Saturday night?s game at the Michael Ashcroft Stadium could have been anyone?s game, but it went to the dreaded penalty shoot out after 90 minutes of regulation time and two grueling 15 minute overtime periods for Sagitun to remain ?big and bad?, at least for the moment.

The defending BPFL champions, Sagitun, got on the scoreboard first on an auto goal from Calcutta defender, Nahum Rodriguez, in the 18thminute. Then in the last minute of the first half, at the 45th minute, Sagitun captain, Hilberto Muschamp, took a spot kick that he was able to bend around a wall from outside the eighteen. The ball caught Calcutta goalie, Giovanni Rodriguez, on his right side for what appeared to be a comfortable 2 nil Sagitun lead going into the second half against a tired Calcutta squad.

But eight minutes into the second half, Sagitun?s Marcos ?McGoo? Souto passed the ball back to his goal keeper, Darren Hinds, who tried to clear. Wrong move ? Hinds cleared the ball directly to Bulls? captain, Derwin Ennis, who sent a left footed rocket into the ?V? for Calcutta to cut the lead to 2?1.

In the 82ndminute, Marlon Abernica committed an unnecessary foul outside the eighteen that Calcutta midfielder, Eduardo ?El Gigante? Perez, was able to convert over the wall for a dramatic 2?2 tie. In the overtime period both the Bulls and Sagitun pressed on for the go ahead goal, until Sagitun began retreating into a defensive mode and playing for the penalty kicks. They won it on a miss by Sergio Villanueva of Calcutta.

The Bulls? loss may be viewed as a moral victory, having taken the defending champions Sagitun into the penalty shootout. Calcutta as you may recall, came from virtually the last place team last season, to be in this year?s playoffs. The Sagitun win, for their part, may be viewed as somewhat of a Pyrrhic victory, because they lost superstar striker, Elroy ?Bibb? Kuylen, to a red card.

Kuylen and Calcutta defender Nahum Rodriguez got in an altercation in which it is alleged that the league leading goleador threw an elbow at Rodriguez and was shown to an early shower. Kuylen will now have to have to sit out the upcoming road game against the San Pedro Seahawks on the Island.

Sunday evening, May 8th, the other playoff match up also ended with the winner being decided from the penalty spot. Juventus appears to be a team of two halves, where they control the first half of most of their games and fight hard enough to get the win in late spurts at the end of games.

Juventus? goalkeeper, Charlie Slusher, told Amandala, ?It?s a problem we?ve been experiencing all year long where we get a lot of opportunities and control the first half of many of our games, but we fail to capitalize on the opportunities.?

Many clubs in the BPFL are still seeking and are unable to find an antidote to stop San Pedro?s Deon Frazier from shaking the nets. Juventus fell as victims to Deon?s tenacity in the 73rdminute of the match when he unleashed a low ?goal seeking? missile that went under Charlie Slusher for the 1 nil Seahawk lead.

Just before that, San Pedro?s Julio ?Chucky? Valle went one-on-one with Slusher who was able to come up with a spectacular save. Five minutes before the long whistle, in the 85thminute, Donnie Tun, who had previously entered the game on a Juventus substitution, centered the ball from the right side. San Pedro keeper, Wilhelm Johnson, had positioned himself guarding the nearest upright, but Tun?s shot that was intended as a pass, somehow found the back of the Seahawk net, over Wilhelm Johnson?s head, for the 1?1 tie.

In the overtime period both teams dodged several bullets, with Seahawk goalkeeper Johnson the busier of the two goalies. Johnson displayed great goalkeeping, stopping bombs from Harrison ?Kafu? Roches, Christopher Hendricks and Derris ?Columbia? Benavides.

Juventus played the second half with nine men on the field after Rudolph Flowers received his second yellow card 5 minutes into the half and was ejected. Kafu Roches was also ejected with an instant red card, after he allegedly argued with referee Ariel Caballero?s call late in the game. Both Flowers and Roches will sit out on a mandatory one game suspension going into neighboring Corozal against the Bulls this Sunday May 15th.

In the end it was penalty misses by Orlan Lyons and the once sure-footed Vallan Symns that caused San Pedro the loss. Lyons missed and Symms? shot was stopped by Charlie Slusher for the Juventus win. Kevin Pelayo sealed the win for Juventus when he beat Johnson with the fourth Juventus penalty.

The upcoming weekend schedule has Sagitun traveling across the Caribbean to La Isla Bonita San Pedro for a Sunday afternoon game, and way up North Juventus will be trying to reduce the ?Mad Bull Fever? that?s rapidly becoming an epidemic in the Corozal area.