Favourites Next Gen and underdogs Kingston Football Academy (KFA) will meet in the inaugural final of the Reinas Cup at Campion College today starting at 4:00 pm.

The two teams secured aggregate score wins over Reinas Academy and BayLynx in the semi-finals to earn the right to vie for the championship trophy. Reinas Academy and BayLynx will play in the third place match starting at 2:00 pm.

Next Gen has been the most lethal team in front of goal this season, scoring 27 goals from 12 games at an average of 2.25 goals per game. They finished second in the league having lost twice.

Next Gen needed penalties to get past Reinas Academy after playing to a 3–3 draw on aggregate. They won the first leg 2-1 last Saturday before losing the second leg by the same margin. They then prevailed 3-1 from the penalty spot.

Their leading goalscorer Kelly Nunez has bagged 10, but has left for Bethel University on scholarship. They have also lost Javanae Jones, who has gone to Iwona Lakes Community College, and Davia Richards, who has gone to Hill College.

Those three will be a big miss; however, they still go into the final as the favourites, boasting national representatives such as Andrene Smith, Shaniel Buckley, and Natoya Atkinson.

KFA are a whole different story. They finished 4th in the six-team league with a record of three wins from 10 games and needed penalties to beat Ballaz Academy in the play-offs to advance to the final four.

Since getting to the play-offs they have been a team reborn as they dismantled league winners BayLynx 2-0 and 4-1 in the semi-finals to take the tie 6-1 on aggregate.

The head-to-head in the league games between the two finalists are in favour of Next Gen, who won 4-1 and 3-1.

But KFA will draw confidence from their form in the semi-finals. They scored 11 goals from the 10 league games but managed to score eight goals in their last three games.

Defensively they have also become very sound. They conceded 20 goals in the league but have conceded just one in the past three games.

Leading goalscorer and national Under-15 player Cassandra Smith has scored eight goals, six of which have been scored in their last three games. However, she will miss the final after picking up a red card in the return-leg semi-final on Wednesday and will be a big miss for the underdogs.

For Kadeesh Fishley, coach of Next Gen, the Reinas Cup has been a breath of fresh air.

“The competition has proven to be a wonderful tool. We have footage for some ladies who are interested in playing overseas. Some have sharpened their skills since nothing beats playing time. They have forged friendships that have been good for them.”

And, as for going all the way, it would be a true statement of achievement she believes.

“For Next Gen FC to win this tournament it would reinforce what I set out to do. I am the only female coach in this competition. To beat all my male counterparts, wouldn’t that be an exceptional feat for me?

“For the academy and the ladies, it would mean that they are the best team in the entire competition. It would signal to the parents and sponsors that their support really pushed us and enabled us to be the best that we can be.”

Stafford Marshall, head coach of KFA, is delighted that his team has made it all the way to the final after a poor start to the season.

“The girls and I are extremely ecstatic about having got to this point. We were very disappointed with some of our results in the early stages, knowing we were capable of far better performances than we had displayed. It is quite satisfying for us to have found our groove and to be growing with each performance.”

Winning the final will come down to a big team effort Marshall said.

“I think what will be most important is playing with self-belief and team-belief. Staying team-oriented from start to finish will get the job done based on the collective footballing attributes the squad possesses,” he reasoned.