Things are getting rough early in the 4-team BPFL Cup competition, as defending champion Belize Defence Force suffered their first defeat early in this season from the same team, San Felipe Barcelona, who was responsible for the army’s only loss in the last tournament. In Week 2 action yesterday, it was San Felipe at home again, this time at the San Felipe Football Field, where they dealt the visiting BDF a burning 3-2 loss. BDF grabbed a commanding 2-nil lead with goals from Evan Mariano at the 30th minute and Erwin “Bird” Flores at the 34th; but the Deris “Colombia” Benavides led San Felipe squad, known for their strong comeback, cut the lead in half at the 38th minute with a strike by Andrew Allen. Eduardo Morales knotted things up for San Felipe at the 59th minute, and Allen struck for his second goal which proved the game winner at the 66th minute.
The other BPFL Cup match was on Saturday night at the Marshalleck Stadium in Benque Viejo Del Carmen, where visiting F.C. Belize kept a perfect record and dealt Hankook Verdes their second defeat with a 1-nil score. Delwin Jones converted from the penalty spot to give the young F.C. Belize squad their second victory in as many outings, and the no. 1 spot in the standings.
The BPFL Cup tournament continues with Week 3 being a pair of mid-week games this Wednesday night.
According to tournament organizers, with only 4 teams in the competition, they will play a triple round-robin regular season. The same teams that met on Sunday, March 20, will meet again on Wednesday night. In that last meeting, BDF dropped Hankook Verdes, 2-1, and F.C. Belize clipped San Felipe Barcelona, 2-0.
Wednesday, March 30
8:00 p.m. – F.C. Belize vs San Felipe Barcelona – MCC Grounds
8:00 p.m. – Belize Defence Force vs Hankook Verdes – Norman Broaster Stadium