Following semi-final play on Wednesday at the Philip Marcellin Grounds in Vieux Fort, Micoud and Vieux Fort South will square off in the finals of the Blackheart Productions/SLFA Knockout Football Competition this evening at the same venue. It’s often said it is easier winning a title than defending it. Try telling that to Vieux Fort South who won for the third time last year. Standing in their way for a fourth consecutive title are Micoud who have won this tournament on two occasions.
It was no cakewalk for both teams in their semi-final encounters. Game one between Mabouya Valley and Micoud went down to the wire. It looked as if Mabouya Valley were on their way to the final, having led 1-0 and with time winding down. However, Micoud tied the game following a corner kick and that’s the way regulation time ended. Extra time was needed to decide the winner. After the first session there was no score. In the second half of extra time Micoud eventually scored to come away with a 2-1 victory and a place in the final.
In the second semi-final, Vieux Fort South looked like runaway winners, having badly outplayed and outscored Marchand 2-0 in the opening half. The Vieux Fort South custodian, who had an easy time between the pipes, could have taken a long coffee break as he was hardly called on to make a save or, for that matter, touch the ball.
With Marchand, Coach Andre Antoine gave his team a tongue-lashing during the intermission and it paid off big time; they were a completely different team in the second half. It was no longer coffee break time for the Vieux Fort South goalkeeper. He was kept busy and eventually Marchand put one past him. Unfortunately for Marchand, that’s how the game ended, with the three-time defending champions holding on for a hard fought 2-1 win.
It had been clear from the opening whistle that Vieux Fort South wanted to bury their opponents. Their Captain, Jamil Joseph, reinforced that in an interview following the game: “Well, in the first half we really came out. We had Marchand on the back foot and gave them no chances. We were first to the ball. The first half, our plan was to just go out and dominate them.”
So said, so done, but things changed in the final frame. “In the second half the tide changed,” said Joseph. We got complacent. Marchand realized that and capitalized on it. Our keeper made an error that we considered a silly goal. It gave Marchand more fire to try and score another goal.”
No doubt about it, it was a challenging tournament for Vieux Fort South who had a target on their back. Everybody played them tough including Desruisseaux, who nearly eliminated the defending champions in quarter-final play. “That’s how it is,” said Joseph. “When you are on top of the food chain, everybody wants a piece of you.”
Commenting on the game, Marchand Head Coach Antoine was disappointed things did not go their way and said, “Tonight was a little bit of hard luck for us.”He was asked what he told the team before the second half, to spur them on. Antoine replied: “I gave them a motivational speech, a change of formation and we went even more into tactics.”
CEO of Blackheart Productions, David “Shakes” Christopher, gave his take on the tournament: “Yes, what a wonderful tournament this year. Despite the chopping and pasting, eventually we are at the final stage. We saw in the semi-finals this evening some spectacular games.”
Christopher predicted it will be a cracker of a final this evening at the Philip Marcellin Grounds. The third place play-off kicks off at 7:00 pm between the two losing semi-finalists Mabouya Valley and Marchand. The final between Vieux Fort South and Micoud is set for 9:00 pm. See you there!
