Fans and parents alike were treated to a football spectacle this past Saturday, January 28 at the Annex Field as the 2011/2012 CUC Primary Football League (PFL) moved into the semi final stage.

With a spot in the finals up for grabs, the eight teams competing in the semi finals were determined to make themselves, their coaches and their schools proud.

In the Under 9 Consolation Cup, George Town Primary secured their place in the final with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Triple C thanks to a late Isaac Ebanks strike. George Town Primary will face Cayman International School in the final after the latter defeated Red Bay Primary 2-1 on penalties.

In the Under 9 Champions Cup, Cayman Prep will face Sir John A. Cumber Primary in the final in a rematch of the second round game played on Saturday, January 14, which Cayman Prep won 2-1. Cayman Prep defeated Grace Academy 4-0 in their semi final with strikes from Harrison Hew, Joshua Small and a double from the in-form Aaron Jarvis.

In the other semi final, DeMonte Seymour scored a late goal for Sir John A. Cumber Primary as they overcame a very determined South Sound Schools outfit. South Sound Schools will play Grace Academy in the third-placed match.

In the Under 11 Consolation Cup, in-form Bodden Town Primary continued their winning ways brushing aside Savannah Primary 5-1 with four goals from Justyn Powell and a single strike from Jondane Dawkins. Arnold Berry scored Savannah’s lone goal.

Bodden Town Primary will face Prospect Primary in the final after Prospect put three past NorthEast Schools thanks to a double from Cody Evans and one from Angel Sierra-Laguna.

The final will be a rematch of the Saturday, January 7 encounter, which Bodden Town Primary won decisively 4-1.

In the Under 11 Champions Cup semi finals, Sir John A. Cumber Primary defeated Cayman Prep 1-0 thanks to an Alexander Clarke strike and George Town Primary downed Truth For Youth 3-2 with goals from D’Andre Rowe (2) and Nathan Hyre with Kareem Foster bagging two in reply.

Ironically, the score line between George Town Primary and Truth For Youth was identical to the result in their regular season encounter played in December 2011.

In this the feature match, Truth For Youth started the more livelier of the two with AJ Obi, Christian Dyer, Nicholas Chung and Kareem Foster causing some concern for the George Town rearguard. Likewise, D’Andre Rowe and his strike partner Nathan Hyre looked ever so dangerous on the break.

Both keepers were relatively untested except for a few long-range efforts but Truth For Youth suddenly stepped up a gear as AJ Obi found himself in space on the left. He goal ward shot was directly at George Town’s keeper Jalen Walters, who uncharacteristically spilled the initial effort leaving Kareem Foster an easy tap in to put his side on top.
George Town quickly rallied and prolific goal scorer D’Andre Rowe bagged his and his team’s first of the afternoon just before half time with a left-footed effort, which alluded Truth For Youth’s goalkeeper before nestling into the corner of the net.

At the start of the second half, both teams went in search of goals as a place in the prestigious final beckoned.
D’Andre Rowe surprised everyone with his second goal of the day. Known predominantly for his dribbling skills, young Rowe decided to have a go from long range and his low effort somehow got through the mass of Truth For Youth defenders before hitting the inside of the base of the post, bouncing off the unsuspecting goalkeeper Javi Ardila and rolling into the empty net.

Up 2-1 and George Town Primary were finally in the driving seat. Going forward was Truth For Youth’s only option, which ultimately left gaps in the back. Nathan Hyre took full advantage of the situation and added to his team’s lead with a well
taken goal.

Truth For Youth pushed to get back into the game as George Town withdrew a few players to strengthen their defence. With time running out, Truth For Youth were handed a lifeline as the George Town goalkeeper unfortunately and unintentionally ran into Kareem Foster leaving the referee no choice but to point to the penalty spot.

Up stepped young Foster to bring his team to within one but was it too late? For the final few minutes, George Town Primary was unforgiving in the back and repeatedly repelled Truth For Youth’s attacks.

With the final whistle, George Town’s parents and fans were ecstatic and visibly relieved. Their young heroes had booked their place in the final and with it, the chance to take on an undefeated Sir John A. Cumber Primary team that had handed George Town Primary their only loss during the regular season.

In the Under 11 Champions Cup third-placed game it will be beaten semi-finalists Truth For Youth battling Cayman Prep.

Special thanks to Dwayne Ebanks, Bruce Blake, Gary Whittaker and Lazarus Moraes who officiated games throughout the day, and thanks to sponsors Progressive Distributors, who provided Gatorade to all the teams during the regular season and playoffs.

The finals and third-placed games of the 2011/2012 CUC PFL Playoffs are set for this Saturday, February 4.

Complete scores and standings from the Playoffs can be found on CUC’s website at www.cuc-cayman.com (on the Home Page, click “About Us”, then “Community Involvement” and “Primary Football League”).
We’ll see you on the field.