The finals of the first ever Cepal’s Heavy Equipment & Construction Football Tournament between Sarrot and Anse La Raye All-stars was played over the Carnival weekend in a festive-like atmosphere on the Marigot Playing Field.
The local drummer kept the rhythm for the hundreds of spectators on one side of the field. The Sarrot fans, who were decked out in their green tops, screamed at the top of their voices ‘let’s go Sarrot! Let’s go.” Some say it had a feeling of a Blackheart Football Tournament.
The mighty Anse La Raye All-stars, the 2011 Blackheart champions from the fishing village, could only score one goal in the first half. Sarrot players who were determined not to disappoint their fans led 2-1 at the half.
In the second half the rains came. The colored umbrellas went up and spectators kept chanting. They almost drowned out the voices of the local commentators assisted by District Representative for Anse La Raye and Canaries, Dr Keith Mondesir. They gave a running commentary of the game, for the benefit of those who could not see under the imported lights from the road end of the field.
The game indeed had a taste of Blackheart. It was well past midnight when the game ended in regulation time. In the penalty shootout that followed, Sarrot defeated Anse La Raye 4-3.
The third place playoff between Colie Town and Marigot ended in a draw 0-0. In the penalty shootout, Colie Town defeated Marigot 4-2.
In presenting the winner trophy to the captain of Sarrot, Managing Director Dennis Cepal said: “The massive turnout of supporters was very encouraging. Staying out in the rain shows that they appreciated the game. We plan to make it bigger and better next year and hope government will put some lights here for the young people to play.”
