Photo: Sherona Forrester on the go for AZ Preston Hall
When AZ Preston Hall women’s football team line up against many time champions Taylor Hall at 5:00pm on Friday February 21st they will be aiming to defend the title they took from the team that has the best winning record in the competition.
Photo: Sherona Forrester on the go for AZ Preston Hall
When AZ Preston Hall women’s football team line up against many time champions Taylor Hall at 5:00pm on Friday February 21st they will be aiming to defend the title they took from the team that has the best winning record in the competition.
Both teams go to the final without dropping a point and have identical semifinal results, albeit in different circumstances.
Preston needed extra time to see off Rex Nettleford Hall in their semifinal last week, in a very entertaining game in front of a large crowd. Surprisingly, Rex started the game more purposefully than the defending champions despite not having two of their better players, in Stephanie Barrow and Melesa Anderson on the field of play.
Despite their fast start, Rex conceded the first goal of the game when a deflected effort from Vanessa Ramsay curled over the top of the keepers head and into the back of the net. The goal seemed to wake up the champions who started pushing back the upstarts.
Rex was able to get back into the game with the introduction of their star players, Barrow and Anderson but was unable to get the ball past Shaquille Laing in the Preston goal. It took Rex until the very last minute of regulation time to find the equalizer.
Extra time belonged to Sherona Forrester whose brace guided her team back into the final. Her first goal was a well driven shot to the far post but her second goal was scored from an acute angle after she skillfully got by two defenders on the by-line before squeezing it home.
The game ended 3-1, the same as the game between Taylor Hall and Towers on Sunday.
Taylor Hall had a forgettable first half against the minnows from Towers, missing numerous chances to take the lead and should have been ahead by four or five goals at the half time break. Instead it remained 0-0 to the disappointment of their fans packed in at the Bowl.
Shuraffadean Thomas broke the deadlock in the first minute of the second half and the Taylorites would have anticipated an opening of the floodgates. That failed to happen and it was the Towers who got the next goal of the game when Shanice Mullings scored from close range to make it 1-1.
The Taylorites were not to be denied however and Trudi-Ann Young followed by Dionne Douglas scored to make the game comfortable for the Marvin Gayle coached team. They will now aim to regain the title they held for sixteen consecutive years before losing it to Preston Hall.
The final is expected to be a cracker and many people anticipate this game going beyond regulation time as both teams boast a number of ‘Premier League’ players.
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