ELITE FC were crowned champions of the Concept Coaching Under-12 Youth Football Central Tournament that concluded at the Lange Park Recreation Ground in Chaguanas, last weekend.
FC Ginga and Elite FC could not be separated after full time as the final ended 2-2. Jerimai Nanton scored in the 24th minute for Elite FC and Joshua Miguel doubled the team's advantage with a 31st minute strike.
Abijah Hercules showed fight, netting in the 36th and 38th minutes to leave the match all square. Elite FC held their nerve in penalties to come away with a 5-4 victory.
In the third place playoff, M12 Revolution defeated DBA 3-0 with goals from Cristiano Perez (seventh), Mickel Holdip (ninth) and Jayden Dick (36th). After weeks of competition, a number of awards were given to the teams at the closing ceremony.
HONOUR ROLL
First Place - Elite FC
Second Place - FC Ginga
Third Place - M12 Revolution
Fourth Place - DBA
Most Disciplined Team - DBA
Coach of the Tournament - Kion Williams (Elite FC)
Team with the Most Vibes - M12 Revolution
Margaret Hall (tournament) MVP - Jerimai Nanton (Elite FC)
Golden Boot - Khariem O'Brady (FC Ginga)
Best Goalkeeper - Nathaniel Peters (Elite FC)
Future Star of Elite FC - Joshua Miguel
Finals MVP - Khariem O'Brady
RELATED NEWS
Hercules helps Elite celebrate.
By Rachael Thompson-King (Guardian).
Elite FC edged out FC Ginga 5-4 on penalties in the Concept Coaching Youth Football Tournament central edition boys' Under-12 final after a double from Abijah Hercules had ensured a 2-2 draw during normal time.
The competitive title match unfolded at the Lange Park Recreation Ground in Montrose, Chaguanas on Saturday afternoon.
FC Ginga entered as the lone unbeaten team in the eight-team competition after winning “Love Is The Answer” group two, fell behind midway through the first half when Jeremi Nanton scored the opener in the 24th minute for Elite, who was the winner of “Stop The Violence” group one.
Some seven minutes later, Joshua Miguel (31st) put Elite further ahead, 2-0 sending their supporters into celebration mode. However, Ginga's level of play did not drop and was able to pull a goal back thanks to Hercules in the 36th. He returned two minutes later to level the scores in the 38th.
The 2-2 scoreline remained unchanged when time expired sending the match into penalty kicks to crown the champion. Elite was the more accurate of the two sides at spot-kick and won the showdown by a 5-4 margin.
Before the teams took to the field to battle, they boosted by the words of former T&T "Strike Squad" captain Clayton Morris, head coach at the University of T&T (UTT).
"Dream, believe and it's possible, faith and prayer are both invincible but they both make impossible things, possible. Confidence comes naturally with success but success comes to only those who have confidence," said Morris during the motivational session. "Every successful person has a painful story but the painful story has a successful end."
He went on to elaborate on his life experiences and being able to rebound from some disappointing moments early on his football career with the hope he could help the youngsters be confident in their future endeavours in the sport as well as in their lives.
Earlier in the third-place playoff, M12 Revolution eased past DBA with a 3-0 victory.
RESULTS
Final
Elite FC 2 (Jeremi Nanton 24th, Joshua Miguel 31st) vs FC Ginga 2 (Abijah Hercules 36th, 38th). Elite FC won 5-4 on penalty kicks.
Third and fourth place game
M12 Revolution 3 (Cristiano Perez 7th, Mickel Holdip 9th, Jayden Dick 36th) vs DBA 0