They have been heckled and jeered, called a track team – not footballers, been laughed at by many, but in spite of their detractors, the Roosters of Taylor Hall, playing in their first Sagicor UWI Guild Champions League, continue to win.
They have been heckled and jeered, called a track team – not footballers, been laughed at by many, but in spite of their detractors, the Roosters of Taylor Hall, playing in their first Sagicor UWI Guild Champions League, continue to win.
Drawn against the mighty Siberia (Bears) in the quarter final round, the midfield of the ‘C-Men’ never looked out of place against the much vaunted Bears midfield. The fast pace of the game from the first whistle suggested the fans would be in for a treat and that they were.
The Bears had the first shot of the game, but after an effort on target by Kevon Harris was saved by the Bears keeper in the 9th minute, it was just one minute later that he was taking the ball out of his net when Oshane Rodney prodded home a cross, to make it 1-0 to the Roosters.
A fierce contest ensued as both teams took the game to each other, playing without fear. The Roosters took control of the contest and it was no surprise when they doubled their advantage courtesy of a Michael Richards strike just before half time. The midfielder’s fierce drive low into the right hand corner of the net set off premature celebrations from the very vocal Roosters fans who seemed to forget that there was a second half to play.
The confidence of their fans seemed to rub off on the Roosters players as they came out gunning again in the second half. Despite the best efforts of the Siberia team, there was just no way through the solid Roosters defence marshaled by captain Barrington Gayle.
Geranel Smilke would kill the game off as a contest when he cut in from the left hand side, slipped by two defenders and squeezed his effort past the bears custodian at the near post to make it 3-0 and lights out to the Bears midway the second half.
The Roosters became the first team to qualify for this year’s semifinals and will know their opponents tomorrow night after the playing of the final set of quarter final games.
The always confident team manager, Dolan Hunter, said that the Roosters were prepared for what the Bears had to offer.
“It was a fair performance, not as fluent as the coaching staff would have liked, but it was a dogged performance. The players gave it everything.
“We scouted Siberia so we were able to counter everything they had. We took advantage of their lack of fitness and I must commend captain Barrington Gayle for his role with the defence.”
“Beware of the Roosters,” was his warning for the rest of the teams in the league.
One thing is for certain, the laughing will stop now.
Photo: Three the hard way – goal scorers – Geranel Smikle – Oshane Rodney and Michael Richards
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