Maple defied all odds by edging fancied West Side Stars 1-0 on Wednesday to capture the League Cup of the Northern Football Association on the Queen’s Park Savannah.
Beaten 6-0 a week earlier by the Diego Martin-based side, Maple turned things around with the winning goal coming in the 25th minute off the boot of Christian Thomas.
Outside right forward, Col “Colt” Clovis, spearheaded the move when he ran up the right flank after skillfully going around West Side Stars’ left back. He then put a low cross to the back post, picking out Thomas, who netted with his left foot with a one-time volley.
Both sides subsequently had several opportunities to score, but the most glaring fell to Curtis “Popo” Smith, who failed to put away a point-blank chance on a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, skying the shot overbar from just outside the six-yard box.
Maple’s coach Roger Watts, who took over the coaching job last year from Rolph Bartholo, indicated that his side had the ability to whip West Side Stars, inspite of the humiliating 6-0 defeat earlier.
“We didn’t have a fair chance in the previous encounter, and I knew as coach we had the capability to beat this team,” said Watts. “It was a game that was crucial in our quest of winning the league but the referee allowed a lot of physical play.”
“We don’t play physical and dangerous. We play with positive aggression and not negative aggression.
“Maple has been allowed to express themselves with high-quality refereeing, and we did get that, as for the first time we got four officials handling the game.
“The referee did his job beautifully and Maple was allowed to express themselves under the supervision of an experienced referee.” He noted that his team began preparations for the season quite early by finishing second in a tournament in Tampa, Florida, against teams, including from Haiti and Puerto Rico.
“So, we had a long season and the hard work has paid off although we didn’t achieve the goal of winning the Big Four,” he pointed out. “Inspite of it all, we had a good season and we are planning to accept an invitation from the Canadian Football Federation to tour Canada next year.”
Coach of West Side Stars, Paul Taylor was disappointed with his team’s showing. “My players lost their focus,” he explained. “ They underestimated their opponents and did not give it their all. Remember this was a side that we whipped 6-0 in the Big Four. We had no right to lose.”
Taylor’s father, Keith Taylor, who is owner and manager of the debutants to local football, stated the whole emphasis was winning out the league “which we did”.
“The level of our performance dropped drastically. But I don’t feel bad about losing the trophy because we have gained what we set out to do by winning the league and advancing to compete for a place in the Super League.”