Excelsior retain Green and Yellow Ali Cup after dramatic final win over Holy Trinity
JUST as they did at the inaugural staging last year, hosts Excelsior High School won the Green & Yellow Ali Cole Cup by overcoming their opponents from the penalty spot.
Excelsior High and Holy Trinity High had earned their spots in the final with identical 1-0 wins over Camperdown High and Glenmuir High, respectively.
Captain Tajae Williams got Excelsior off to a flying start when he side-footed home a free kick at the back post early in the first half.
Shian Hanson then brought his team level on the stroke of half-time with a special strike from distance, as his team continued to show the mettle that had got them into the final. There were no further goals in the second half which sent the final straight to penalties.
Excelsior custodian Papito Smith then stepped up to make himself the hero with a string of fine saves in a dramatic penalty shoot-out.
Both teams missed their first two penalties with Smith making two diving saves before the kickers found their range to score two penalties each.
It came down to sudden death and when Amos fired into the top right corner of the goal to give Excelsior a 3-2 lead, Smith finished the job, diving to his left to parry the effort of Dwayne Green to ensure that the trophy remained at 137 Mountain View Avenue.
Earlier in the day fans were treated to two celebrity games. Excelsior Old Boys who had national Head coach Theodore Whitmore in their line-up played Santos Old Boys and Christian Ambassadors went up against Unsung Heroes with former national representatives such as Michael Tulloch leading the line for the heroes.
Javaughn Smith of Excelsior finished
as the tournament’s top scorer with three goals, while Shaquille Bradford of Camperdown was the tournament‘s Most Valuable Player (MVP). The finals MVP was undoubtedly Papito Smith.
Veteran coach, Frank Brown, who brought glory to Excelsior High in his days as a coach at the school, was honoured by the Green and Yellow Committee for his contribution to sport at the school. The award, the Frank Brown Lifetime Achievement, is named in his honour and he is the first to receive it.
Sean Grant, a member of the organising committee, said that the event was much better this year than it was last year.
“The second staging was a huge success. Last year we had eight teams, this year we had ten teams and quality teams as well. The logistics was much better than what it was last year. We were able to deal with all the issues that came up on the field of play (and) everything went well,” he noted.