St. Pius play unbeaten to lift championship title …East LaPenitence cop third place
WHEN the dust was settled and the sun had set amidst overcast conditions at the Banks DIH, Thirst Park ground yesterday afternoon, St. Pius were crowned champions, bringing the curtains down on the second annual Petra Organisation/COURTS (Guyana) Inc. Pee-Wee Under-11 tournament.

This was after they defeated West Ruimveldt 2-1 in an exciting and enthralling final, which was preceded by another exciting encounter, the third place matchup between the beaten semifinalists in last year’s runner-up Tucville and East LaPenitence, which the latter won 1-0.
A fair sized crowd which comprised players from schools who competed in the tournament, teachers, parents, guardians and football enthusiasts, thronged the venue to catch a glimpse of tomorrow’s stars of the world’s largest sport in action and certainly they did not disappoint.
St. Pius’ Marcus Wilson, who was fittingly named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament and his teammates Beveney Mark (Most Goalscorer) and Kamacy Davis, worked in unison at the top of the field in the hunt for goals.
A volley from Wilson missed the mark by a few feet, while Mark was caught in heavy traffic when he attempted to find an unmarked Wilson and Davis inside West Ruimveldt’s half, before an own goal from a goal mouth scrimmage, handed St. Pius the lead in the sixth minute of the first half.
Two minutes later, Wilson who was shooting the ball powerfully from all angles of the field, made it 2-0 in favour of the eventual champions, with a well timed volley that rocketed past the outstretched hands of West Ruimveldt’s custodian, sparking off wild celebrations.
Many within earshot felt that the second goal would have deterred the West Ruimveldt lineup, but instead it added wind into their sails, as they went in search of goals of their own.
Michael Oie had an off day, but Ryan James, Akil Plass and Dante Seeram made up for that and to the surprise of those in attendance, James, weaved his way deep into St. Pius’ penalty area and with precision placed the ball in the far corner to make the contest a one goal possession in the 19th minute.
At the stroke of half time, the score line read 2-1 in favour of the West LaPenitence based St. Pius lineup and on the resumption of play, both teams looked to increase as well as nullify each other’s advantage, all to no avail at the end of the final whistle, as St. Pius adorned themselves in glory while playing unbeaten in the tournament.
In the third place playoff, East LaPenitence matched Tucville in every department within the first half and later in the first 13 minutes of the second half, before a Leroy Sealy-Yaw overhead kick found the back of the net in the 33rd minute and broke the deadlock.
Try as they may, Tucville, who lost to Marian Academy in last year’s final, found it tough to locate the equalizing goal and was forced to concede defeat and the third place spot, when the final whistle sounded for that contest.
In earlier matches that were played, Ketley defeated J. E Burnham 3-0, thanks to goals from Tyrese James (39th and 40th) and Yohance DeFlorimonte (38th) to take 13th place, while St, Stephen’s edged Marian Academy 3-2 on penalty kicks to take the 11th position, after a nil all draw.
The 9 to 10 contest was won by North Georgetown, who through goals from Oren Williams (14, 25 and 30), Tyriq Saunders (4 and 12) and Joshua Denny 15, defeated South Ruimveldt 6-0, following which Enterprise inflicted a 2-0 defeat on St. Margaret’s, to take the 7 to 8 position, with Antonio Canterbury and Alpha Austin finding the back of the net in the 19th and 36th minute respectively.
Thanks to goals from Cordell Charles (6th and 8th), Emmanuel Morris (19) and Jeremiah Sukhram (30), F. E Pollard took the fifth position of the tournament with a 4-2 victory over St. Gabriel’s, whose goals were scored by Teon Forde (10th) and Raymond Bandhu (14th).
The presentation ceremony followed immediately and saw the St. Pius trio in Shamatiel Nicholas, Beveney Mark , Marcus Wilson being named Best Goalkeeper, Highest Goalscorer and MVP respectively, while their Coach Wayne Richie was named Best Coach; St. Stephens Most Discipline Team, and Christine Boters Best Supporting Parent.
Prior to the presentation of prizes, COURTS (Guyana) Inc. Pernell Cummins said it was the best final he ever saw, even as Chief Education Officer Olata Sam congratulated the organisers and called on Corporate Guyana to make the tournament a more regular one, instead of waiting for a specific time each year.

(By Calvin Roberts )