George Town Primary claimed the first silverware of the 2011/2012 CUC Primary Football League (PFL) season following a hard fought 1-0 victory over old rivals Sir John A. Cumber Primary in the Opening Rally final this past weekend at the T.E. McField Sports Complex in George Town.

George Town’s prolific scorer D’Andre Rowe was the difference between the two finalists as he secured his team’s name in the PFL history books with the game’s only goal deep into extra time.

Sir John A. Cumber’s game plan of slowing down the speedy Rowe worked efficiently well thanks to the discipline of Xavier Comment who shadowed the young George Town forward throughout the game. But like so many standout forwards who have made their mark in the PFL over the years, one split-second is all that is needed to change the course of a game. From a corner, Rowe lost his marker and through a crowd of players slammed the ball into the roof of the net past the outstretched fingertips of the young Sir John A. Cumber goalkeeper much to the delight of the George Town faithful.

Not to be outdone, Sir John A. Cumber’s youngsters threw everything forward in a final attempt to level the score.

With George Town Primary strategically withdrawing their goal scorer back to defence because of his speed, Sir John A. Cumber could take a few more chances going forward. Sir John A. Cumber’s Kameron Mendez had come close on a few occasions during the game, stinging the palms of George Town Primary’s Jalen Walters in goal but could not find the net.

With George Town Primary on the back foot calmly soaking up the pressure, their players dug deep determined not to fold and eventually held out until the final whistle. It was total team effort.

Beaten finalists a year ago, George Town Primary had turned the tide, reached the final and were crowned 2011/2012 CUC PFL Opening Rally champions. To add to their silverware, D’Andre Rowe received the Final’s Most Valuable Player trophy for his outstanding play and wonder goal.

George Town’s road to the Final began well by winning Zone B following a 4-0 win over Grace Academy and a 3-0 defeat of Prospect Primary. In the quarterfinals, they disposed of Red Bay Primary 2-0 thanks to two goals from Francisco Marino and in the semi finals; they outlasted a talented Triple C team 3-2 in penalties.

Finalists Sir John A. Cumber triumphed in Zone C with a 1-0 win over Savannah Primary and a 2-1 victory over Triple C. In the quarterfinals, they downed Grace Academy 3-0 thanks to goals from Jaheem Webster, Caleb Carter and Barry-Dre Tibbetts, and in the semi finals, they beat St. Ignatius Prep by a similar scoreline with Alexander Clarke, Jaheem Webster and Barry-Dre Tibbetts securing the win.

In the third and fourth placed game, Zone C runners-up Triple C lost out to Zone D champions St. Ignatius Prep 4-5 on penalties.

Overall the Opening Rally was very eventful with the generally perceived minnow teams close to carving out a few major upsets. NorthEast Schools took perennial powerhouses St. Ignatius Prep and Red Bay Primary to penalties eventually losing 1-2 and 0-3 respectively before defeating a young Cayman Brac team 2-0.

Zone B runners-up Grace Academy triumphed over Prospect Primary in penalties during the group stage before eventually losing out to Sir John A. Cumber in the quarterfinals.

We welcomed Cayman Brac back into the fold after a ten-year absence from the PFL. The enthusiastic youngsters did the Brac very proud with their spirited displays against NorthEast Schools, Red Bay Primary and St. Ignatius Prep. Although not scoring a goal, the Brackers were greeted with rapturous applause and cheers of encouragement from the crowd during their three games.