THE FINALISTS were decided on the penultimate day of the 27th annual Barbados Cup football tournament yesterday.
While some of the pre-tournament favourites fell by the wayside, others revelled in the spotlight.
None more so than the unbeaten KFC Pinelands Soccer Academy, who reached their third consecutive Under-13 final.
The Pinelands young outfit withstood the onslaught of the Barbados Soccer Academy (BSA) superstars to end the game in regulation time 1-1 before winning 3-2 on penalties.
They then returned to overcome the pugnacious Cox Academy of Trinidad & Tobago 2-1 to land a place in today’s final at the Banks Ground at 9 a.m. against Pro-Shottas.
Pro-Shottas had a much easier passage to the finals, beating the Warriors 2-0 in the quarter-finals and NSC Parish Land 1-0 in the semi-finals.
The Under-15 finals at the National Stadium will feature Pro-Shottas, who defeated Pinelands 1-0 on a hotly disputed goal and the BSA Warriors, who triumphed over Cox Academy of Trinidad 2-0. For Cox Academy, it was an impressive start to their Barbados Cup experience as they placed third in both the Under-13 and the Under-15 categories.
The Under-17 semi-finals proved to be heartbreak for Pro-Shottas, who relinquished a 2-0 lead to the BSA team, only to see the scores level 2-2 at full time. Things only got worse for Pro-Shottas and the BSA won the game on penalty kicks 4-3.
BSA will face the consistent Gall Hill, who defeated Cosmos 2-0 to secure their first final berth in six years.
The Under-19 final will feature two Trinidadian teams in Naparima and Club Sando, also at the National Stadium.
While Club Sando were outplayed and soundly beaten by the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJJP), they won the game after a protest after it was ruled that SJPP had used an illegible player.
The other Trinidadian team, Naparima, played the game of their young lives to get home ahead of Gall Hill 3-2. (PR/EZS)
