The inaugural staging of the First Half Only 45 Schoolboy football Extravaganza, is expected to ignite the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall on Saturday, as six Manning and daCosta Cup schools will vie for cash prize and a title to boost their confidence ahead of the upcoming ISSA schoolboy football season.
This groundbreaking tournament, set to take place under the patronage of Mayor of Montego Bay, Richard Vernon, promises an exhilarating day of competition and community spirit, beginning with an exciting “kickoff” ceremony led by the Mayor.
The evening's highlight features electrifying matches between St. Catherine High, Rusea's High, William Knibb High, Cornwall College, Manchester High, and Irwin High Schools. Each team is prepared to showcase their best in this specially curated tournament, with the winning school set to pocket a grand prize of JMD$500,000.
Dr. Dean Weatherly, Head coach of Irwin High School, welcomed the initiative, which aims to revitalize interest in schoolboy football across Jamaica, broaden its fan base, and attract investment from football governing bodies and corporate entities into grassroots football development.
“The 45 Minutes tournament is a great concept and is one where we can see the other talents that exist in Western Jamaica as well as to see where we are in our training sessions. As far as the tournament goes, it is one that people need to come out and watch as they’ll be seeing some great young minds at work and talent on the field,” Weatherly declared.
St. Catherine High’s Anthony Patrick echoed similar sentiments.
“It's a welcomed opportunity, one we are looking forward to, and one that will benefit our players immensely, especially the youngsters we want to showcase this schoolboy season, ones who will be graduating this year. The 45-minute format is crucial—winning in the first half is always crucial so this concept encourages a different type of sportsmanship, we'll be putting our best foot forward to make an impact and allow the young talent to shine,” Patrick shared.
For Mayor of Montego Bay, Richard Vernon, the sport presents limitless opportunities for community and individual development in Jamaica, particularly in the Western part of the island.
“The sport has experienced a significant decline in Western Jamaica in recent years, evidenced by the success of teams at the national and schoolboy levels. Therefore, all support is needed to revitalize the discipline and provide an outlet for youngsters to be meaningfully engaged,” the Mayor said.
“It also provides unique advantages for sports tourism in western Jamaica, with Montego Bay being among the top destinations globally. As such, I'm vested to reimagine and rebuild Western football by playing a key role,” he added.
Meanwhile, Erin Mitchell of sponsors Wisynco, pointed out that lending support to the initiative was a no-brainer.
“Schoolboy Football is a crucial pillar for many of our brands, and we are proud to support this initiative in the west, reinforcing our commitment to schoolboy football in Jamaica,” Mitchell noted.
Pre-sold tickets are $1,000 and $2,500 for Bleachers and Grandstand, while tickets at the gate, are $1,500 and $3,000. Pre-sold tickets are available at Western Sports,
Valencia 1-2 Barcelona: Lewandowski double seals comeback win for Blaugrana
Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Hansi Flick's depleted Barcelona side came from behind to beat Valencia 2-1 in their opening game of the season in LaLiga.
Barca were without several key players including Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, Ronald Araujo and Ilkay Gundogan for their first competitive game under Flick, and they were put under intense pressure in the first half at the Mestalla.
Valencia produced an energetic display and hit the front after 44 minutes as Hugo Duro headed Diego Lopez's delivery past Marc-Andre ter Stegen from close range.
Duro almost doubled Los Che's lead when he saw an effort cleared off the line in first-half stoppage time, and Barca immediately went up the other end to level.
Lewandowski tapped home a cross from Euro 2024 breakout star Lamine Yamal five minutes into first-half stoppage time, then doubled up shortly after the break.
Raphinha was felled inside the area by Cristhian Mosquera, allowing Lewandowski to blast an unstoppable penalty into the top corner for what proved to be the winner.
Data Debrief: Flick off to flying start
Flick looked likely to endure a difficult start to his Barca reign when Valencia penned his team back in the first half, but Lewandowski netted twice in four minutes either side of half-time to flip the encounter on its head.
Flick is the third German to coach Barca in LaLiga after Hennes Weisweiler and Udo Lattek, and all three won their first match at the helm.
Milan 2-2 Torino: Morata and Okafor salvage late draw for Rossoneri
Alvaro Morata and Noah Okafor scored in the dying stages for Milan as they salvaged a 2-2 draw in their Serie A opener against Torino on Saturday.
The visitors were moments away from a memorable victory at San Siro thanks to a Malick Thiaw own goal and a header from Duvan Zapata, only for Milan to fight back with goals in the 89th and 95th minutes.
The visitors took the lead on the half-hour mark when Raoul Bellanova's header hit the post and Thiaw’s attempted clearance ended in an own goal.
Torino then doubled their advantage in the 68th minute with Zapata heading in Valentino Lazaro's cross from close range.
With the clock about to tick into stoppage time, Morata gave Paulo Fonseca's side hope by deflecting Tijjani Reijnders' long-range shot into the net.
Milan then launched a frantic final push for a leveller and Okafor smashed in a volley deep into stoppage time to spare their blushes.
Data Debrief: Stuttering start for Rossoneri
While Fonseca avoided a humiliating defeat in his first competitive game in charge of Milan, some lax defending ensured his reign would not start with a victory.
This is the first time Milan have started a Serie A campaign with a draw since 2011-12, when they drew 2-2 with Lazio under Massimiliano Allegri.
They went on to finish second to Juventus that season, but improvements will be required if they are to push for a 20th Scudetto in 2024-25.
Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Stuttgart (4-3 pens): Ten-man Bundesliga champions win Supercup shoot-out
Ten-man Bayer Leverkusen beat Stuttgart 4-3 on penalties following a 2-2 draw in 90 minutes to win the DFL-Supercup on Saturday.
Lukas Hradecky denied Frans Kratzig from 12 yards in the shoot-out then Silas fired his kick over the crossbar as Leverkusen won their third trophy under Xabi Alonso, following a last-gasp equaliser from Patrik Schick.
Domestic double winners Leverkusen, who only lost once in all competitions last season, needed just 11 minutes to take the lead with Edmond Tapsoba heading towards goal at the far post and Victor Boniface prodding the ball over the line.
Stuttgart struck back four minutes later, though, thanks to Enzo Millot's strike in the first German curtain-raiser not to feature Bayern Munich for 13 years.
Leverkusen were reduced to 10 men when Martin Terrier was dismissed for a studs-up challenge in the 37th minute and Stuttgart quickly took control from there.
Stuttgart then hit the woodwork three times and went in front in the 63rd minute when substitute Deniz Undav connected with a Kratzig cutback mere seconds after coming on.
But Leverkusen's never-say-die attitude, which brought them many late goals last season en route to an undefeated Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal run, was evident again as Schick latched onto an Alejandro Grimaldo throughball to level two minutes from time.
They kept their cool from the spot and scored all four penalties as Stuttgart's Silas blasted over the crossbar to seal Leverkusen's victory, after Hradecky saved from Kratzig.
Data Debrief: Lethal Leverkusen make light of numerical disadvantage
Leverkusen were made to play around an hour with 10 men following Terrier's sending-off and had to spend long periods sitting back, only managing a 34.3% possession share.
However, they continued to threaten on the counterattack, with their 12 shots totalling 2.49 expected goals (xG) to Stuttgart's 1.37. They were then perfect from the spot, starting their second full campaign under Alonso as they intend to finish it, with silverware.
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