Tip Friendly football: Excelsior, Holmwood to meet in final
Published:Friday | April 21, 2023 | 1:07 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter - -
DESPITE missing five of their regular starters because of national duties, the Xavier Gilbert-coached Excelsior High did enough to eke out a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Garvey Maceo High in a 2023 ISSA Tip Friendly Society schoolgirls’ football semi-final at Jamaica College’s Ashenheim Stadium yesterday.
Excelsior will meet Holmwood Technical in the final on April 24 at the Stadium East Field. Kick-off time is 3:15 p.m. Beaten semi-finalist Garvey Maceo and Manchester High will lock horns in the third-place play-off set for 1 p.m.
In what was a repeat of the 2022 final, nine-time champions Excelsior were pressed for the greater part of the game, as Garvey Maceo had the better chances throughout the encounter. Garvey Maceo’s Shanae Hunt came close to opening the scoring in the 36th minute but her shot from inside the box was smartly handled by Excelsior’s Schenell Goodhall. Four minutes later, Goodhall was again called into action as she had to pull off a magnificent save on the stroke of half-time, to keep captain and central midfielder Dahlia Whyte’s free kick.
MORE GOALSCORING
In the second half, Excelsior slowly came into their own as they began to create more goalscoring opportunities. Ricquanna Richards’ effort at the start of the second half came within inches of scoring, following an all-round team buildup play. In the 54th minute, Destiny Powell threatened the Garvey Maceo goal but watched as her flicked shot went millimetres over the crossbar. That sustained pressure would eventually pay off as Makala Williams’ 30-yard thunderbolt gave the reigning champions their opening goal and what proved to be the game winner in the 63rd minute.
An emotional Gilbert said, heading into the fixture without the services of their top players because of international duties had him somewhat worried, but his team dug deep to get the job done.
“It’s emotional for me because I know what the players went through. Playing without their captain and vice-captain today, it was tough and I had to remind the players that all of them played a part in us reaching here, and they deserved to be here as they gave it their all,” Gilbert said.
Lester Hibbert, the assistant coach of Garvey Maceo, said the final scoreline wasn’t a true reflection of how well his team performed on the day.
“We played well. The girls put on an excellent performance. If you look back at the match, it was a game of two halves. In the first half, we created a lot of chances. Excelsior only had one shot on target and that was the shot that scored, but our girls fought until the end,” Hibbert stated.