On a cool Monday evening excitement was in the air and students were buzzing about the upcoming UWIFA games. Such excitement had spectators in the bleachers from as early as 4:30 pm all wanting to reserve their seats for the action. Close to the scheduled 6pm kick-off none of the teams, who were on the field warming up, had their shirts. It was brought to my attention that the shirts (which were to be picked up at the Sports Office for 4pm) were running late and this delayed the start time, but fans close to Barbadian football had no qualms about it as they are used to football starting way after the allotted time (BT = bajan time).
Around 6:30 pm the first match between Chelsea and Juventus was set for kick off. Fans and football enthusiasts took up every vantage point as the bleachers were filled to capacity and the Hockey Turf surrounded by spectators, who knew cricket was playing right next door ? The ladies were out looking nice and the cooler man kept the drinks flowing, it was going to be a great night of football.
Chelsea v Juventus
The night kicked off with this highly anticipated clash and it failed to live up to its expectation. Chelsea started with their strongest line up and controlled posession in the early with captain Damian Small pulling the strings in the middle while Shane 'Munilah' Weekes and Tevyn Gill kept solid in the back. The Juventus "Freshers" started a bit nervy with some of the players losing possession easily and finding it difficult to come to grips with the hockey turf as they slipped and tumbled but Ramon Manning and his keeper Antonio cleaned up any mistakes.
David "Teets man" Forde skyed an early chance after Tevyn lost the ball in midfield, a perfect opportunity to take the lead. The Chelsea attack tried everything as Shaquille Layne, Daniel Rowe and Christopher Greenidge weaved their magic in attack but failed to bring any thing into fruition with Rowe and Greenidge missed two guilt edged chances. Juventus survived a penalty scare after a Chelsea player was brought down in the area but the referee allowed play to go on.
The second half began as the first with Chelsea taking control of the proceedings and throwing everything plus the kitchen sink at the Juve custodian who thwarted every attack that came his way. With the Juve losing their captain Randall Jordan for academic reasons in the first half, Manning dictated play from the back but Chelsea's defence was just as resilient. The boys in blue suffered a late scare in the second half as keeper Hosea Boyce wanted to showcase his skill beating a player and losing the ball but his defence covered the empty goal just as the opposition was taking a shot on goal. With teams trading posession and impotent attacks the game petered out into a goalless draw.
Man of the match = Juve keeper Antonio
Ajax v Inter
As noted in Monday's previews this match was all Ajax from start to finish. Ajax dominated possession with flair and precise passing but complacency reared its ugly head as they tried to do too much at times. Rene "Sizz" Best set the tone for his night by fluffing an early chance to put the dutch ahead of Inter. Lady luck smiled on Inter as some of Ajax's shots flew wide and some into the hands of the goalie. New signing Gregory "Boo" Applewaithe would join Best in his profligacy by missing an easy chance which was just one of his plethora of misses. With every rare attack Inter threw at Ajax, Caleb Morgan was there to clean up as he hardly put a foot wrong for the night. Inter would however undo there hard work after losing possession too easy in defence allowing Omari Eastmond to score a rasping drive to take the dutch ahead.
Who would've seen this coming ? A half time transfer request (beg for play) saw contract rebel and free agent Tunde Adebanjo turn out for Inter. He was cheered on by a small section of the crowd with every touch but this did not help his team's cause as Ajax had the game under control. Applewaithe continued to "fire wild grain" and it took another defensive mistake for Eastmond to score again for the Dutch as they saw out the game very easily but really should've scored more. Good showing by Inter who will have to put their campaign back on track against Sao Paulo.
Man of the match: Caleb Morgan
AC Milan v Valencia
Valencia were a no show for this match so Milan won by default
Manchester United vs Lyon
Turns out the "Mystery men" of Manchester United is the staff team that is entered every year. The "old boys" always come to duke it out with the "youngsters" and in this match their experience showed as they dominated a side of individual performers. The Red devils controlled play from the off as they were helped by a side that couldn't seem to string 5 passes together. Lyon had a few forays forward but their attacks petered out in the final third as team mates failed to pick out the killer pass. United took the lead after Clint Hurley's "daisy cutter" from outside of the box beat the defense and the goalie, embarrassing on Lyon's part.
