The semi finals of the FA Cup are all set following victories for One Love FC, Wolues FC, VG Utd and Panthers FC in their respective last eight games played at the weekend.
First up at the new stadium venue in East End / Long Look, VG Utd outplayed the Rebels FC , 6-2, as the Richie Morton crafted blend of younger players alongside their more experienced team mates put any thoughts of an early cup exit firmly on the back burner, scoring three goals towards the end of the first half.
As Manager Jermain Abrams reflected “It was a good game and our mixture of young guns and the older players were well organized and despite conceding the early goal, were able to deny them any further goal opportunities before making a tactical change which resulted in three quick goals. We kept up the pressure early in the second half and should have extended our lead before gifting them an own goal which made it 3-2. However, from the restart we calmed our nerves by scoring a fourth goal and then added some gloss on the result by scoring two more. Adrian Padillo scored three in a wonderful team effort and kudos to coach Richie Morton for his organization of the team and we are all looking forward to next weekend.”
VGU’s other goals came from Levon Williams (2) and an own goal, whilst Rebels goal came from the boot of Lockart and an own goal.
On Sunday, One Love kept their cool to beat Islanders FC 4-2 on penalties after the game had finished at 1-1.
“It was a good win after a short break and a lack of training, and definitely a plus for us to reach the last four” commented One Love Coach, Javon carty “ it was tense game when having gone ahead we conceded two penalties, one of which luckily was saved, but at 1-1 it was anyone’s game We changed things up a bit, sitting in a mid-block and seeing if we could catch them on a break. Once the game went to penalties though we were always confidant and scored all four of our kicks, holding our nerve for the victory.”
The goals in regular time came from One Loves Brent Bowman and Islanders’ Oswort Holder.
Meanwhile, over on the Virgin Gorda Recreation Ground Sugar Boys FC entertained the visiting Panthers FC and were a little too generous with their bonhomie, as the Panthers came home with a 2-0 victory, with Nigel Sanderson scoring both goals.
As Coach of the Panthers, Stany Francis, noted “Sugar Boys away always presents a challenge, but we showed a fighting spirit from minute one. A brilliant team performance capped off by Sanderson’s sublime finishing. New Signings Enrico Bowen and Tugel Regisford made their first appearances for the club with the latter claiming a well-deserved clean sheet. Overall, a moral boosting and statement victory, as we look forward to the Semis.”
The quarter final action rounded out with the Wolues FC collecting a resounding 11-0 win over Lion Heart FC, in a game that was curtailed early as Lion Heart did not have enough fit players to continue, shortly into the second period.
Five Wolues players scored a brace each, Marcus Robinson, Alexander Edwards, Hugo Liziario, Alejandro Santos and Luca Reich, with the other goal coming from Noel Maxwell.
Levi James of Wolues commented after the game that “Lionheart are a team that usually gives us a very good game and push us to the limit, so we had to have that in mind coming into this game. We set up to deal with what we expected, but as it turned out they were missing many players which made our plan much easier. Our plan was always to keep players out wide and play through the lines from the midfield, to share the ball and make good decisions. Whatever happened with the opposition had nothing to do with us, so we had to be professional and execute and stay true to the game. It felt good to be out there again and start to rebuild game fitness and sharpness, with every player on our team able to get a solid run which bodes well for the future.”
The semi finals are scheduled to take place this coming Sunday, 21st July, at the new stadium in East End / Long Look, with One Love FC facing VG United at 6.30pm, followed by Wolues against Panthers at 8.45pm