Hillel mines Junior Cup All-Island title

IT CAME down to the dreaded penalty shoot-out in the Junior Cup Under-11 All-Island finals yesterday at the Constant Spring Sports Complex with Hillel Academy clipping eastern regional champions Lannaman’s Preparatory 7-6 after a tightly contested 1-1 draw in regulation time.

Nugent Walker opened the scoring in spectacular style for Hillel when he caught the goalkeeper off his line and unleashed a looping effort from distance in the sixth minute of play.

Their lead would not last long, however, as Lannaman’s pulled level four minutes later through Rushawn Edwards, who was left unmarked at the back post from a corner kick.

Hillel avenged their semi-final exit in the eastern regionals earlier this month when they were felled at the hands of Lannaman’s.

Hillel’s assistant coach, Nicholas Locke, said that after missing out on the eastern regional title, the team was determined to prove their quality by claiming the all-island title.

“We know we have a good bunch of kids technically, physically, and mentally, and we are always up to the challenge,” he said.

“When we had lost the semi-finals, we knew that we didn’t play our best game and we can be better. So today, we came out here to prove that we can play better than we did the last time.

“It was a good game, and both teams were going back and forth. At the end of the day, it was unfortunate that it had to go to penalties, but you know as they say, that’s how the dice rolls, and football is like that sometimes.”

Worthy of the title

Lannaman’s head coach, Haron Martin, was left disappointed after the penalty shoot-out as he felt his team’s performance was worthy of the all-island title.

Lannaman’s would have come close to taking the lead on more than one occasion but could not find the all-important goal by the end of extra time.

Martin felt that on another day, his team would have come out comfortable winners.

“I believe it was actually a good game for us, and actually, one of our best games in the competition. The end result is definitely not a true reflection of the game,” Martin said.

“I thought we were the better team. We came from behind and tied the game when it was 1-1, but we didn’t score our other chances, and it had to go to penalties. It was, basically, a lotto draw after that.”

Martin said his focus is now to teach his players to recover from this setback as he now turns his attention to the preparatory school football season.

“They are young players, and they are going to make mistakes as they develop. It is about teaching them and showing them how to be more consistent. It is about not only playing in patches, but playing at their best in a full game from start to finish.”

He continued: “They are young players, and as they are still learning, I believe this is an important lesson for them.”