Youth leagues return with playoffs and FA Cup games
(CIFA): Action returned in the 2019 Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA) youth leagues this past Saturday, May 4 with FA Cup quarterfinal games in the Girls Under 11 league and playoffs in the Boys Under 11 league. In the girls league, newly crowned champions Sunset FC Fusion booked their place in the semifinals with a convincing 3-0 victory over a very competitive Scholars ISC outfit.
A hat trick from league top scorer Olivia Thorpe sealed the win for the ‘ladies in orange’.
In the second quarterfinal, Sunset FC Stingrays defeated Sunset FC Blue Iguanas 5-1 thanks to a hat trick from Emily Woolf and a goal each from Maddison Leadbetter and Victoria Seguin.
Both Sunset teams move on to the semifinals and will face each other this Saturday, 11 May for a place in the final. The other semifinal will see Academy SC play George Town SC.
In the only Girls Under 13 league game, Academy SC Mermaids got past Roma Fusion SC 2-0 with goals from Lea Santos-Smith and Kenza Ngiruwonsanga.
In the Boys Under 11 league semifinal playoffs, 345 FC I defeated their club mates 345 FC II 5-0 with two goals from Harry Narborough and a goal each from Jagger Alban, Jamie Price and Christo Durrant.
In the second semifinal in what proved to be the ‘match of the day’, Sunset FC Warriors scored a thrilling 1-0 victory over Academy SC Wanderers to seal their place in the final.
With ‘serial goal scorer’ Jaxon Cover leading the charge for the Warriors, Academy SCs backline, anchored by Liam Whiteside, were in for a very busy morning. Uncharacteristically for young Cover, his usual dominance with and confidence on the ball were not there for much of the game, partly because the Academy SC Warriors’ midfield were constantly harassing him whenever he got the ball.
Academy SC Wanderers were doing their best to contain the Warriors’ potent offence, but a lapse in concentration in the 44th minute allowed Jaxon Cover to ‘jet’ off on one of his mazy runs, drifting past a few defenders before slamming the ball into the corner of the Wanderers net to seal the win for Sunset and a place in the playoff final against 345 FC I on 11 May.
In the Boys Under 11 league consolation playoff, Latinos FC secured a spot in the final against Cayman Brac FC as they defeated Sunset FC Makos 3-0 thanks to two second-half goals from Jahrez McKenzie and a lone strike from Mark Ebanks.
A full schedule of CIFA youth league action continues this Saturday, 11 May with the Girls Under 11 FA Cup semifinals, Boys Under 11 league playoff final, third-place and consolation final and Boys Under 13 and Boys Under 15 league action.
