Football marathon full of action
Good evening, I’m James Adderley with this week’s version of Sports Monday. The Belize Premier Football League kicked off the annual semi-pro season with the customary marathon package that saw all eight teams converge on the M.C.C. Grounds.
We join the action in the first round as the defending regular season champion Kulture Yabra face Griga United of Dangriga in a bid to move on.
Very quickly this match moves into some turbulence with this altercation that exposes the little control referee Jones exudes on the field of play. And his decision to give Shane Moody of Griga a yellow card for his attempt at intervention just might have been the least dangerous route to take.
We can’t even talk football yet, because some six minutes later we have another un-sportsmanlike eruption when this Griga defender hits the ground after a run in with Norman Nunez.
This draws a red card for Nunez from referee Jones–the Yabra captain looses his cool and must be restrained by teammates and the police from venting his wrath. It’s a sight the B.P.F.L. did not want to see on opening day.
And this is one time we must tell Belize’s number one footballer that this kind of behaviour is destructive not only to his illustrious career, but also to the sport of football in this country.
In second half of this ballgame, with thirty minutes in each half Griga thinks they’re on the scoreboard after beating Stanley Reneau, but Vallan Symms saves the day for Yabra.
Folks, do you think the goalkeeper would have come up with this save? It doesn’t matter because Vallan Symms does it again.
Six minutes from long whistle Vallan Symms centres this spotkick into the danger zone–Deon Frazier uses his head to change the ball’s direction and Yabra takes the 1-zip victory to move on to the second round.
So we go to the semi-finals as Hankook Verdes faces Sagitun of Independence. Verdes gets the first real chance at goal, but the shot from point-blank range sails over the crossbar.
It’s Verdes again with this nice strike from outside, but Darren Hinds comes up with a magnificent save.
Sagitun almost steals the W with this shot on the run from newcomer Kenton Galvez, but it bounces off this crossbar, so we go to penalty kicks for the game decision.
We’re tied at three goals apiece when Kenton Galvez steps and Elias Pelayo comes up with a truly big time save.
Terry Gabourel then steps up for Verdes only to make Darren Hinds shine.
Sagitun could take the lead here from the books of Robert Muschamp, but Pelayo again steals the show.
So now it’s up to Harrison Roaches to give Verdes the big W and he uses raw power to force it past Hinds as Verdes moves into the championship round against San Pedro.
Folks, we don’t have footage of the championship match between San Pedro and Verdes. San Pedro got into the finals by beating Kulture Yabra. But we can tell you that in the championship round a fifty-seventh minute conversion from Orlando Pinelo gives the Seahawks the 2004 B.P.F.L. marathon title and we say congratulations. And we must tell you San Pedro the nation thinks you’re playing a whole lot of improved football.
Regular season now gets off this weekend of March sixth and seventh. On Saturday Builders Bandits will host Hankook Verdes and Sagitun will be at Independence against the Calcutta Bulls, while on Sunday Juventus takes on San Pedro at O.W. Here in Belize City Kulture Yabra will clash with Griga United.
In F.F.B. football news, game one of the A league championship staged at Santa Elena, Cayo saw Boca Juniors of Santa Elena and Boca of Toledo settle for a 2-2 stalemate yesterday.
Turning to the volleyball scene, male volleyball play here in Belize City at West Landivar over the weekend finds Arvid and Oscar Arnold in the finals trying to put away Gillian Smith and Joseph Enriquez for the title. The score is twenty to seventeen as Smith and Enriquez goes to the smash and it is good.
However, when they go for two in a row, Arvid Arnold reads the play and returns the smash as the Arnold brothers take the W and we say congratulations.
In cycling news, we say congratulations to Mateo Cruz who won the five stage M & M tour, which concluded yesterday. He beat off a strong challenge from Ian Smith who had to settle for second. Mateo, big time win for you.
In closing folks, we want to say kudos to Jareth Arnold of Corozal who won gold in the Tai Kwando Kumite competition held at Cancun, Mexico over the weekend. He won in the green belt division. When you’re big you’re large.
That’s it for now, we invite you back same time, same place, next week. Jah over all! I’m James Adderley.
