TOUCHES defied the odds at the Jean Pierre Complex in Port of Spain on Saturday to be crowned the national champions of the 2015 Guinness Street Football Challenge when they eked out a narrow 1-0 win against tournament favourite Jr Mafia in the championship showdown.
Jr Mafia, on the other hand, sailed into the semi-final round after scoring five goals in winning all three of their Group A round robin matches. And Kerry Joseph would secure their berth in the championship fixture when he struck home from an acute angle in the first minute of extra-time (21st) to give them a 1-0 win over defending champion Chelsea, after regulation time failed to produce any goals.
Touches started well against Jr Mafia as Micah Lewis, who had a hand in both goals in their semi-final win, had a shot flash just wide of the upright in the first minute of the match. And four minutes later, luck favoured Jr Mafia once again as Keeron Benito’s angled shot from close range drifted mere inches wide. The apparent game plan of starving Jr Mafia of possession of the ball worked well as they went in at the half-time interval having enjoyed the better of the exchanges.
The second session was almost a carbon copy of the first as Jr Mafia had to contend with trying to score on the counter attack while Touches continued to dominate possession. And their persistence paid off when Mc Kesi Lewis conjured up a goal out of nothing in the 15 minute of play. Having made an angled run wide to the left of goal, Lewis picked up a pass and unleashed a crisp, left-footed shot that bisected a couple of defenders to settle at the back of the net.
As the final five minutes of the match ticked away, Jr Mafia heightened the urgency of pulling back a goal but was kept out by some resolute defending. And when the final whistle went it was second time lucky for the boys from Diego Martin after their bid for national honours as Northwest zonal winners in 2012 did not produce the desired result.
In the third place playoff, Chelsea salvaged some pride and some money when they whipped Drifterz Answer Back 2-0. Anthony Applewhite opened the scoring in the seventh minute and Kennedy Hinson sealed the victory three minutes later (10th) when he breached Drifterz defence to slot into an open goal.
Touches walked away with a cash prize of $20,000 for their title win and will fly the red, white and black colours at the regional final in Jamaica on June 27 and 28. Jr Mafia picked up the second-place prize of $10,000 while Chelsea pocketed $5,000 for third. And Foundation Fire’s Nkosi Gabriel captured the Golden Boot award for his tournament-leading nine goals.
Result:
Final:
Touches 1 (M Lewis 15th) vs Jr Mafia 0
Third Place:
Chelsea 2 (A Applewhite 7th, K Hinson 10th) vs Drifterz Answer Back 0