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| SeaHawks
players with runner-up trophy
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The fairytale ending to the first ever
appearance in a major final for a San Pedro semi-pro team was not to be,
as last Sunday's match finished in a 1-1 draw, which was enough to see
Kulture Yabra win the Prime Minister's Cup. Yabra came to Ambergris Caye
needing to avoid a three-goal beating and, once again, with a helping
hand from the referee, got the result they needed to win the Cup via
their first leg victory.
The San Pedro SeaHawks started out well
in a match where they had the difficult task of scoring at least three
goals against a team yet to concede any in their previous five games.
Difficult was made impossible just before halftime when the ref
effectively ended the match with a ridiculous straight red card to
SeaHawks defender Flavio Pinero. Coming on top of last week's "goal that
wasn't" San Pedro SeaHawks must be wondering if
the referees are for Yabra or just against the island team.
Up to the sending off, the game was
attacking, open and entertaining, with both goals in the match coming
within a minute of each other. First blood went to San Pedro in the
10th minute when a
curling ball from Jarbi Alvarez was chested down by Kalusha, into the
path of Landy Pinelo who swept past the defender and drilled it into the
corner for the early lead. It should have been the platform to build a
further advantage but the SeaHawks were instantly caught out, and with
the crowd still celebrating the goal, Deon Frazer got away from the left
hand side, outpaced the defense, kept his cool and slotted in the
equalizer.
The game ebbed and flowed as each team
tried to get into a rhythm but found that their equally matched opponents
thwarted them. Halftime came with no more goals scored despite several
attempts and corners, and more significantly, San Pedro reduced to ten
men.
The second half was less of
a spectacle as the SeaHawks tried in vain, but with one less man, tired
quickly. Yabra, content with the score, sat tight without pushing too
many players forward but put their forwards pace on the break to good
use. Despite the slower tempo, both sides managed to hit the woodwork
late in the game. First, Yabra Tilliman Nunez crashed a header back off
the post from a corner, before SeaHawks substitute Ashton Lewis headed
goal-bound from a free kick only to see Shane Moody use the faintest of
touches to push it onto the bar and over. With five minutes to go, Yabra
striker Tilliman Nunez also received a red card for an off-the-ball
incident as the game petered out to a finish.
Kulture Yabra will start the new Belize
Premier Football League (BPFL) season with another trophy for
their cabinet after the disappointment of losing out last
year, and rightly confident of doing well this season. The new formation
and line-up looks to have kept their defensive strengths, while allowing
more freedom to attack as the tournament record of 11 goals scored
against one conceded, shows. The awards presentation saw Vallan Symms,
Yabra's Captain and Central Defender, pick up the Most Valuable Player
award as well as the Prime Minister's Cup. To the SeaHawks went the
consolation of the runners-up trophy, the hope of more bright things to
come in the future, and the knowledge that they are now one of the better
teams in the BPFL and can compete to be the best, if allowed.
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