[dropcap]U[/dropcap]p on until Sunday there were three things guaranteed in life – death, taxes and a Northern United team winning the District Representative Football Tournament which this year was known as the Lenard Montoute Spider Cup.
That all changed when a determined KFC GMC United tam defeated Sports Locker Northern United 2-1 in Sunday’s final on the Gros Islet Playing Field.
An own goal by Jerlan Gustave following a free kick by Gabriel Biscette in the 39th minute put Sports Locker Northern United ahead 1-0 and that’s how it stayed in the first half of play.
When play resumed in the second half, Rohan Lambert equalized for KFC in the 48th minute. That was only the beginning of things to come. Lambert broke the deadlock and scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 67th minute.
After scoring two goals his fans kept urging him on hoping he would seal the deal with a hat trick. No such luck but he did come close.
In a postgame interview KFC GMC United Head Coach Daryl Gaspard said he was not surprised by the outcome. “We started the game a bit slow and a bit nervous because we made it to the finals on four occasions and came up short,” he said. “Our last outing was in 2015 and we lost that final 1-0. However, the boys were pretty high and confident because we have been doing pretty well in the President’s Cup and placed third and we have not lost a game in the Gros Islet league and only conceded two goals.”
Trailing 1-0 he was asked what did you tell your team at half time? Gaspard replied: “I think the guys were a little off their game and I told them to block off the crowd. The defense was a bit shaky and not covering properly so I gave them specific instructions and they executed.”
In the Third Place Play Off that preceded the final, Twist Dominators came up against Massy Northern United.
Twist Dominators surged into an early lead with a goal by Lyndan St Juste in the 15th minute. Northern fought desperately for the equalizer which they got in the 36th minute through Nicholas Lawrence. No further goals were scored as the half ended 1 – 1.
In the second half Northern continued pressing forward and were rewarded with their second goal within the first seven minutes, when Melvin Doxilly threaded the ball in to give them a 2 – 1 advantage. That proved to be the winning goal.
Following the final there was a brief prize giving ceremony. Trophies and medals were presented to the top three teams by District Representative, Lenard Montoute; President of the Gros Islet Football League, Shane Paul and Vice President Charde Desir.
