Written by Neil Murray
- Last Updated on Thursday, 16 April 2009 06:59
“Toute grêle les champions!” FC Shana from Haiti were crowned champions of the inaugural 2009 Cayman Classic Youth Football Tournament at the T.E. McField Sports Complex as they defeated a spirited Eastern Districts team 2- 1 in the final.
The exciting five-day U-17 tournament came to a close this past Saturday night with the third-placed game and final being played in front of a vociferous crowd at the hallowed field in George Town.
The 2009 Cayman Classic, fashioned from the successful Miami Classic Youth Football Tournament of the 1980s - the brainchild of Winston Chung, was organized by the legendary coach himself and the Academy and George Town Sports Clubs, to elevate the level of youth football in the Cayman Islands by hosting overseas teams from the region to participate in a tournament. FC Shana from Haiti, Tivoli Gardens from Jamaica and Weston Fury from the United States, heeded the call and along with four local teams – a combined team from the Eastern Districts, Western Districts, Central District and the Academy SC – put on an extremely entertaining, high-quality footballing display that gained rave reviews from those fortunate enough to watch the games.
The seven teams were split into two groups. Group A included the Eastern Districts, Central District, Weston Fury and Tivoli Gardens and Group B consisted of Academy SC, the Western Districts and FC Shana. Group winners would contest for the finals and teams finishing second would play for third place.
In Group A, playing games at the newly renovated Haig Bodden Field in Bodden Town, the Eastern Districts emerged as champions with a perfect record after defeating Tivoli Gardens 7-2, Weston Fury 4-0 and Central District 4-0. Despite the solitary loss, Weston Fury finished runners-up in Group A after defeating Tivoli Gardens 4-3 and Central District 4-2. In Group B, with games played at the T.E. McField Sports Complex (Annex Field) and the Ed Bush Sports Complex in West Bay, FC Shana were crowned champions of the group after defeating the Western Districts 5-0 and drawing with Academy SC 1-1. Western Districts finished second after defeating Academy SC 2-0 in the deciding game.
With the group stage completed, the third place and final were set for Saturday evening - Weston Fury would play the Western Districts for third place and the Eastern Districts would play FC Shana for the championship.
In the third-placed game, the calm and cool Americans slowly broke down the resilient West Bayers who unfortunately for them, fielded a team bereft of a few key players. Leading 2-0 at the break, through goals from Matt Mirales and Simon Rojas, the visitors from the north cruised in the second half, adding three more goals before the final whistle through strikes from George Naranjo, Jonathan Lama and Nino Stewart.
Prior to the coveted championship game, organizers of the Cayman Classic made special presentations honouring seven prominent individuals who have dedicated considerable time over the past 50 years to the development of football, namely Lennie Hew, Allan “HaHa” Moore, Peter Goulden, Rudolph “Blemo” Ross, Linda McLean, Tony Scott and Jeffrey Webb.
The championship game featured the unbeaten Eastern Districts and FC Shana, and if the games played during the group stage were any indication of things to come, we had all the ingredients for a classic confrontation. The quick, sleek Haitians up against some of the best U-17 talent Cayman has to offer – mouth-watering to say the least. The final lived up to all expectations and for the crowd that gathered to watch this truly exciting encounter, each left with a new belief that Cayman has a lot to offer football at the youth level.
Unfortunately for the Eastern Districts squad, the Haitians were determined to leave our shores with a victory and return home as winners of the first Cayman Classic. The Eastern Districts began the game strongly surging forward on numerous occasions, which eventually paid off in the eighth minute when Charlo McLean found the back of the net after volleying home a cross from Kareem James. FC Shana found themselves behind for the first time in the tournament, but after an uncharacteristically slow start, ‘le visiteurs de l’est’ slowly took control of the game and equalized through Jhon Micky Benchy Estame in the 15th minute. Adding to his tally, the speedy Haitian forward struck again in the 33rd minute as he placed a powerful header past the helpless Ramon Sealey from a corner. The second goal was all that was needed as the Eastern Districts squad became increasingly frustrated with the quick-passing and speedy Haitians. Apart from a few long-range efforts, the Eastern Districts were unable to breakdown the disciplined FC Shana defence.
When the final whistle blew, the Haitian bench erupted with joy as they ran to embrace their young heroes. FC Shana had done it – they were champions of the first Cayman Classic Youth Football Tournament.
Celebrations went on well into the night as the three teams accepted their well-deserved trophies and medals from the Hon. Alden McLaughlin, Minister of Sports, and Jeffrey Webb, President of the Cayman Islands Football Association. As winners of the inaugural Cayman Classic, FC Shana accepted a unique trophy featuring a large turtle shell mounted on a bed of sand displaying the champion team’s name. Designed and created by well-known local artist Luelan Bodden, this beautiful piece of art will be displayed at a location to be decided.
Commenting on the success of the 2009 Cayman Classic, Winston Chung, tournament organizer and Technical Director of Academy SC, added, “I am elated to finally see such an important tournament come to fruition on these shores. Since my arrival in the early 1980s and my introduction to football in Cayman, I have always been confident that someday a youth football tournament would be hosted in the Cayman Islands. Our team of volunteers have worked extremely hard to pull this tournament together, especially Virgil Seymour, who has worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to make this tournament a reality. We are determined to make this tournament an annual event and are already planning to increase the size of next year’s tournament to accommodate additional age-groups and female participation. Special thanks to all the teams, sponsors, companies and individuals who have contributed to the success of the 2009 Cayman Classic. ‘Vois vour l’année prochaine’… see you next year!”
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