A ‘Darling’ win for Hydel in the Alberga Cup final

The curtains came down on the JISA Alberga Cup competition and Prep school football season with the staging of the final at the UWI Bowl on Wednesday December 10th. 

The curtains came down on the JISA Alberga Cup competition and Prep school football season with the staging of the final at the UWI Bowl on Wednesday December 10th. 

A thoroughly enthralling game had the fans on edge from the very first whistle to the last. They were two evenly matched and very good teams, the winner had to be decided on penalty kicks after the teams were tied 2-2 after extra time. In the end it was the pint sized full back, Demarco Darling, who put away the vital spot kick to hand Hydel the crown for 2013.

Having played against each other in the quarter final round, neither team had any surprises to spring on the other so it was always going to be about limiting mistakes.

Just as they had done in the previous encounter, Vaz Prep got off to a quick start when midfield general, Zidane Barnes went on a mazy dribble before unleashing a thunderbolt past Anthony Myers in the Hydel goal. There was barely more than sixty seconds on the clock when the ball hit the back of the net to make it 1-0.

Unlike the quarter finals, where they had laid back after scoring, Vaz kept up the pressure on Hydel and it took a brave header from the Hydel captain and sweeper, Rushane Thompson to deflect away another goal bound effort from the rampaging Barnes. The resultant corner kick which was floated in by Barnes was headed just wide by Jhavier Lynch as Hydel tried to cope with the early onslaught.

The first effort towards goal for Hydel, came from the boots of Andru-Lee Cassanova which flew harmlessly over the bar.

At the other end Vaz Prep kept up the pressure and went 2-0 ahead in the 16th minute when Iyare Harris took off down the right flank skipping by one defender then the next before delivering the perfect cross into the box. In a desperate bid to clear the danger, Thompson ended up putting through his own net to make it 2-0 to Vaz.

There was no letting up from the Simba Harris conditioned boys and it took another brave effort from the Hydel captain to prevent the score from increasing further. Chaz Prawl benefitted from a kind bounce in the area and just as the Vaz forward was about to pull the trigger, Thompson got in to provide the vital block.

Hydel were on the ropes and the Vaz Prep supporters were in loud voices, cheering on the troops. The Hydel supporters stared on in disbelief as their team was being overrun. They had seen very little from their attacking big three of, Dushane Bernard, Andru-Lee Cassanova and Damoy Whitehorn up to that point.

Harris, who was credited for the assist on the second goal, almost got on the score sheet when his drive from the edge of the area went agonizingly wide of the far post. Bernard’s tame effort for Hydel five minutes before the break was his team’s only effort on target for the first half.

A minute later the courageous Thompson, who was doing all that he could to keep his team in the game provided yet another critical block, this time from the boots of Taje Chamberlain, whose shot from just about the penalty spot was certainly headed for the back of the net.

The half time whistle could not come soon enough for a shell shocked Hydel team that had been defended well by Vaz Prep. The collective defensive effort on display by Vaz had nullified a potent Hydel attack.

Hydel started the second half much brighter, taking the game to Vaz in an effort to try and get back in the contest. It took two good blocks in consecutive minutes, first from Vaz captain, Scott McLeod and then Chavez Parker, to deny potential breakaways from the dangerous Bernard.

Shortly after the Vaz Prep crowd was left groaning when they saw the ball rebound from the post from a Lynch effort. Had that gone in it surely would have killed off the game as a contest.

But, Hydel rode their luck well and it was captain courageous, Rushane Thompson who would haul his team back into the final.  Hydel received a free kick just inside the Vaz Prep half and he stepped up to strike the ball straight into the back of the net to make it 2-1 and breathe life back into the Hydel unit.

A minute later a brilliant save by Myers denied Lynch yet again as the striker was left shaking his head in disappointment. 

Buoyed by the goal, Hydel went on the front foot in search of the equalizer. The swing in momentum was clear and with the Hydel supporters now finding their voices, the energy was transferred to the players on the pitch who suddenly believed the game was theirs for the taking.

Four minutes after their first goal, Bernard drew Hydel level when he converted a penalty kick. The penalty was awarded when the ball struck the hand of Parker who appeared to know nothing about it as the ball hit his hand.

With the scores now level and the momentum totally in their favour, Hydel pressed the Vaz defenders in search of the winner. With their backs to the wall the Vaz Prep backline resorted to booting the ball long while Barnes helped out as much as he could with the defensive duties.

A Chaz Prawl effort for Vaz was blocked by a defender with six minutes to go but the final effort fell to Hydel in the last minute. A Whitehorn corner was palmed away by Jalen Young and the rebound fell to Cassanova who saw his blast crash into the side netting. 

With the scores tied 2-2 at the final whistle, the teams played out two periods of extra time which were for eight minutes each. With the deadlock still unbroken it was down to the dreaded penalty kicks and a true test of nerves.

Hydel kicked first and Bernard, Cassanova, Whitehorn and Thompson all converted. Aquan Pearson who had another good game in central midfield for Vaz, scored his spot kick along with Lynch and Kolo Laing but Barnes missed the third spot kick for Vaz. 

With the score reading 4-3, it was down to the last kicker for Hydel, Demarco Darling to seal the contest. He duly obliged, placing his left footed effort into the opposite from the dive of Young, to the delight of his teammates and hundreds of Hydel fans.

The Vaz Prep players were left in tears after realizing they had let a 2 goal lead slip to end on the losing end of a very good final.

Winning coach Junior Bryan was thrilled with the win – “It was an excellent final. Coming from 2-0 down at half time to win made it all the more special. Being in such a position at half time forced us to devise a strategy to try and get back in the contest. No one really plans for being 2-0 down in a game, but we asked the boys to give us 100% in the second half.

“We encouraged them at half time and told them not to give up because of the possibilities of extra time and penalty kicks. It is the first time in all my years of coaching at this level that my team has had to come back from 2-0 down, so credit must go to the boys. God is really, really on our side”

Bryan went on to complement his opponents, saying “Vaz did really well. it is the second time that we have had to come from behind against them this season. As the competition has gone on we have seen a very high standard of play which means we are doing something at this level. Credit must go to the coaches of the top schools.

“At Hydel we are focused on development and we didn’t really expect to win this year, we were grooming this team for next year, so hopefully we will be able to defend our title,” he concluded

A somber Simba Harris was proud of the effort from his boys, “We got off to a dream start, took a 2-0 into the half time break. We knew Hydel would come out with their best in the second half. It was unfortunate that two shaky dead ball calls brought them level but we still looked the better team. The penalty call was a key moment in the game.

“Congrats to Hydel, happy for Coach B, he is a great person and understands Grassroots Football. I am very proud of my team for all we endured and overcame this season, both internally and externally.”

Photo: Demarco Darling scored the winning penalty for Hydel Prep