Crunch time for teams in the Veterans Football Tournament

It’s do or die for teams in their quest to win the Plate Division of the Caribbean Alliance Gold Cup (CAGC) in this year’s Veterans in Sports Inc Football Tournament. Over the weekend, following quarter-final play in the CAGC at the Philip Marcellin Grounds in Vieux Fort, Flow Lancers FC, All Blacks-Dennery, Marchand Veterans and Central Vieux Fort advanced to the semi-finals, being played this weekend at the same venue.

Last Saturday Flow Lancers FC defeated Soufriere Veterans 4-2. Lancers jumped ahead 2-0 with goals coming from Gabriel John in the sixth minute and Nigel Springer in the 30th. Soufriere got back in the game with a goal from Jerome Serville making it 2-1 at half-time.

Lancers took a 3-1 lead in the 63rd minute with Jonathan John getting on the score sheet. Springer, with his second goal of the game, in the 75th minute, extended the lead to 4-1. A late goal by Dave Augustin of Soufriere Veterans made the final score 4-2.

In the second quarter-final, All Blacks-Dennery were up against Laborie Veterans and came away with a 1-0 victory. Hendrick Collymore of All Blacks opened the scoring in the 31st minute and that’s how the first half, and eventually the game, ended. The quarter-finals continued on Sunday with another double header. In the opening game, Marchand Veterans and Anse La Raye ended regulation time the way the game started: 0-0. Penalty kicks decided the outcome, with Marchand winning 4-2.

In the second quarter-final that evening, Central Vieux Fort delighted the home town crowd with a convincing 3-1 win over “We the North” Gros Islet. Vieux Fort jumped ahead 2-0 with first half goals from David Charles in the seventh minute and Titus Elva in the ninth. The lads from the north got back in the game in the second half after Ian Charles scored in the 72nd minute. However, any thoughts of a comeback quickly diminished when Andy Jn Baptiste scored for Vieux Fort in the 78th minute.

CEO of Veterans in Sports Inc, Alvin Malaykhan was ecstatic with what took place this past weekend. His take: “It was a wonderful kick-off to the quarter-final stage of the main championship. We saw a great weekend of exciting football. Yesterday [Saturday] we saw Soufriere coming up against Flow Lancers FC in a really exciting encounter. I think Flow is showing they are one of the favorites to win this tournament. They are very technically sound and got the better of Soufriere 4-2. Then you had All Blacks of Dennery coming up against Laborie Veterans and winning 1-0. All Blacks look really organized and everything.”

Commenting on Sunday’s games he said: “We saw Marchand Veterans playing the game with heavy hearts, following the death of Cassius Glasgow. They played a very emotional game and got the better of Anse La Raye on penalty kicks 4-2. Gros Islet went down to Central Vieux Fort 3-1. It was just exciting football over the weekend. The Philip Marcellin Grounds is well manicured so everything is looking sharp.”

What can we expect over the weekend? Malaykhan replied: “It’s going to be a showdown both for the Plate and the main championship. It is all about the semi-finals; we’re going to see who will make it to the grand finals of both championships.