The third and decisive round of group stage matches have concluded in Groups A and B, with four teams securing their spots in the playoff round of the $100 000 semi-professional Prime Minister’s Cup football competition.
So far, Group A winners Deacons Club and runners-up Parish Land, alongside Group B titans and Premier League competitors Paradise FC and Wotton FC, have advanced to the Round of 16.
On Monday night, the Maurice King Sports Complex and Neville Cummins Pavilion in Briar Hall, Christ Church, hosted two entertaining matches.
In the first match, Notre Dame and Parish Land played to a 1-1 draw in a must-win clash for both teams. Notre Dame took the lead just before half-time through Jamar Grazette’s strike in the 45+1 minute, but Parish Land equalised in the 63rd minute when Rick-Kobe Lewis found the back of the net.
Despite the draw, Parish Land progressed thanks to a superior goal difference, leaving Notre Dame out of the knockout stages.
Later that night, the Deacons team fell 2-1 to St Andrew Lions in a surprise result. However, Deacons had already done enough to finish atop Group A with six points from two wins, securing their progression to the next round.
Parish Land finished second in the group with four points, edging out Notre Dame on goal difference.
Matches were also played at the Speightstown venue, where Group B teams battled for a spot in the playoffs. Paradise FC secured their place with a 2-0 victory over Whitehall Titans, thanks to goals from Alvin Chapman in the 18th minute and captain Armando Lashley two minutes later.
The victory propelled Paradise to the top of the group. They bounced back strongly from a previous 4-3 defeat to fellow Christ Church side and newly promoted Premier League team Pride of Gall Hill.
The nightcap match on Saturday in Speightstown saw Wotton FC silence a confident Pride of Gall Hill side, 2-1.
T’Shane Lorde opened the scoring in the 48th minute before former national player Jabari Chandler doubled Wotton’s lead in the 58th minute. Gall Hill’s late second-half goal from Captain Ramon Rollins in the 90+2 minute was not enough to stop their fall.
Both Paradise and Wotton ended the group stage with six points each, with Paradise edging Wotton on goal difference. Gall Hill finished third, narrowly missing out on an outright spot for the knockout stages, while Whitehall finished at the bottom of the group with just one point.
(AS)