Lyon started strong in the second half and even had a claim for a penalty when one of their players was slide tackled in the Manchester box, but the referee gave an indirect free kick instead. Man United's strength and composure kept their opponents at bay but the attack led by Festus Drakes couldn't turn possession into goals. Lyon would however pay for their discrepancies as a misplaced pass was intercepted by a United player who found Festus with yards of space and his shot was punched into the net by the keeper. It was a night to forget for the Lyon keeper Dario Agard. It was an easy victory in the end for the Red Devils and the men of Lyon will have to pick themselves up after this.
Real Madrid v Bayern Munich
The fourth match of the night was one of promise as this was built up to be "The Main Event". The match started with both teams trying to settle their nerves as they tried to control possession but failing to do so. Madrid's Kemar "Cornesma" Codrington finally settled his team by dictating the pace of the game sitting right in front of his back two winning possession and turning it into attack in the blink of an eye. Bayern asked questions of the madridistas which they failed to answer but custodian Richard Clarke produced some top saves to keep them at bay. Munich's danger man Tareq Branch had the beating of the defence many times with his change of pace and close dribbling but could not bring anything into fruition. The bavarians made full use of the rolling sub system with Rex Suckoo being the scapegoat of some fast changes.
After a dull first half Los merengues took the lead through talisman Taurean Hall with a solo effort reminiscent of his many scrimmage goals. Clearly ecstatic with his goal Hall didn't know which celebration he had planned to use and it looked like he was getting a seizure as he could not contain his excitement much to the amusement of the onlookers. Bayern looked to captain Renn Belgrave Herbert as he urged on his team mates being very vocal in his demand. Munich's Raymond "Smiley" Ward tried many things out of his bag of party pieces but to no avail. The game finished with both sides trading possession and "Cornesma" being the work horse in his teams defence and eventually getting three precious points for Los blancos.
Man of the match: Kemar Codrington
Liverpool v Barcelona
Another match that much was expected of didn't live up to its hype. The full bleachers were a far cry from the ghost town that was there when this match started, but with school tomorrow and time getting away one could understand. As with most of the matches before no team could control possession in the early. Liverpool tried to exploit the pace of Les Warner in the early by concentrating play down the flanks but the Barcelona defence of Kenray Browne and Dafar Armour-Shillingford stood firm. Liverpool also defended well with Michael Rogers and Bishon Williams. Playing Bishon in defence was a questionable tactic as his pace along with Warner's could have caused the catalans a few head aches.
Second half resumed as the first but this time Dafar took up residence in goal, another questionable tactic. Barcelona would've been put ahead by Dannilo Hutchinson had he buried his one on one chance with a year and a day to decide. Apart from a chance where James Ballantyne should've squared the ball back for Dabian "Tallman" Forde to score an easy tap in, there was not much to note in the second half and the teams shared the spoils.
Man of the match: Michael Rogers
Chelsea v Juventus
The night kicked off with this highly anticipated clash and it failed to live up to its expectation. Chelsea started with their strongest line up and controlled posession in the early with captain Damian Small pulling the strings in the middle while Shane 'Munilah' Weekes and Tevyn Gill kept solid in the back. The Juventus "Freshers" started a bit nervy with some of the players losing possession easily and finding it difficult to come to grips with the hockey turf as they slipped and tumbled but Ramon Manning and his keeper Antonio cleaned up any mistakes.
David "Teets man" Forde skyed an early chance after Tevyn lost the ball in midfield, a perfect opportunity to take the lead. The Chelsea attack tried everything as Shaquille Layne, Daniel Rowe and Christopher Greenidge weaved their magic in attack but failed to bring any thing into fruition with Rowe and Greenidge missed two guilt edged chances. Juventus survived a penalty scare after a Chelsea player was brought down in the area but the referee allowed play to go on.
The second half began as the first with Chelsea taking control of the proceedings and throwing everything plus the kitchen sink at the Juve custodian who thwarted every attack that came his way. With the Juve losing their captain Randall Jordan for academic reasons in the first half, Manning dictated play from the back but Chelsea's defence was just as resilient. The boys in blue suffered a late scare in the second half as keeper Hosea Boyce wanted to showcase his skill beating a player and losing the ball but his defence covered the empty goal just as the opposition was taking a shot on goal. With teams trading posession and impotent attacks the game petered out into a goalless draw.
