Yabra takes game one of Regent Cup finals
Good evening I’m James Adderley and we welcome you to this edition of Sports Monday. The highly anticipated Regent Insurance Cup championship series got off to a big time start at capital city Belmopan Saturday night with Builder’s Hardware Bandits hosting Kulture Yabra of Belize City.
We take you inside the Isidoro Beaton Stadium where game one brings with it passion, pomp, and circumstances and now it’s time for the show.
Keeping in mind that Yabra has fallen in the last four straight to the Belmopan team so the Bandits attempt to keep it that way with a quick start, but Elroy Rawley, in the goal for Shane Moody, really doesn’t have to move to shut things down off this Christopher Hendricks header.
At the other end, Clifford Usher lines up for the big punch, but the mucky pitch disallows his best effort. It is a scrappy first half people, but Mark “Kello” Leslie certainly did not mount his best effort right here.
Make it two strikeouts for Leslie who gets set up for the shot, but couldn’t get anything on it. Downfield only the timely and physical intervention of Charlie Slusher prevents Norman “Tilliman” Nunez from opening the scoreboard.
On this press though, Slusher has very little knowledge of what’s going on when his defence errs badly, but not in a fatal sort of way. At the half we have a scoreless standoff.
In second half both teams came out looking for more offence so Jarbi Alvarez fires from long range and Charlie Slusher makes the stop. This time downfield Tilliman Nunez finds Deon Frazier and he does get off the quick shot, but it’s right at Slusher.
Yabra stays in the hunt for a goal with this trick shot by Frazier that Tilliman could have helped on, but it didn’t happen.
Meanwhile, the Bandits finally get the ball to the right man at the right place, but it’s not a shot Derys Benavides would want to brag about. On the next possession David Trapp tries the right away half volley only to hear someone in the crowd holler–Dengue!
Nevertheless Belmopan stays on the attack and Albert Thurton dodges the bullet here with this dangerous last minute clearance in front of the Yabra goal.
It doesn’t look like Yabra will get the scoreboard moving when Daniel Thomas sets table for Deon Frazier who fires a bullet, but Charlie Slusher remains unfazed as he gives up a corner kick.
Keep your eyes on this corner kick people–Oliver Wiltshire attempts to head it out only to see his keeper Slusher get beat by the dreaded auto goal for Yabra to take a 1-zip lead seventy-four minutes in.
The Bandits responds with too much frenzy, pushing everybody forward so Frazier switches direction to Deon Frazier who beats Slusher with an easy touch as Yabra stuns the Bandits 2-zip in regulation to take gave one, and for the Belize City fans the victory takes like honey. The fifth time works like a charm and the wins comes at a time when a whole lot is at stake, like the championship, and Yabra certainly is very happy about it.
Next Sunday Yabra gets to make history if they can knock off the Bandits at the M.C.C. Grounds in game two. Of course it ain’t over till its over.
In other football news, Belize participates in an international juvenile cup arrange by the professional football team, Comunicaciones of Guatemala. Belize will be represented by Adventurers Football Club at U-13 and U-17 level, Benque’s Football Academy will also compete at these categories, while Sir George Brown’s Brown Bombers will compete in the U-15 class. You know it and I do too, whenever Belizeans go to Guatemala…que viva Belice!
That’s it for now, we invite you back same time, same place, next week. Jah over all! I’m James Adderley.
