Claytons Kola Tonic Notre Dame’s showed grit to overcome a 2-0 deficit, to bounce back and defeat newly promoted Division One team United Stars Alliance (USA) in a penalty shootout while Wotton Club blanked Parish Land 3-0 in the Round of 16 of the Prime Minister’s Cup.
A household name in local football, Notre Dame, a Division One team, showed exactly what they were made of against USA, who were enjoying a comfortable 1-0 lead in the first half until they were left stunned by the Dames on Sunday in Gall Hill, St John.
The night was filled with lots of offensive and defensive football ingredients that made both clashes in the Round of 16 exciting as teams vie for the $100, 000 grand prize of the tournament which aims to Empower Communities One Goal at a Time.
It was expected that both teams would bring an energetic approach to the attacking third and that came to pass with a couple early testing moments from both sides.
USA looked the better composed unit with a string of passes that bore fruit in the 12th minute when a shot by midfielder Damon Piggott gave them the lead. Piggott found a bit of luck when Notre Dame goalkeeper Rahiem Pierre spilled what should have been an easy grab with the gloves.
After Notre Dame missed a couple of chances early in the second half with Marco St. Hill (right-wing) and Torrell Jemmott (left-wing) along with Joshua Clarke and Jamar Grazette attacking the forward positions, USA countered with another goal.
Midfielder Zachary Browne on the right-wing took control of the forward pass and drove home the 64th minute 2-0 advantage for his team.
Everyone at the grounds thought USA had inched their way into the quarterfinal until Dario Haynes in the 72nd minute, followed by a free kick taken moments later by Grazette brought the game alive.
Many of the USA supporters were speechless as the action unfolded and as the clock continued to race towards the 90 minute of regular time, fourth official Seth Thorne showed five minutes of added time.
It was a busy night for centre referee Kai Jacob, who awarded a penalty to Notre Dame in overtime following the take down of Keary Barrow by USA goalkeeper Terrell Murphy. Grazette, entrusted to take the penalty, missed the target and would have been the final opportunity to win it for his team.
Instead, the match went into a penalty shootout and with both teams missing a penalty each, it went into sudden death where Notre Dame won 8-7, leaving USA silenced.
Since the first match went the full distance, the nightcap game between Premier League team Wotton Football Club and Parish Land promoted to Division Two started later than anticipated.
Wotton came in as favourites and they did not disappoint even though they were not at full strength with the absence of Barbados attacking midfield player Omani Leacock, missing in action due to suspension during the group stage.
Striker Jabari Papi Chandler stepped up nicely and scored a hat-trick in the 19th, 37th and 60th minutes including a penalty for the second goal. Darian King and T’Shane Lorde were also instrumental in deploying possession on the flanks to ensure Chandler gets the job done.
The next set of Round of 16 matches will be played on Sunday, October 20th in Speightstown starting at 6 p.m. between Paradise Club and Greens United. Meanwhile, the nightcap fixture at 8:30 p.m. will feature the University of the West Indies Blackbirds against Empire Club.
(AS)
