San Pedro Dolphins fall in BPFL Championship
Belize Premier Football League
Belize Defence Force (BDF), riding a 4-1 victory margin from last Wednesday, easily secured their spot in the finals with a 1-1 draw against the San Pedro Dolphins last Sunday; but it was a shocker of sorts at the MCC Grounds in Belize City, where regular season top seed Hankook Verdes found themselves out of the competition, after losing 1-0 in regulation to F.C. Belize, and then falling 4-2 in the ensuing penalty shootout, after overtime failed to break the aggregate tie in goals.
The San Pedro Dolphins vs BDF encounter was almost academic, where BDF’s qualification to the finals was concerned. Through the whole regular season and Game 1 of the semifinals, BDF had not conceded more than 1 goal in any game; and the Dolphins would need to win by a 3 goal margin if they hoped to make it to the finals, because BDF were 4-1 victors in Game 1. Impossible. The best that could realistically be hoped for was for the Dolphins to exit the competition with heads held high in front of their home fans, and that they did, holding BDF to a 1-1 draw.
Evan Mariano put the visitors in front at the 26th minute, but Hilberto Caliz equalized for the San Pedro home squad at the 59th minute, for the 1-1 final score. With the 5-2 aggregate victory, BDF, under former national team coach Palmiro Salas, is now on to the finals of the BPFL 2009 Opening Season.
It has not been a typical year for F.C. Belize, but the former BPFL champion proved they still had the heart of a champion when they faced tremendous odds and prevailed yesterday against another former champion, Hankook Verdes of San Ignacio. It had been the unfortunate habit of F.C. Belize in the two previous competitions, to have a splendid record in regular season, even undefeated, only to lose one big game and drop out of the playoffs.
Twice in the just completed regular season and once in the semifinals, the same two teams had met, and each time Hankook Verdes was the 1-0 winner over F.C. Belize, who would be without the services of their midfield captain Mark “Kelo” Leslie yesterday (Kelo was serving a suspension.). But Harrison Tasher converted a penalty at the 41st minute, after F.C.’s speedy Jerome Archer was brought down by Verdes’s Trevor “Burger” Lennan; and, despite losing defender Orland Lyons to a red card late in the 2nd half, F.C. Belize held on for the 1-0 regulation win.
But that should have been the end of a heroic show for F.C. Belize, who had already used their 3 substitutions, and their striker Jerome Archer was hobbled with leg cramps. With F.C. Belize a man short with the Lyons ejection, the 30 minutes of overtime play seemed a done deal for the visitors, who continued to dominate the action. There were a number of close calls, but F.C.’s goalie “Zabble” Rowley dodged all bullets, including a “Tilliman” Nunez free kick that rebounded off the inner surface of the left goal post and was eventually cleared by the defense.
Zabble time!
When the long whistle sounded to end the overtime, it was a brand new ball game, and no player was more enthusiastic going into the dreaded penalties than F.C. Belize goalkeeper, Elroy “Zabble” Rowley. Harrison Tasher feinted, and then chose a different corner from his previous penalty, to put F.C. Belize up 1-0 in the penalty shootout. Zabble then proceeded to do something that has probably not been done for quite some time. Two well placed shots, two different corners, and, amazingly, Zabble was there on both occasions, turning back the first two Verdes kickers (Marlon Meza and Rony Martinez), and tilting the scales decidedly in F.C.’s favor. One F.C. kicker (Leon Cadle) had kicked over the goal, and two others had converted (midfielder Ryan Simpson and defender Chris Gilharry). Two Verdes kickers (midfielder Edon Rowley and defender Luis Mendez) had also scored, making the tally 3-2 in F.C’s favor, when F.C.’s goalie Zabble Rowley himself stepped up for the final F.C. kick to either seal the victory, or give the last Verdes kicker a chance to tie.
And Zabble, exuding supreme confidence, and seemingly relishing the opportunity, set the ball to his liking, and then expertly placed it in the left corner, triggering a mob of jubilant F.C. fans who stormed the field to lift him up in exultation. According to football fan Leroy “Tambran” Young, one word aptly described the night’s event – Zabble!
The championship final begins this Sunday with two teams that have a long rivalry, both being originally based in Belize City, although BDF recently played its home semifinal game in Dangriga at the Carl Ramos Stadium.
BPFL championship finals schedule:
Sunday, November 29
4:00 p.m. – Belize Defence Force vs F.C. Belize – MCC Grounds
Sunday, December 6
4:00 p.m. – F.C. Belize vs Belize Defence Force – MCC Grounds
Source: Amandala
