Gros Islet captured the Saint Lucia Football Association’s Northern Zone Under-20 Men’s District Tournament title on Sunday, April 19, at Marchand Grounds. They defeated La Clery 2-0 with goals on either side of halftime.
Rickelme Lionel netted in the 15th minute for a league-leading 11th marker this campaign. He scored after a tenacious bit of play from Shevon Byron. La Clery thought they had equalised late in the second half. However, the assistant referee’s flag went up for offside. Dervaj Edward capped the trophy game with an 89th-minute rocket.
“I must give kudos to the guys,” said Gros Islet assistant coach Darren Gaspard. “They came in there with the heart and the desire to fight for this victory. They have been putting in the work in training week in week out.”
Gros Islet finished the competition with 31 goals to their credit and conceded just four. Two of those were in a 2-1 loss to La Clery in the preliminary round. The loss in the final was the first for La Clery in this competition, after four group matches and the semifinals.
“The first encounter with La Clery, it was just a lack of concentration, where we conceded two goals within three minutes,” recalled Gaspard. “So we knew that coming to the finals would have been a different kettle of fish.
“We had a few of our key players out with the national team [for the preliminary match]. So we know with all those four players coming in, it will not be easy coming up against us on this ground.
“Also, this ground suits our style of play. It’s a bit wider compared to Grande Riviere… So we know that we had more width, and this suit took our playing style. We attack from the wide areas. Our game plan was to dominate the midfield and keep them under constant pressure, a high-intensity game, quick pressing.”
Babonneau bounced back from a 10-0 drubbing in the semifinals, taking the penalty shootout win over hosts Marchand in the third-place playoff.
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