Couples tackle Gran Bahia in Sandals Business House football semis
Defending champions Couples Sans Souci tackle title aspirants Gran Bahia Principe today in the first semi-finals of the Sandals St Ann/St Mary Business House Football Competition.
Match time is 3:30 pm and venue is Drax Hall field.
The second semi-finals will be played tomorrow, featuring in-form teams RIU Ocho Rios and Beaches Ocho Rios at the same venue and time.
Couples Sans Souci enter the match as the only unbeaten team in the competition, notching up five wins and a draw, scoring 17 goals in the process, while conceding only three, and they are hell-bent on retaining their title.
Alfred Barnett, coach of the Couples Sans Souci team, noted that his team was confident of retaining the title. “The players have been playing quite well and the fact that we are undefeated speaks to the quality of football we have been displaying. We know that this Gran Bahia team is very strong and determined, but if we stick to our strategy and play as a team we will be victorious.”
The coach was full of praise for his strikers, who, he said, had been scoring goals, and a defence that has been rugged all season long.
Stacy Benjamin, official of the Gran Bahia Principe, was equally confident of her team which emerged second from their zone on goal difference. “We have scored 12 goals and conceded only three, so that tells us that we have been defending well and taking our chances when they come. Our team is fit and ready and while the champions are a good team, we believe we have the firepower to come out on top,” Benjamin said.
Public Relations Manager for Sandals Ocho Rios region Ian Spencer observed that the sponsors were pleased with the standard of football played during the competition so far, and were looking forward to an exciting set of semi-finals and the grand finale on Sunday.
“The matches have been keen and exciting with a lot of goals scored and that speaks well about the level of football in the parish,” Spencer noted.
Both third-place play-off and the final will take place on Sunday at Drax Hall starting at 1:30 pm.
