LUCKY HORSESHOE Ellerton lived up to their sponsor’s name when 16-year-old Parkinson schoolboy Raheem Thomas, climaxing a dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 semi-final victory over Sunrise with a sensational injury-time free kick at the National Stadium on Thursday night.
The win secured a berth in the final on July 4 against Claytons Kola Tonic Notre Dames, who defeated arch-rivals Mackeson Brittons Hill 1-0 in the second semi-final, through a late header by substitute Ryan Lucas from a Bryan Neblett corner kick.
Sunrise, a Division 2 side from Boscobel, St Peter, took what appeared to be a winning 2-0 lead through a 38th-minute goal by Shamar Edwards and a header by former Barbados and Silver Sands player Paul “Soup” Lovell in the 57th minute.
Edwards should have delivered a third goal for Sunrise, but he squandered a simple cross to a waiting Damien Edwards inside the penalty area after speeding past his marker on the right flank.
That missed opportunity and the introduction of Anson Barrow and Trevor Devonish seemed to inspire Ellerton, who benefited from some inspirational play from their tall midfielder Damien “Bobby” Walcott.
Walcott staved off a challenge as he took the ball to the byline before squaring back to Devonish, who easily slotted home in the 73rd minute and celebrated as if he had won the lotto.
Three minutes later, Shamar Ifill drew Sunrise’s goalkeeper Callitos Lopez, the former Barbados and West Indies Under-19 fast-bowling all-rounder, off his line as he tried to cope with a free-kick but Ellerton’s captain Alvin “Gate Man” got to the ball first and nodded it home to make the score 2-2.
Walcott then set up his younger sibling, Chad Parris, with a telling through ball and the teenaged striker slipped the ball past the advancing Lopez to make it 3-2 in the 83rd minute.
Just when the match seemed headed for extra time with the fourth official indicating four minutes of injury time, Ellerton’s 17-year-old goalkeeper Jamar Brewster gave away a penalty and was red-carded in the process by referee Adrian Skeete after committing a foul as he tried to prevent a goal after fumbling the ball at the top of his box.
Damien Edwards hit the spot kick past substitute custodian Devonish to tie the score at 3-3.
But in the last second of time added-on, Thomas hammered a free kick from about 40 metres past the desperate stretch of Lopez and into the roof of the nets to put Ellerton in the final.
