The event was held on Sunday Aug 26th at Sunnybrook Park in Toronto. It kicked off on time at about 12:30 PM, and the football tournament started at 1:30 PM. The people in attendance were kept entertained throughout the afternoon, and also got the chance to meet and greet Trinidad & Tobago and Toronto FC player, Collin Samuel. We also launched our first food drive to benefit underprivileged families in T&T.
The football tournament was changed from a 5 a side to a 6 a side and the field was split into 2 pitches instead of 4 as was originally planned. The size of the pitches allowed for great open spaces and there was fantastic skill displayed from all the teams. It was highly entertaining.
The teams registered for the event were:
- Doh Flim Meh
- FF Crew
- Movements ACC
- Rude Boys
The first game was between FF Crew and Movements ACC. FF wore white while Movements wore canary yellow. Movements, which was made up of an all Jamaican squad surprised FF Crew by stationing one of their six men exclusively in the net. This caught FF completely off guard as they could not get around this so-called goalie. FF, even though they outmanned Movements in open field by a 6 to 5 advantage were not able to capitalize and were stymied every time they got close to goal. The final score was 3-0 for the team in yellow.
The second game was between Doh Flim Meh and Rude Boys. Doh Flim Meh, who wore red had a couple of illustrious committee members in Organic and Dragon. (The committee needs serious help in the footie skills department). So there was nuff pressure on the Red team to come through. Their opponents were the Rude Boys who wore multi colours. Fortunately for Doh Flim Meh, they had a fella called Alex who managed 2 goals on their way to a 3-1 win.
At the end of this game Rude Boys, due to an injured player and a pressing commitment of another player, decided to withdraw from the tournament. This default gave Movements an automatic berth into the final, setting a juicy Yardie vs T&T matchup. Now we needed to determine who would be the other finalist. Would it be FF Crew or Doh Flim Meh?
A 40 minute break was announced to give everyone an opportunity to eat.
The menu consisted of:
Curry Chicken, Curry Potato, Jerk Chicken, Rice n Peas, Cole Slaw and Dhalpourie Roti. While the food was being served, the sensational tassa group, the Talana Blue Tassa Boys appeared on the scene and proceeded to give up some serious tassa drumming. The Sun started to blaze and feet suddenly started moving involuntarily. The music was sweet. The 40 minutes went by too quickly.
The game between Doh Flim Meh and FF Crew turned out to be the best game to this point. There was end to end action but at the halfway mark there was no score from either side. While this first half was going on, Talana Blue Tassa Boys decided to go to the actual sideline to beat the Tassa. It was riveting. During the intermission, while many in the crowd took the opportunity to eat some more, the Farmers Rhythm Section graced us with their presence.
The second half kicked off with both teams providing great action and The Farmers providing mesmerizing music, especially when Farm P blew his horn. The players seemed to feed off the music, the action was end to end non-stop until FF scored. I must confess that I did not see the goal as just prior I could not contain myself and danced/chipped my way over to where the Farmers were jamming to get a better visual of that delightful sound. (My bad peeps). The game ended 1-0 for FF. Meanwhile all through the game Movements could be seen practicing and getting ready on the adjacent field. They looked good.
The final match for a first place prize of $250 was between the fellas in white FF Crew vs the guys in yellow Movements ACC. A break of 40 minutes was called. Meanwhile the Farmers were joined by the Talana Blue Tassa Boys and the sound became more intoxicating. People from all over the park started coming over to take in this unique session. It was sweet.
It was decided that the final instead of being 30 minutes long would be 40 minutes. Tweet the referee blew his whistle at around 5PM. The game started with a hot, hot tempo. Meanwhile the Farmers and Blue Boys worked up a serious sweat. Movements, as in their earlier game against FF, always had a man stationed very close to the net, but FF had made an adjustment from their earlier game. They too, had designated one of their six to 'man' the yardage directly in front of the goal. Both teams were now effectively playing 5 a side and because of the size of the pitch there were huge open spaces especially down the flanks which FF in particular exploited by using their superior speed. The first half went like this, FF attacking, Movements countering and the combo of Farmers and Tassa Boys jamming. Around the 15 minute mark, Saldenah from FF launched a low bullet from right wing about 25 yards out and directly on net. Movement failed to stop the shot and just like that 1-0 for FF. There was no change at the half. During the intermission members of the audience again went back to eat and to get ready for what was turning out to be one fantastic final.
Almost immediately Movements began to carry the play. They drove again and again to the FF net only to be stopped by a last minute (by this time) very tired boot. It became apparent that FF had run out of gas and were just hanging on. Movements were like predators, they could smell the blood, and the rhythm section upped the tempo. They drove over and over to the net. Somehow or the other FF managed to hang on for the next 20 minutes without conceding a goal. Both teams gave their all in the final and it was two very tired teams that shook hands at the end.
FF took the first place prize of $250 and Movements the second place prize of $150. MVP of the tournament went to Saldenah of FF while the Golden Boot went to Keishon of Movements. A good time was had by all. Big thanks to Gino, Dexter, Marvin and Tristan for the fantastic work done to get this event off the ground.
CLICK HERE to see photos of the event.
CLICK HERE to see a few videos.