By Neto Baptiste
Grenades FC, in emphatic fashion, claimed the first Cool & Smooth Joma Knockout title following a comfortable 4-1 triumph over SAP in the final put on by the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) at the body’s technical and training center on Sunday.
Grenades were led by Rakeem Henry who scored in minutes 43 and 55 to give his team a 3-0 advantage. This is after SAP’s Tajeje Tonge had inadvertently put the ball into the back of his own net to give Grenades a one-nil advantage in minute 28.
Grenades continued to dominate the affair and found a fourth strike in minute 69 when Rick Gordon comfortably rounded a defender before hitting in the far corner of the opponent’s goal.
National striker Peter Byers scored the lone goal for SAP when he clinically put a free kick into the top corner of the net in minute 79.
Byers’ efforts were however futile as Grenades would go on to take the $50,000 winners’ prize, leaving SAP to settle for the $20,000 runner-up purse.
Meanwhile in the third place match-up, Willikies FC edged Pigotts Bullets 3-2 at the same venue. Phil Nicholas had a double-strike with goals in minutes 12 and 15 but those strikes were nullified by Shamoi Andrew and Akeem Isaac who scored in minutes six and 37 for Bullets.
The winning strike came in the dying stages of the contest when Novelle Francis Jr struck in added time.
