Sports
Inter-Primary Football Action
Top: George Town's keeper Matthew Grantpushes the ball out again.
George Town vs. St. Ignatius
"B"
St. Ignatius 3
George Town 2
"A"
George Town 1
St. Ignatius 0
The 'big game' between football rivals GeorgeTown and St. Ignatius 'A' teams, as it was billed, had all thedrama of a cup final, including a penalty in the 40th minute thatbroke through the nil-all gridlock in Saturday's game at the CatholicSchool field.
Both teams seemed to play with fierce enthusiasm with none claimingtrue dominance. George Town, the previous Inter-Primary champions,played a physically aggressive game. St. Ignatius' game seemeda bit more technical, and passing.
Both sides appeared to want the championship equally and therewas plenty of cheering and jeering on the sidelines from spectators.
From the time the whistle blew, the school's gladiators went preparedto battle for the trophy. George Town, decked out in red topsand black shorts, and St. Ignatius, sporting solid blue with whitestripes, fought fiercely for the first 30 minutes, but the scoreremained nil-all.
As the second half started the atmosphere surrounding the fieldseemed a bit tense, with great expectations coming from parentsand coaches.
The Catholic school's forward line took the ball to George Town'skeeper Matthew Grant, who easily intercepted.
Then George Town answered back with Steve Evans passing the ballover to Donald Solomon, who sent the ball flying, but it was slightlywide.
Minutes later, George Town's duo of Evans and Solomon pressuredCatholic's defenders Michael Manderson and Joel Clark again. Butthis time it was St. Ignatius' keeper Richard Hylton who foiledthe attempt when he pounced onto the ball, swiping it from Solomon'sfoot.
Catholic responded to the pressure by launching a three-prongedattack from both flanks and the middle. Darren Montaque and ArleyChisholm were on the flanks with Robbie Cribb Jr. in the centre.However, George Town's main defender David Bodden halted all attempts.
Then George Town's luck changed when one of their players wastripped in the box. This allowed for a penalty.
The penalty kick pitted keeper vs. keeper - Hylton in goal, andGrant taking the penalty. Grant won the round with a spectacularshot that rose straight through the middle and into the net. Thegoal broke the nil-all deadlock. The score was 1-0 in George Town'sfavour.
Catholic tried hard to rally back, but George Town held the lineand the game ended 1-0.
The B team's game was just as entertaining with Catholic defeatingGeorge Town 3-2. St. Ignatius scorers were Julius Hummil and DaltonWalton, plus George Town scored an own goal. George Town's scorerwas Daniel Grant, who was credited with both goals.
More inter-Primary school play next weekend. See Sports Brieffor the schedule.