Man of the match = Juve keeper Antonio
Ajax v Inter
As noted in Monday's previews this match was all Ajax from start to finish. Ajax dominated possession with flair and precise passing but complacency reared its ugly head as they tried to do too much at times. Rene "Sizz" Best set the tone for his night by fluffing an early chance to put the dutch ahead of Inter. Lady luck smiled on Inter as some of Ajax's shots flew wide and some into the hands of the goalie. New signing Gregory "Boo" Applewaithe would join Best in his profligacy by missing an easy chance which was just one of his plethora of misses. With every rare attack Inter threw at Ajax, Caleb Morgan was there to clean up as he hardly put a foot wrong for the night. Inter would however undo there hard work after losing possession too easy in defence allowing Omari Eastmond to score a rasping drive to take the dutch ahead.
Who would've seen this coming ? A half time transfer request (beg for play) saw contract rebel and free agent Tunde Adebanjo turn out for Inter. He was cheered on by a small section of the crowd with every touch but this did not help his team's cause as Ajax had the game under control. Applewaithe continued to "fire wild grain" and it took another defensive mistake for Eastmond to score again for the Dutch as they saw out the game very easily but really should've scored more. Good showing by Inter who will have to put their campaign back on track against Sao Paulo.
Man of the match: Caleb Morgan
AC Milan v Valencia
Valencia were a no show for this match so Milan won by default
Manchester United vs Lyon
Turns out the "Mystery men" of Manchester United is the staff team that is entered every year. The "old boys" always come to duke it out with the "youngsters" and in this match their experience showed as they dominated a side of individual performers. The Red devils controlled play from the off as they were helped by a side that couldn't seem to string 5 passes together. Lyon had a few forays forward but their attacks petered out in the final third as team mates failed to pick out the killer pass. United took the lead after Clint Hurley's "daisy cutter" from outside of the box beat the defense and the goalie, embarrassing on Lyon's part.
Lyon started strong in the second half and even had a claim for a penalty when one of their players was slide tackled in the Manchester box, but the referee gave an indirect free kick instead. Man United's strength and composure kept their opponents at bay but the attack led by Festus Drakes couldn't turn possession into goals. Lyon would however pay for their discrepancies as a misplaced pass was intercepted by a United player who found Festus with yards of space and his shot was punched into the net by the keeper. It was a night to forget for the Lyon keeper Dario Agard. It was an easy victory in the end for the Red Devils and the men of Lyon will have to pick themselves up after this.
Real Madrid v Bayern Munich
The fourth match of the night was one of promise as this was built up to be "The Main Event". The match started with both teams trying to settle their nerves as they tried to control possession but failing to do so. Madrid's Kemar "Cornesma" Codrington finally settled his team by dictating the pace of the game sitting right in front of his back two winning possession and turning it into attack in the blink of an eye. Bayern asked questions of the madridistas which they failed to answer but custodian Richard Clarke produced some top saves to keep them at bay. Munich's danger man Tareq Branch had the beating of the defence many times with his change of pace and close dribbling but could not bring anything into fruition. The bavarians made full use of the rolling sub system with Rex Suckoo being the scapegoat of some fast changes.
After a dull first half Los merengues took the lead through talisman Taurean Hall with a solo effort reminiscent of his many scrimmage goals. Clearly ecstatic with his goal Hall didn't know which celebration he had planned to use and it looked like he was getting a seizure as he could not contain his excitement much to the amusement of the onlookers. Bayern looked to captain Renn Belgrave Herbert as he urged on his team mates being very vocal in his demand. Munich's Raymond "Smiley" Ward tried many things out of his bag of party pieces but to no avail. The game finished with both sides trading possession and "Cornesma" being the work horse in his teams defence and eventually getting three precious points for Los blancos.
Man of the match: Kemar Codrington
Liverpool v Barcelona
Another match that much was expected of didn't live up to its hype. The full bleachers were a far cry from the ghost town that was there when this match started, but with school tomorrow and time getting away one could understand. As with most of the matches before no team could control possession in the early. Liverpool tried to exploit the pace of Les Warner in the early by concentrating play down the flanks but the Barcelona defence of Kenray Browne and Dafar Armour-Shillingford stood firm. Liverpool also defended well with Michael Rogers and Bishon Williams. Playing Bishon in defence was a questionable tactic as his pace along with Warner's could have caused the catalans a few head aches.
Second half resumed as the first but this time Dafar took up residence in goal, another questionable tactic. Barcelona would've been put ahead by Dannilo Hutchinson had he buried his one on one chance with a year and a day to decide. Apart from a chance where James Ballantyne should've squared the ball back for Dabian "Tallman" Forde to score an easy tap in, there was not much to note in the second half and the teams shared the spoils.
Man of the match: Michael Rogers
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