The fourth Limacol Football tournament will have its final contested by two youth teams of Elite Clubs.
Fruta Conquerors and Santos Under-20 teams were added to the list as a way of developing their young talents, however, they both surpassed expectations and now have a real chance of winning a senior football tournament.
Even without their talisman captain Nicholas McArthur, who had to sit out due to an ankle injury, Conquerors dug very deep to edge and experienced Riddim Squad on penalty kicks in the semi-finals Saturday at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue.
After being down 1-0 due to Orville Stewart’s strike in the 27th, the young lads were relentless in their pursuit to find an equaliser. It eventually came in the 76th minute when Jermaine Garrett scored a penalty.
That deadlock was never to be broken, and resulted in both teams having to the go the line. The men in orange won 4-1 on penalty kicks.
Stand-in captain Ryan Hackett, was proud of the team and admitted he could have been more patient on the ball, nevertheless they are through to the final.
Speaking to Club Secretary Daniel Thomas on Monday, he indicated McArthur has shown improvement with regards to his recovery.
Santos had to take a similar path to the final after drawing with Pele 1-1. Mark Jhalu placed the men in the iconic yellow and blue ahead in the 10th. Just like in the previous match, a penalty allowed the opposition back into the fray even with 10 men on the field.
Rondell Peters was the man to level it in the 42nd minute. Santos went on to win 4-3 on penalties. Come October 13, there will be $400,000 for first, while second to fourth will pocket $200,000, $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.
Pele and Riddim Squad will do battle from 19:00h in the third place playoff, while the grand final starts at 21:00h.
