Photo: Progresso FC’s (l to r) Dedron Baptist, Luisito Cunil, Andir Chi, Alwin Zelaya and Horace Avila
Verdes vs Altitude; Port Layola vs Progresso
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Nov. 27, 2023
The double round-robin regular season in the Premier League of Belize (PLB) 2023-2024 Opening Season came to a suspenseful and thrilling end with all Week 14 games taking place on Saturday night at various venues across the country.
Defending champions Verdes was in, and so was Port Layola FC who secured a playoff spot on Thursday night with a 4-0 win over Bandits Sports in their Week 13 back match at the Marion Jones Sports Complex with goals coming from Shawn Young (7’), Gilroy “Bredda” Thurton (33’), Latrell Middleton (45+3’) and Steven Baizar (72’). Police United FC with 13 pts was out of playoff contention, and so were Bandits Sports (8 pts) and Wagiya SC (5 pts).
So, it was left to be decided, going into Week 14, which two of the three contesting teams – Altitude FC (22 pts), Progresso FC (21 pts), and Benque Viejo FC (22 pts) – would make it to the Top-4 playoffs along with Verdes FC (28 pts) and Port Layola FC (24 pts).
The Police vs Bandits match at the Marshalleck Stadium hardly mattered, except for the fun of the game and the joy of competition. Police won, 4-1, with goals from Elias Iglesias (21’ & 63’), Jaider Ledesma (30’) and Jamil Cano (51’); while Dominic Morgan (2’) scored early for Bandits.
Port Layola vs Wagiya at the Marion Jones was also meaningless, except that the short-staffed Wagiya, fielding only 10 players, looked to embarrass the apparently “flat” Port Layola (after their Thursday night playoff clincher). Wagiya jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first half; but they couldn’t hold up for the ninety, especially after they lost another player, to end with 9 men on the field. Despite leading 4-1 at the half, Wagiya succumbed, 8-4, to Port Layola, who had goals from Gilroy “Bredda” Thurton (34’, 49’ & 78’), Latrell Middleton (48’ & 56’), Shawn Young (69’), Ian Gaynair (84’) and Jarret Davis (90+3’). Wagiya’s goal scorers were Kofi Nnadi (20’ & 21’), Levis Pixagaj (23’) and Jean Serano (45+4’).
Down in Mango Creek, Altitude secured their playoff spot regardless of the outcome in Orange Walk, when they held defending champion Verdes FC to a 0-0 draw, giving them 23 pts. That meant a draw in the Progresso vs Benque match would leave Progresso a point behind Altitude; and a win by either of the two, Progresso or Benque, would also leave the loser behind Altitude’s tally.
At the end of the weekend the game to decide the final playoff spot was between Progresso FC and Benque United FC at the People’s Stadium in Orange Walk, and the Orange Walk home fans were jubilant at the end of a very tense and hotly contested match. Alwin Zelaya (9’) gave Progresso the early lead, but Desmond Wade (25’) equalized for Benque, and the half ended, 1-1. Andir Chi put Progresso in front, 2-1, at the 66th minute, and it stayed that way for the rest of regulation and into injury time, till the long whistle finally sounded to ignite the celebration in Orange Walk. Playoff bound Progresso FC, 2-1, over Benque United FC.
Below are the final regular season standings. In the playoffs, it is #1 seed vs #4, and #2 seed vs #3. So, it will be Verdes FC vs Altitude FC, and Port Layola FC vs Progresso FC in the home-and-away semifinals, beginning this weekend. The lower ranked of the two competing teams plays at home first.
Semifinal playoff Week 1 schedule (as on home teams’ Facebook page):
Saturday, December 2
7:30 p.m. – Altitude FC vs Verdes FC – M.A. Stadium in Independence
7:30 p.m. – Progresso FC vs Port Layola FC – People’s Stadium