FOR THE second successive year, Waramadong Secondary School met Wismar/Christianburg Secondary in the final of a Digicel Schools Football Championships and came out on the losing end, after going down 5-4 on Sudden Death penalty kick shootout at the Police Sports Club ground Eve Leary last night.

In the third place playoff which preceded the final, Covent Garden Secondary destroyed St. George’s Secondary 7-4, thanks to five goals from diminutive midfielder Esaun Haynes, but it was the final which whetted the appetite of the thousands who took up every vantage point available to witness the culmination of a wonderful tournament.
Following the ceremonial kickoff that was done by Digicel’s Head of Marketing Jacqueline James, Wismar/Christianburg’s Anthony Lane sent a shot just wide of Waramadong’s uprights, as both teams sought to compose themselves.
Last year’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) Marmalique Davidson, who saw such an honor being handed to Waramadong’s marksman Whazir Bascombe for his 19 goals scored, got into the act when he converted a wonderful pass from Jashawn Moore, to give the defending champions the lead in the 12th minute.
The goal awoke the fighting spirits in the defending champions, who won the title at the same venue last year, when Davidson scored all five of their goals in a 5-2 victory, following their loss to the Government Technical Institute (GTI) in the inaugural tournament the previous year.
As the defending champions asserted themselves in the midfield area, their defence lineup that included Romain Adams, Benney Neblette, Jamal Almon and Troydell Lamazon, were forced to work overtime to shut out Bascombe, Jasey Morris and Carvin Kramer, from scoring the equaliser.
Having seen a shot from Donovan Francis hitting the uprights and rebounding into play, Shane Luckie latched onto the loose ball at the top of Waramadong’s box on the left hand side and delivered a wonderful cross, for which Davidson scored via a running header in the 19th minute, to give the defending champions a 2-0 lead.
It was no surprise, when Bascombe made it a one goal possession for the team from the Mining Town of Linden in the 23rd minute, when he drilled one from approximately 20 feet outside the box, beating the tall Daniel English in between the uprights.
That goal prompted Waramadong’s technical staff to introduce their number one custodian in Gerald Isaacs into the game, a move that proved decisive as both their defensive and strike line went in search of the equalizer with confidence.
They failed to score such and at lemon time, a tired looking Wismar/Christianburg lineup held a 2-1 advantage, one that was nullified eight minutes into the second half, courtesy of a well directed free kick from Morris.
English was cautioned for handling the ball outside of the 18 yard box, following which both Morris and Bascombe stood watch over the ball for the indirect free kick, and following a dummy run from Bascombe, Morris drilled the ball past the three man wall and to the left of English to make it 2-2 in the 53rd minute.
Several see-saw battles ensued as both teams sought the go ahead goal, but it was Waramadong, who after seeing Isaacs effect a save from both Davidson and Francis, went ahead in the 72nd minute when Bascombe lobbed the ball over the head of English, whose communication line between himself and two of his defenders, went out of service area.
Another cross from Moore was well intercepted by a confident looking Isaacs, while several poor shots from Francis were saved with ease, even as English was forced to come off his line on numerous occasions to thwart Waramadong’s charge to his goal area.
As the game went into the first of two minutes of added on time, an alert Luckie pierced Waramadong and Isaacs’ defence to not only give his team the equalizer that sent the game into penalty kicks, but also a glimmer of hope.
They rode that very well, even though Neblette’s kick, the final one for his team was well saved by Isaacs, to make it 4-4 at the end of the five kicks, before English held onto Keevon Richmond’s shot, then watched gloriously from the touchline as Lane buried his own to give the Lindeners the title once again.
In the third place contest, Haynes found the back of the net in the 18th, 32nd, 36th, 60th and 64th minute of play, which along with solitary strikes from Kevin Agard (21st) and Matthew Charles (68th give Covent Garden their win over St. George’s.
Azumah Small scored a brace in the 35th and 47th minute of play for the losers before he was ejected out of the game following a second yellow card in the 55th minute, while his younger brother Ozeal Small who opened the scoring in the 14th minute and Adolph George (75th) were responsible for the other two goals.
Prior to the kick off of the finals, the two finalists were met by James, Digicel’s Chief Executive Officer Gregory Dean and Guyana Football Federation vice-president Ivan Persaud.