incident but the restart saw the Jamaicans come refreshed and by that virtue they again penetrated St Benedict’s harangued defence to double their lead as Justin Hayles found the back of the net after some loose defending by the Trinidadian backline in the 52nd minute.
the tournament and won the ‘Best Goalkeeper’ Award.
A clinic of passing and defence was then on display as Clarendon remained stoic. However, St Benedict’s showed resolve to pull one back through a remarkable piece of individual skill from the ever tenacious Jeremiah Niles in the 80th minute to inject some excitement into the final minutes of the game. The support of the neutral crowd behind the Trinidadians made for an even more compelling finish but in the end, the Jamaicans weathered the storm to come out champions.
Earlier, the third place playoff saw Chase’s Academic Foundation plaster Suriname side VW 04 7-0 led by Golden Boot winner and skipper Bryan Wharton with four goals. Perhaps egged on by their last-minute loss to St Benedict’s College in the semifinal, Chase’s Academic Foundation shot out of the blocks led by Wharton who extended his tournament tally to 8 goals in the seventh minute to push his side ahead. Two more goals would follow by the time the referee blew for the break. Those goals were scored by Justin Alcinder and Omar Sam in the 23rd and 31st minute respectively. That dominance continued throughout the game as Wharton yet again showed his quality with a well taken free kick in the 58th minute to put his side 4-0 up. Just two minutes later Wharton would complete his hat trick. However shortly after, a fight between Sam and VW 04’s Arivin Djojosparto in the 61st minute put a damper on the game with both being shown straight red cards. Wharton yet again stabbed home from a loose ball following a corner to make it 6-0 in the 64th minute while Alcinder copped a brace in the 67th minute.
Chase’s Academic Foundation had multiple opportunities for the remainder of the game but squandered their chances with fulltime ending the game at 7-0.
At the post-match presentation, Chase’s Wharton received the Golden Boot for his outstanding performances netting 12 goals for the tournament while the Best Goalie went to Clarendon’s Marco Thompson who kept three clean sheets
