It was not a circus, but the Hankook Verdes team features three brothers, Ricardo, Daniel and Orlando Jimenez, and two of them, Orlando and Daniel, put on a memorable attacking performance on Sunday afternoon at the MCC. After being down 2-nil at 20 minutes into the second half, bothers Orlando “Leech” Jimenez and Daniel “Danny” Jimenez took over the Verdes attack and battled the home team, defending champions F.C. Belize, to a 2-2 draw in injury time.
It was a tough, physical game with at least three long injury breaks in the action. But the story of the game was the relentless and highly skilled attacking thrusts by the two Jimenez brothers, even in the face of one of the toughest defence lines in semipro football.
F.C. Belize, the defending champions, are known for their formidable defence, and when Jarro put them up 1-nil (with his league leading 7th goal) at the 11th minute, and Shannon Flowers’ header off Allie Thurton’s free kick made it 2-nil at the 63rd, City fans were in a comfort zone.
But not many fans, and few in the F.C. Belize camp, could have foreseen what then transpired. Though both teams matched up with twin strikers and four men in the midfield, because of the amazing display of energy coupled with impressive speed and ball handling skills of Leech and Danny Jimenez, the scales were measurably tilted in favor of the visitors, with a desperate F.C. defence resorting to more and more physical play to try and slow them down. In midfield, Leech repeatedly foraged up into the attack, giving Verdes an apparent threesome up front, and getting the first Verdes goal at the 76th minute from a scramble in front of goal after a corner kick; and Danny was doing the alternate from his striking position, coming deep down into the midfield to dominate F.C. midfielders in number, only to then carry through the attack all the way to the front line. And there was no problem with gas in the tank, as evidenced by the confident and disdainful blast of a penalty shot that Danny wasted no time in unleashing to tie up the game deep into injury time.
F.C. fans were complaining after the game that the penalty was a weak call, but they must concede that there were a number of close calls going their way, while Leech and Danny were creating havoc around and inside the box.
In BPFL semipro football, the team formations are the same, and the talents are generally balanced. It is the team whose players are able to do their part and then some, that will create advantages in other areas of the field, and make things happen. To the satisfaction of fans of the game, going defensive alone will not do it anymore, as long as individual talents have the energy and the will to create numerical advantages which can translate into attacking opportunities and goals, which is what the game should be all about.
It’s back to attacking football, thanks to guys like Leech and Danny.
Incidentally, we learned after the game that Danny is only eighteen years old. With talent like this, there is no reason why Belize shouldn’t be “kicking up dust” in youth football in the region. We understand also, that Danny is somewhat of a “problem child” (Police immediately nabbed him after the game, denying us an opportunity for a picture); but we hope that everything possible is done to harness his tremendous energy for his own sake, and for the national pride of Belize in the international football arena. Gifted artists and athletes often have “issues”. If we had a say, we’d suggest that Danny, and any other like him, be fully enrolled at a properly established and functional Football Academy of Belize.