BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Sept. 29, 2022
After concluding home-and-away semifinals a week earlier, the Football Federation of Belize’s (FFB) National U13 Boys Elite Championship was decided on Saturday afternoon, September 24, at the FFB Stadium in Belmopan where both the 3rd place game and the championship final were held as one-smash affairs.
Thankfully, though many fans were not aware in time, both games were televised by TNC10, and proved to be as exciting as anticipated by fans following the well contested semifinals. Indeed, there are some bright young stars in the making, and it bodes well for Belize’s future in international competition.
Semifinals re-cap
For a quick re-cap of the semifinals: Belize (District) U13 had prevailed, 3-1, over Stann Creek U13 in Dangriga; but the return match in Belize City was an exciting 2-2 draw, with Belize U13 gaining the aggregate 5-3 series victory. In the other semifinal series, San Pedro U13 had defeated Cayo U13 by a 3-2 score out at Ambergris Stadium; but in the return match at the Norman Broaster, Cayo U13 shelled San Pedro U13, 5-1, with 2 goals coming from Cayo star striker Marlon Meza, Jr. Cayo thus gained the 7-4 aggregate win and a spot in the championship final against Belize U13.
3rd Place game
The 3rd Place game was scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, September 24, at the FFB Stadium, and fans in attendance or viewing on TV were treated to a thrilling 2-2 draw in regulation time, after which San Pedro U13 were victorious in the penalty shootout by a 4-2 margin. Daniel Caliz (14’ & 33’) twice put his San Pedro team in front, but Stann Creek rebounded each time, through Jayan Avila (24’) and Jayden Martinez (58’). Converting penalties for San Pedro were Daniel Caliz, Michael Richards, Ricky Fuentes and Kelvin Almendarez; while Elijah Flores and Jaren Fernandez converted for Stann Creek.
Championship match
The big championship final which followed was a fitting climax to a well-organized competition that saw an impressive display of young football talents.
There was no live commentary in the TV telecast, so some fans might not have been aware that the games were being played in 3 periods of 20 minutes each, and a player could only appear in two of the three periods, so the coaches strategize with their rosters in periods one and two, and try to have all their best players on the field for the third and final period. The purpose of the rule is to emphasize participation by all players on the different team rosters, a priority at this young age; but the competitive nature of the players cannot be suppressed as the kids take the games very seriously, a few even brought to tears on their loss.
Despite the heroics of ball wizard/star striker Marlon Meza, Jr. (18’ & 51’), who scored both goals for his Cayo U13 team in the final, the Belize U13 overpowered them by a 5-2 score in regulation, including 3 spectacular goals from long range by Jacob Joseph (40’), Gillygion Nunez (40+1’) and Barrack Morey (43’). Gillygion had also scored the first goal for Belize U13 from a scramble at the 25th minute to equalize the score after Meza had given Cayo the lead in the first period; and Gillygion added their last goal from a header in injury time (60+’) to complete his hat trick in the final. In retrospect, the outcome might have been different, had a Cayo forward capitalized on perfect settings from Marlon Meza, Jr. who had twice evaded all the Belize U13 defenses and made a centering ground pass for a teammate who miss-kicked in front of an open goal. But such is football, and the Belize U13 squad are very deserving winners.
Trophies and awards
FFB President, Sergio Chuc; Vice-President, Cruz Gamez; and Technical Director, Philip Marin were all on hand at the post-game ceremony to deliver 1st, 2nd and 3rd place team trophies as well as individual player awards.
Team trophy recipients: Champion – Belize (District) U13 Elite; Sub-Champion – Cayo U13 Elite; and 3rd Place – San Pedro U13 Elite.
Individual awards were: Best Goalkeeper – Shane Vernon (Belize U13); Best Defense – Deon Meighan (Belize U13); Most Goals – Marlon Meza (Cayo U13); MVP – Barrack Morey (Belize U13); Best Forward – Marlon Meza Jr. (Cayo U13); Best Midfielder – Barrack Morey (Belize U13).
P.S. Head coach of the victorious Belize U13 squad was Eulalio Coc (at far left in team picture above) and his assistant was Shaunessy Briceño (at far right in picture).
Reliable sources informed us that Most Goals and Best Forward recipient Marlon Meza, Jr. is the son of former Belize semipro star Marlon “El Matador” Meza who won the Golden Boot (12 goals) at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers in Nassau, Bahamas in 2017.