To put it plain and straight, there are some good streaks, and there are some bad streaks. Week 6 in the RFG Insurance Cup tournament was indeed a strange and bizarre one. But this was the weekend for April Fools; need I say more!?!
GROUP A
Wagiya FC vs Belmopan Bandits
The Belmopan Bandits returned to their losing ways, after Saturday night’s blowout 4 – 1 loss to Wagiya FC, at the Carl Ramos in beautiful Dangriga.
Allen McLaughlin scored in the 4th minute, to give Wagiya the early lead. But Deon Frazer scored the equalizer for Bandits in the 10th minute. At the end of the first half, the score was still locked in a 1 – 1 tie.
This was the perfect opportunity for Bandits to take down the mighty Wagiya, who were riding a 3-game losing streak. Unfortunately for the Bandits, Wagiya had different plans.
For a moment, it appeared that Bandits would have at least pulled off a draw, but Darwine “Cayo” Castillo shook the back of the net in the 70th minute, to put Wagiya back in front. Harrison “Cafu” Roches followed with a goal in the 81st minute, to make it a 3 – 1 affair. And just when you thought it was all over, Wasani Ramirez scored in the 90th minute to give Wagiya the 4 – 1 victory.
The losing streak for Wagiya is now officially over. Perhaps, this might very well be the start of a winning streak.
HanKook Verdes United vs Tex Mar Boys
Speaking about streaks, the Tex Mar Boys of the village of Independence were certainly enjoying their 4-game winning streak, and had high hopes of extending that streak, when they visited HanKook Verdes United on Sunday at the Norman Broaster.
But, coincidentally, Sunday was April Fools Day, and HanKook Verdes United certainly had the last laugh, after blowing out Tex Mar Boys by the score of 4 – nil.
Verdes’ striker Anthony “Keesh” Gonzalez scored his first 2 goals of the tournament in the 26th and 67th for the 2 – 0 lead.
Richard “Cheetie” Jimenez, who got married the night before (to the newly weds, congratulations from “back a di zinc fence”), celebrated what should have been his honeymoon with two goals in the 85th and in injury time as HanKook Verdes cruised on to the easy 4 – nil victory.
The streak is now over for Tex Mar Boys. But despite the loss, they still remain in second place with 12 points, and have a good chance of securing a spot in the playoffs.
FC Belize vs Toledo United
Sunday, at the MCC Grounds in Belize City, in what happened to be the second biggest surprise of the weekend, besides Tex Mar Boys’ fall from grace, FC Belize’s 5-game win streak came to a screeching halt, following their scoreless draw with Toledo United.
The result came straight from out of left field, because no one gave the struggling Toledo United a chance against the defending champion, FC Belize, who has yet to concede a goal. But FC Belize made the mistake of underestimating their opponent, and was very fortunate to escape with the scoreless draw. Some key players on the FC Belize roster are still battling their injuries, including veteran goalkeeper Charlie Slusher, who’s right ankle is not properly healed.
Despite the result, FC Belize is still the leader of Group A, with 16 points. And, the silver lining behind all this, is that they are the first team to clinch a spot in the upcoming playoffs. They are still unbeaten since week 2 in the last RFG tournament, and they have yet to give up a goal in this one. Toledo is still trailing the pack, having amassed only 2 points.
GROUP B
Pickstock Lake vs Revolutionary Conquerors
Saturday night, at the MCC Grounds in Belize City, it was business as usual, when Revolutionary Conquerors rolled into town. After last week’s controversial victory over San Pedro Costa Del Sol Nairi’s, the battle with Pickstock Lake should have been a walk in the park.
Maybe it was the long journey all the way from Griga, but Kenroy Martin’s goal in the 4th minute, which gave Pickstock the early lead, surely woke up the Conquerors. Lennox “Criminal” Castillo scored the equalizer in the 22nd minute of play. But surprisingly, the first half ended in a 1 – 1 tie.
In the second half, it was only a matter of time, before Conquerors would score and take full control of the game. In the 76th minute, Dennis “Girl Problem” Serano scored, to give Conquerors the 2 – 1 advantage. Then with 5 minutes to go in regulation, Kareem “Hail” Haylock shook the back of the net, to seal the 3 – 1 victory for the Revolutionary Conquerors.
Pickstock Lake (formerly Lake I) now holds the tournament’s longest streak, 6 losses. A victory or even a draw is long overdue. On the lighter side, Pickstock Lake can take solace in the fact that the weekend loss to Conquerors was not as bad as the previous meeting, which they lost 5 – 0.
Santel’s vs San Pedro Costa Del Sol Nairi’s
San Pedro Costa Del Sol Nairi’s have dug themselves a huge hole, and will have a hard time getting out of that hole. After an impressive start in the tournament, the Nairi’s are now in deep danger of not making it to the playoffs. And after Saturday nights’ dismal and lackluster performance at the Norman Broaster Stadium in San Ignacio, they must now make some real drastic changes, in order to turn things around.
Santel’s had limited attempts at scoring, but surely proved their superiority by dominating most of the possession, and took advantage of the disheveled Nairi’s defense.
Santel’s opened the scoring in the 7th minute of play, when Marlon “El Matador” Mesa skillfully killed a high ball inside the 6-yard box, and shelled Nairi’s goalkeeper Hilberto Caliz from point-blank range.
Nairi’s had many more chances to do some scoring of their own, but the combination of goalkeeper Jaime Brooks and the strong defensive backline was just too strong for Nairi’s to penetrate.
In the second half, Santel’s got their second goal from Walter Castellanos in the 76th minute, but Nairi’s quickly pulled one back, when Jacinto Pinelo scored in the 77th minute. But in their quest for that elusive equalizer, the Nairi’s defense were once again caught off guard, and Julian “rrrRah” Maldonado scored the final goal in the 83rd minute, to seal the 3 – 1 victory for Santel’s.
Santel’s is now tied for first with Suga Boys Juventus with 11 points, but have the advantage due to goal differential. Both teams are now streaking in opposite directions, as Santel’s have now won 3 straight, while Nairi’s have now lost their last 3 matches. And, to add insult to injury, Nairi’s spent about 2 hours stranded on the road just past Rockview Hospital on the Western Highway, after the bus in which they were traveling broke down, due to mechanical failure, in the early hours of the a.m. Happy April Fools!!!
Alpha Glitters vs Suga Boys Juventus
Alpha Glitters or Suga Boys Juventus; who is the baddest in Orange Walk Town? Really, I believe that not even the flip of a coin could really answer this question. I guess it is only a matter of time before one would actually win.
In this, their second derby match of the tournament, Alpha Glitters and Suga Boys Juventus played to another 1 – 1 draw. Pardon me if I may sound a bit redundant, but there are too many similarities in the match on Sunday and the previous match.
Like in the previous match, all goals came in the second half. Again, Alpha was the first to score. This time around, it was Jesus Lozano who scored for Alpha in the 47th minute of play. For the second time now, Dean Flowers was the one to score the equalizer for Juventus. Flowers did so in the 75th minute of play.
With the result, Suga Boys Juventus lost their number one status to Santel’s of San Ignacio, only because of goal differential. Alpha Glitters remains as the only other unbeaten team in the tournament along with Group A leader, FC Belize. Alpha fell back into the fourth spot, mainly due to goal differential. They are tied with 10 points with Revolutionary Conquerors, who now sits in third place.