By Treiston Joseph
There is an old saying ‘star players win matches’ and Ian Daniels produced probably the most memorable performance to date in the Courts Pee Wee final to lead West Ruimveldt Primary to a 4-0 route of former champs Marian Academy on Saturday afternoon at the Thirst Park ground.
It felt like a big game; the bright lights were on and Daniels was front and centre taking in the spotlight with his ability to score.
While he was set up on multiple occasions by his teammates and supported by the defence of the team, one could not deny the individual brilliance of the youth player, who has a bright future ahead as he scored all four goals for his side.
The first was a booming strike in the 10th minute. Such was the ferocity of the shot that had Marian’s custodian tried to save he might have broken a finger or two.
The next was off a penalty award after a hand ball by Marian in the box; Daniels placed low to the left and even though the keep dived correctly the ball was pass him by the time he got to the ground in the 16th minute as the first half ended with Marian looking a little glum.
The second half resumed and it was obvious that the ‘in your face’ style of the West Ruimveldt team that kept attacking relentlessly was simply too much for the Marian squad, who had played well up to that point in the tournament, to handle.
West Ruimveldt, smelling blood, kept attacking and Daniels once again displayed his brilliance by somehow finding the back of the net in the 28th, despite being under severe defensive pressure.
Daniels would end his goal-scoring fiesta with another in the 30th minute to basically seal the match. He ended the tournament with 16 goals for the golden boot award, while teammate Daniel Sutton was adjudged the best goalkeeper in the tournament and captain of the team Jonathan Andries received Most Valuable Player (MVP) honours for his brilliant mid-field play.
Jamal Pedro of West Ruimveldt was also named as best coach of the tournament, while Marian Academy received the most disciplined team award. Meanwhile, Sophia topped Enterprise for third place with a 5-3 penalty win after a nil-all stalemate.
All awards were handed out after the tournament at a special presentation as Co-Director of Petra Organistion Troy Mendonca, Courts Marketing Officer Roberta Ferguson, Non-Alcoholic Brand Manager of Banks DIH Limited Clayton McKenzie and Ministry of Education representative Nicholas Fraser all expressed their delight in having the tournament while congratulating all the players for their efforts, especially West Ruimveldt.