UNION Hall United were crowned champions of the Shahdon Winchester Foundation annual football tournament at Skinner Park, San Fernando, last Saturday.
The foundation was founded in 2021, two years after the untimely passing of Winchester, the former Naparima College, W Connection and national footballer who died in a vehicular accident in 2019.
Winchester and three of his friends were killed in a crash along the Solomon Hochoy Highway near Gasparillo. He was 27 years old.
The competition was the fifth edition of the initiative, but the first of its kind having shifted from an adult round-robin tournament in the previous four years to an under-15 fixture on this occasion.
Union Hall United impressively went unbeaten in the five-team tournament without conceding a single goal. They overcame Dunstan Williams Soccer Academy (nine points), Penal Is Love (six points), Carrot Shed Football Team (three points) and Victoria Football Academy (zero points).
Lana Winchester, Shahdon’s mother, told Newsday that the foundation saw its vision come to life by providing a platform for young footballers to do what they love.
She said, “Watching the youths take the field brought back memories of Shahdon taking part in numerous youth tournaments years ago.
“The event was a success – better than we expected. We look forward to continued support, as this is just the beginning of what the Shahdon Winchester Foundation has to offer.”
Although they finished second, Dunstan Williams Soccer Academy had the top scorer of the competition as O’Shea Watson won the golden boot with four goals.
Union Hall’s Samuel Belfon and Stephon Richards of Carrot Shed were both one goal short of Watson’s tally with three goals each.
The highly anticipated exhibition match between the "Naps" Old Boys and "Pres" Old Boys was the showpiece event following the tournament.
The match served to honour Winchester (Naparima College) and former national player Akeem Adams (Presentation College). The latter died from complications after he suffered a massive heart attack in his apartment in Hungary, where he was playing for Ferencváros. He was 22.
The players also commemorated Gary Prescott, one of Shahdon’s former Naparima College coaches, who died in 2021.
Naparima featured some of Winchester’s former team-mates such as Nigel Wright, Jayson Joseph, Anthony Parris, Dwayne Edwards and Amale Quashie.
Representing Pres – the Akeem Adams XI – were Prison Service FC’s Weslie John, Andre Benjamin, Stephon Campbell, Arvid Applewhite, Tristan Khan and former T&T U-20 striker Juma Clarence.
In true fete-match fashion, the showdown was played in thirds rather than halves.
The game proved to be a rollercoaster. Naps went 1-0 up courtesy a Dwayne Edwards penalty early in the first third. However, Pres rapidly recovered and scored thrice in quick succession through Tristan Khan and a brace from Juma Clarence to take a 3-1 lead into the first interval.
Naps responded strongly in the second third and a quick-fire double from Dwight Charles brought the Shahdon Winchester XI level at 3-3. The Naps Old Boys then regained their lead via a cheeky finish from Luke Sankarlal near to the end of the second portion of the match as Naps led 4-3 with one third remaining.
Naparima could not maintain their lead in the last period, though. A clumsy foul at the top of the penalty area with 15 minutes to play proved costly as Clarence punished Naps once again to bag a hat-trick.
In the late minutes of the match, Naparima earned a penalty kick when Steven Joseph was tripped by the onrushing Pres goalkeeper Dr Carl Spencer. But the shot-stopper redeemed himself in dramatic fashion as he made a crucial save to deny Dwayne Edwards a second goal from the penalty mark.
The score was 4-4 at full-time and, though rivals on the pitch, both sets of players celebrated the result in honour of their fallen schoolmates.
Winchester's mother appreciated the support of the Old Boys and everyone who made the event a success.
“(This) clearly proves that the game of football is being kept alive in the memory of Shahdon and others who would have left memorable imprints on the field.
“I saw a lot of tears streaming down faces during the day, especially for the Naps vs Pres thriller, which turned out, technically, to be a reunion.”
At the end of the day's events, Winchester’s daughter Ada-xyli Winchester, who led the Old Boys from the players’ tunnel onto the field, said, “I am proud of my daddy.”
SOURCE: T&T Newsday