Match Day 5 report – Cayman Airways Invitational Youth Football Cup – U15 tournament

 West Bay, Grand Cayman – The finals of the Cayman Airways Invitational Youth Football Cup have been set after Manchester City FC and the Cuba National U15 Team beat academy sides from two Major League Soccer (MLS) franchises in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Manchester City FC 3, LA Galaxy 2

It took regulation time plus two 10-minute extra periods to determine the first team to advance to Sunday’s final. A blunder by defender Harry Boyes in the first minute resulted in a Manchester City own goal and allowing LA Galaxy to take an early lead. Midfielder Cade Hagan added to the Galaxy tally four minutes later. Manchester City opened their account in the 10^th minute with striker Bobby Duncan’s sixth goal of the tournament. The English side pulled even when Keyendrah Simmonds scored five minutes later. The score remained 2-2 through the first half. Galaxy’s Ulysses Llanes had a good strike saved by Curtis Anderson in the Manchester City goal in the 36^th and Efrain Alvarez missed the mark on a breakaway late in regulation. Duncan scored again with what proved to be the match winner in the first minute of the first extra period to send his team through to the final.

Seattle Sounders FC 2, Cuba National U15s 5

The Cubans were on the offensive from the get go, taking the lead in the 5^th minute courtesy a strike from Ribaldo Roldan Moreno. Two goal in successive minutes (14, 15) by Azriel Gonzales put Seattle in the lead. Gonzales flirted with a hat-trick when he hit the post a minute later. Vulnerable in goal, Cuba switched goal keepers, pulling Carlos Laferte and inserting first-choice stopper Cesar Destrade, who started the previous three games. Ernesto Chongo equalised for Cuba in the 20^th minute. The scores remained level until the half. Moreno padded the Cuban lead in the 44^th minute and 10 minutes later Yoendri Camejo joined in the scoring. A Seattle own goal in the 69^th gave Cuba a 5-2 lead that would stand, setting up a rematch with Manchester City in the final. Manchester City won their group stage match 5-2 on Friday.

For more information, visit: www.caymanyouthfootball.ky.

Images:

Heat of action — Extra time was needed to separate Manchester City and LA Galaxy

Thomas saves — Noah Davis needed more saves like this against Cuba.

Cuba celebrates: Cuban players celebrate reaching the final.

Match Day 6 report – Manchester City wins Cayman Airways Invitational Youth Football Cup

 George Town, Grand Cayman – Manchester City FC won the 2016 Cayman Airways Invitational Youth Football Cup with an emphatic 8-0 victory over the Cuba National U15 team at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex here on Sunday.

Dominating the ball from the get-go, the youngsters from Manchester City took the early lead thanks to a 3^rd minute strike from Bobby Duncan and never looked back. Duncan added another minutes later to double the lead. Taylor Richards kept up his impressive play from earlier in the tournament, scoring his ninth goal of the competition to make the score 3-0. Keyendrah Simmonds added two goals in the opening period to give his team a 5-0 advantage at the half.

Alain Portales Bastos made his team’s challenge even greater when he collected a red card in the 25^th minute. Duncan added two second half goals, while Callum Hulme also joined in the scoring to bring the final score to 8-0. The two sides met earlier during the tournament in their final Group A match when Manchester City won 5-2.

Manchester City won all the personal awards: Captain Bobby Duncan edged teammate Taylor Richards in the scoring race with 11 goals to Richards’ nine. However, Richards was judged to be the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Curtis Anderson won the Golden Glove award as the best goal keeper of the competition.

Earlier on Sunday, LA Galaxy beat Seattle Sounders FC in the third place match. Efrain Alvarez drove home his fourth goal of the tournament to give Galaxy the lead in the 23^rd minute. The score would remain the same up to the break. Defender Togo Nakumura added to the tally in 43^rd minute before Azriel Gonzalez scored in the 50^th minute for Seattle to cut the lead to 2-1. Seattle’s Gianluca Busio narrowly missed the equaliser late in the game and Galaxy held on for the 2-1 win.

Other Under-15 teams participating in the Cayman Airways Invitational Youth Football Cup were: Swindon Town FC (England), Cavalier Soccer Club (Jamaica), Club Deportivo Victoria (Honduras), Academy Sports Club Select (Cayman Islands), IMG Academy (United States/Florida), Houston Dynamo (United States/MLS), Orlando City (United States/MLS), and DC United (United States/MLS).

The tournament was organised by the West Bay Sports Foundation. For more information and to see footage of Sunday’s games, visit www.caymanyouthfootballcup.ky.