Ian Gaynair, who played on the National U-21 Selection, did an outstanding job in the defense for Penta. But I have to say that my players of the game were Benque?s goalkeeper, William Luna, and Penta?s goalkeeper, Stanley ?Jordan? Reneau. There would have been a plethora of goals had it not been for these two individuals.

In one particular play early in the first half, Dion ?Pussy? Flowers demonstrated his acrobatic skills by launching a beautiful ?chilena? from within the 18-yard box. William Luna, who was near the top of his 6-yard box, took to the air and made the almost super-human save, thus robbing Flowers of a certain goal. Not to be outdone, ?Jordan? made some fantastic saves as well, especially during the set plays taken by Jefferson Da Silva. Nevertheless, the game ended in a scoreless draw.

With the draw, Penta have now extended their unbeaten streak to 5 games and have taken over first place in Group B with 10 points. Benque have broken their losing streak of 2 games and remain at the 4thspot in Group A with 11 points. Mathematically, they are still alive. But their chance of making it to the next round is slim.

Alpha vs Belmopan United

Last night at the People?s Stadium in Shuga City, Orange Walk?s Alpha and Belmopan United played to a scoreless draw. If you can recall, Belmopan were at one time the leaders of Group B and showed a lot of promise. Both teams had lost 3-1 on the road in their last outings. Belmopan now holds the 4thspot with 9 points while Alpha remains at the 5thspot with 7 points.

Placencia Pirates vs New Site Erei

This was what I considered the biggest match-up of the night for two reasons. It involved several players from the National U-21 Selection and the head coach of that selection, Ian Mork of Placencia. Secondly, Placencia?s only loss of the tournament came at the hands of the defending champs, New Site Erei. Apart from revenge, a victory for Placencia would almost guarantee a spot in the next round. And going into Wednesday night, that seemed very much likely because Placencia was on a 4-game winning streak.

But it was not meant to be because New Site had their number. New Site Erei defeated the Placencia Pirates by a score of 1-0 on a goal by Lennox ?Criminal? Castillo in the 60thminute of play. New Site remains at the second spot in Group A despite the big victory, 1 point behind Group A leading Placencia Pirates.

Hankook Verdes vs F.C. Belize

The match-up out west at the Norman Broaster Stadium was between two teams who are also fighting for playoff spots. Going into last night?s match-up, the host team, Hankook Verdes, happened to be the leader of Group B with 9 points due to goal difference over Kremandala Penta. F.C. Belize, on the other hand, were holding the 4thposition with 6 points over Alpha due to goal difference.

I want to think that maybe Hankook Verdes underestimated the visitors because they had lost three of their last four games. F.C. Belize led at the half by a score of 2-0 from goals by Rudolph Flowers, who scored in the 12thminute, and Jeromy James who scored in the 20thminute of play. Anthony Gonzalez scored in the 9thminute of the 2ndhalf to bring Verdes to within 1. But F.C. Belize held on for the crucial victory.

With the slight shift in Group B standings, F.C. Belize is now in a 3-way tie for the second spot with Hankook Verdes and Belmopan United. Verdes have the second spot due to goal difference.

Wagiya vs Cayo Avengers

I had intentionally left this one for last because I honestly thought that Wagiya would have put a thrashing on my Cayo Avengers. On their last outing, Avengers took a 9-nil beat-down from defending champions, New Site Erei, at the Carl Ramos Stadium. Last night Avengers returned to that very scene to face Wagiya. Only this time, the team showed up in full force.

I did not expect Avengers to win. I was at least hoping that they would have made a good showing, and that they did. Cayo Avengers lost to Wagiya by a score of 2-1. Dean Flowers gave Wagiya the lead in the 34thminute of play. That was nullified a few minutes later when Steven Pinelo scored for Avengers in the 38thminute. It was Harrison Tasher, star defensive player from the National U-21 Selection, who came up with what was the game winner for Wagiya in the 43rdminute of the 1sthalf.

With the victory, Wagiya is keeping pace with New Site Erei, who are two points ahead in the second position. Wagiya are now enjoying a 3-game winning streak and are unbeaten in their last 4.