21.7 C
Belize City
Friday, March 29, 2024

World Down Syndrome Day

Photo: Students and staff of Stella Maris...

BPD awards 3 officers with Women Police of the Year

Photo: (l-r) Myrna Pena, Carmella Cacho, and...

Suicide on the rise!

Photo: Iveth Quintanilla, Mental Health Coordinator by Charles...

What a race! BDF takes sole lead at Week 4 of Premier League Belikin Cup

SportsWhat a race! BDF takes sole lead at Week 4 of Premier League Belikin Cup

Official game details are not yet in, but our reliable sources indicate that there were 3 shutouts, all low scores, in all 3 Saturday night games in Week 4 of the Premier League of Belize (PLB) Belikin Cup Opening Season 2013-2014 this past weekend. And the standings now show Belize Defence Force (BDF) FC at the top of the standings with an impeccable 3-0 record. Meanwhile, pre-season favorite and defending champion Police United FC find themselves still winless after 3 outings. (See standings at bottom.)

Due to the uneven number of teams in the competition, causing one team to “rest” each weekend, the standings have to be viewed with this fact in mind. Three teams have already played 4 games, while the other four teams, including Police, BDF, Verdes and San Ignacio United, have played only 3, and thus each have a game “in hand” that could change the standings picture significantly. But, neither Police, Verdes or San Ignacio can catch BDF with a victory, and BDF still has a game in hand, so they are presently in a very good position. But the season is still young, and no team is yet “out of it.”

At the Isidoro Beaton Stadium on Saturday night, October 19, Deon McCaulay served notice that he may be on his way back to striking form, as he got the only goal for home standing Belmopan Bandits in their 1-0 win over struggling Police United.

Meanwhile, down south at the Carl Ramos Stadium, BDF kept on their winning ways, as they dropped visiting FC Belize, 2-nil.

And out west at the Marshalleck Stadium in Benque Viejo del Carmen, the home team was again victorious on Saturday, as Verdes FC gained a 1-nil win over former league leaders Paradise/Freedom Fighters from Punta Gorda, Toledo. It was an intensely competitive match, with the Freedom Fighters showing proof that it was no fluke they were early leaders in the standings, having posted victories over no less than FC Belize and Belmopan Bandits. The P.G. team, and in particular their captain, Lisbey Castillo, played the game under duress, as Lisbey had attended the funeral of his grandmother that same morning, only to learn, while on the road to Benque, of the death of his uncle and his wife in a traffic accident that afternoon. With the game still scoreless at the 20th minute of first half, Verdes coach, Honduranean Pablo Cacho substituted the energetic and fleet footed young Nahjib Guerra into the game, and he struck for the game’s only goal 13 minutes later at the 33rd minute.

Both teams featured some exciting new players, that will no doubt grow in stature in the future.

Aside from established Verdes stars like Rodney Pacheco and the Jimenez brothers, Orlando “Leechi” and Ricardo “Cheety,” we were also impressed by the young Nahjib Guerra and another teenager Jamil Cano, son of the legendary Verdes star, Amin Cano. Gilroy “Bredda” Thurton was already a “big name” player from Belize City, now making waves for Verdes at the Marshalleck, but another impressive Verdes youngster who put in a stint with the national team is San Leobardo Mendez; and sweeper Victor Cruz did an outstanding job in defence.

For the Freedom Fighters, Frank Lopez seemed very comfortable in the sweeper position, a role he says he prefers to tending goal, where he has served on the national team. Twenty-two year old Franz Vernon, whom we were most curious to see, didn’t do too much, but showed some tenacity on offense and good ball skills. For the first time we saw an already veteran Justo “Inks” Cacho, 31 years, and he played a great right defense. A gem of the future is 17-year-old Jordy Polanco, of whom Hilly Muschamp had spoken glowingly last year; the kid, though still small in body, showed tremendous poise and control in midfield, and will be a force to reckon with. We missed the first 15 minutes of the game due to vehicle problems, but it is still a “puzzlement” to us why P.G. has seen fit to utilize striker/midfielder Ashley Torres in the left defense position. It is the same question we still have no answer for with the Gold Cup national team. Though he is a talented striker and exceptional header of the ball, hard and sure tackling, a plus for a good defender, is not the slim Ashley’s strong suit. A waste of talent; but perhaps that is where his team needs him.

Whatever their adjustments, one gets the feeling that, because of all the emotions surrounding the family tragedies endured by their team captain this past weekend, Paradise/Freedom Fighters will be very hard for any team to beat at home, where they will be at the Toledo Union Field, this coming Sunday. Unfortunately for Police United FC, that will be the task at hand, as they travel down south in search of their first win this season.

Upcoming Week 5 games:
Sunday, October 27
3:30 p.m. – Paradise/Freedom Fighters vs Police United FC – Toledo Union Field
3:30 p.m. – San Ignacio United FC vs Belize Defence Force FC – Norman Broaster Stadium
4:00 p.m. – FC Belize vs Verdes FC – MCC Grounds
(Belmopan Bandits will be resting.)

Check out our other content

World Down Syndrome Day

Suicide on the rise!

Check out other tags:

International