Hankook Verdes top Juventus in RFG Cup play
James Adderley, Reporting
Good evening I’m James Adderley and we welcome you this week’s delivery of Sports Monday.
Week fifteen of the RFG Insurance Tournament saw Hankook Verdes travel to the People’s Stadium to face a Juventus ballclub reeling from three losses in a row in which they gave up twelve goals. For its part, the Cayo team was looking to stay in contention for the title so they try to open things early off the set piece.
At the other end, Dennis Serrano looks good launching this left foot for Juventus, but the effect is not as spectacular. We’re twenty-seven minutes in when Richard Jimenez displays real football quality with this left foot that crashes into the net for a 1-zip Hankook Verdes lead. Juventus almost gets the equaliser when Oliver Hendricks fires this long distance bomb that screams over the crossbar. At intermission Verdes still boasts the 1-zip lead.
Immediately into the second half, Jose Monroy fires this right foot that does create some excitement. A few minutes later, Orlando Jimenez punches with power, but Woodrow West successfully intervenes. At the other end, Oliver Hendricks’ turn around is good but not effective. Oliver then tries from off the set piece and apparently nothing seems to be working for the striker today. In fact, it can’t get worse than this for Juventus when Clifton West looks this gift horse straight in the mouth, people.
Richard Diaz tries to help his ballclub with this left foot, but its right at the Verdes keeper. At the eighty-third minute Richard Jimenez brings West out of his goal and then raises it into the net for the 2-nil Verdes Lead.
Four minutes later Orlando Jimenez seals the coffin by beating the Juventus defense and getting the pill past goalkeeper West for the Verdes 3-zip big W, which leaves them at second place in the standings.
In other results from around league, Wagiya ran over Revolutionary Conquerors 2-zip and Georgetown Ibeyani played big against F.C. Belize at the M.C.C. Grounds yesterday with a 4-3 big W. The match between Santels and San Pedro Dolphins was postponed and this will be played as a back match on Thursday, January tenth at the Norman Broaster Stadium.
Thus the standings look like this: Wagiya remains on top with 23 points, Verdes shows 22 in second place, F.C. Belize and the B.D.F. are stalled at 18 points apiece. Don’t look now, but Georgetown Ibeyani has stepped to fifth place with 16 points. San Pedro shows 14, Juventus and Santels 13 apiece, and Revolutionary Conquerors remain in the cellar with 11 points. Turning to the Super League of Belize, only one match was concluded in week eleven. Texmar Boys, they remain undefeated with a 2-zip blanking of Estrellas F.C. at the Michael Ashcroft Stadium. This team has not given up a goal so far this season in the Super League.
In other football news, the news from the Football Federation of Belize indicates that FIFA has not accepted the Carl Ramos Stadium as a venue for the World Cup Qualifying match between Belize and St. Kitts on February sixth, 2008. We go to a file to get a perspective on this situation from Dr. Bertie Chimilio, President of the F.F.B.
Dr. Bertie Chimilio, President, F.F.B.
“It is very hard that it could not play in Belize even with the plan we have. If the FIFA officials do no accept it, then we would have to be playing in a FIFA inspected stadium. This could be Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico. So that is where we are right now, it’s an on going problem in the country. As you notice the last two FIFA eliminations we couldn’t play here because of lack of facilities. And it’s not that we have not been crying to the authorities, nevertheless, it has fallen on deaf ears. We are desperate now and I hope that the government comes through for us.”
For sure Dr. Bertie Chimilio has much culpability in this unfortunate situation after some ten years in the driver’s seat. However, we also take you back to this proclamation from Nuri Mohammed, Director of Government Press Office, on the third of December 2007 he said.
Nuri Mohammed, Director, Govt Press Office
“That in view of the fact that the World Cup Eliminations will be taking place in Belize, that investments will be put into the Carl Ramos Stadium. As you know, Belize will be playing elimination games with St. Kitts and we want to make sure that the stadium is in the best of shape.”
Hey Belizeans, life is real hard and now we can’t even host our own World Cup qualifying match. Is this progress?
Turning to the cycling scene, the sixth edition of the M&M Tour of Belize blasts off on February thirteenth and concludes on the seventeenth. Public Relations Officer for the tour, Kwame Scott, filled in the details.
Kwame Scott, P.R. Officer, M&M Tour
“We’ve changed a bit, we are fully U.C.I. sanction, the race will be managed by U.C.I officials and commissars. Also, teams will be allowed a minimum of six and a maximum of nine. The race will be six stages in five days, we changed from nine stages in nine days, with the shortest stage being sixty-six miles that being from Orange Walk through the Boom Road to Belize City. We also want to tell you all the information is at www.tourofbelize.com, at our website. We are fully, fully in effect. We have already seen some entries from as far away as Switzerland and as close away as Mexico. Teams like Team Tecos and other teams big in the cycling world will be participating in this sixth edition of the M&M Engineering Tour 2008.”
Hey folks, stay tuned as we continue countdown to the M&M Tour blast off. That’s it for right now though, we invite you back same time, same place, next week. Jah over all, I’m James Adderley.
