A?FIRST-HALF DOUBLE from Raheem Holligan of St Stephen’s Primary was not enough as Cuthbert Moore edged to a 3-2 victory in the quarter-finals of the Bico Primary Schools Football Competition at Trents, St James, yesterday.
Holligan opened the scoring for St Stephen’s in the tenth minute and added a second goal eight minutes later. But Krishna Quintyne’s first-half goal inspired the St George outfit, with Shabari Lynch scoring both the equalizer and the winner.
In the other fixture at?Trents, West Terrace Primary edged Arthur Smith 1-0. The deadlock was broken when Khamal Cumberbatch scored a curling free kick in extra time.
At Bagatelle, champions St Gabriel’s slumped to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Wilkie Cumberbatch. Goals from Tranikko Browne-Carter in the first half and Tajio James’ late goal in the second half ensured the Pinelands school comfortabley reached the semis.
The first goal came on 15 minutes when Browne-Carter scored from a corner kick, placing his shot deep into the right bottom corner, while James’ second half effort was a poacher’s goal.
Coach Tito Beckles of unbeaten Wilkie Cumberbatch said his team stuck to the basics and it was their positive attitude which won them the game.
“We kept to the basics, kept the ball moving, no negative comments, always positive ones and this resulted in the boys giving 110 per cent.”
Browne-Carter said he felt good about his goal and hoped to get more and win the competition.
“I feel good. I did my best and we want to bring home the cup, because we want to win something before we leave.” Â
St Gabriel’s coach Alfred John said that despite the result, he was happy about the level at which the team performed.
“It was a very good game. It was a great deal of organization from both teams and it showed the level of the game – and once again St Gabriel’s are the outgoing champions . . . . We are proud to be a part of the BICO championship. We will be back next year.”
The other result at Bagatelle was a 2-1 victory for St Bartholomew, who came from behind to win 2-1 against Deacons Primary.
Deacons opened the scoring early through Shaqeem Goddard after hesitation from the St Bartholomew goalkeeper.
But St Bartholomew’s resilience paid off when Thierry Gale equalized late in the second half to give the Christ Church school a whisper. That whisper turned into a shout when Thierry Jones scored the winner deep in the second period of extra time.
St Bartholomew’s coach Dave Alleyne said their performance was the result of “sticking to the plan”
“My players played a very good game. They came out working and running hard and put the opposition under pressure. In the end we prevailed 2-1 because the boys kept working at what we planned the whole week.”
Deacons coach Dwight Carter said the game did not go to plan and he believed that was where they lost.
“The boys didn’t execute all of the plans accordingly and I believe that is where we fell down, [but] they still had a reasonably good game,” he said.
The semis will take place on Monday at Trents, where Wilkie Cumberbatch face St Bartholomew and unbeaten teams Cuthbert Moore and West Terrace Primary clash.
