Under-14 champs
MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Cornwall College’s goalkeeper Jordan Shaw saved five penalty kicks and then scored the winner to lead his school to a dramatic, tension-filled 5-4 sudden-death penalty kicks win over Corporate Area champions Tivoli Gardens High in Monday’s final of the ISSA/Tru-Juice all-island Under-14 final held at Manchester High in Mandeville.
The 13-year-old Shaw, who started playing football in September this year, had given up a second-half penalty to allow Tivoli Gardens High back in the game, but then came up big in the shoot-out. He saved one kick in regulation penalty kicks, all four of Tivoli’s efforts in sudden death, then scored the winning spot kick himself.
The teams had finished tied at 1-1 after 70 minutes of regulation and another 10 minutes of extra time to force the tiebreaker, and it took 18 penalty kicks to decide the winner as Shaw and Tivoli High custodian David Martin put on a shot -stopping clinic, combining for nine saves.
It was Cornwall College’s third trip to Manchester High in seven days after beating Seaforth High in the rural area semi-finals last Tuesday, thanks to a goal from Peter Phillips, then returned two days later to beat Knox College 1-0 in the finals with Dishaun Dobson scoring the winner.
On Monday, Tivoli Gardens High, who had upset two- time defending champions Kingston College in the Corporate Area final, created more scoring chances, hitting the goal frame twice, once in either half. But it was Cornwall College that led at half time through a well-taken header from Calvin Stephenson from a corner.
Tivoli’s Javante Parnell, who had hit the inside of the far-right post with a brilliant free kick in the 22nd minute, hit the crossbar with a vicious shot early in the second half.
The Corporate Area team eventually drew level after Shaw fouled a Tivoli High player in the six-yard box and Noel Buchanan easily dispatched the spot kick in the 59th minute.
After failing to add to the score, it went to penalties, which was tied at 4-4 after the first five kicks, before the dramatics started with Shaw and Martin saving seven of the next eight shots taken, until Shaw bounced his kick past Martin to secure the victory for Cornwall College.
Kaheem Allen, Stephenson, Dishaun Dobson and Giovanni Bruce scored for Cornwall College in regulation penalties, while Martin, Tah-J Bucknor, Domonic Howell and Shaquan Green scored for Tivoli High.
