Youth football is truly alive and well! The semi-finals for the 2023 CUC Primary Football League (PFL) took centre stage this past Saturday at the Annex Field and from the size and enthusiasm of the crowd throughout the day’s games, primary school football is still the most exciting league on the Island.
As in previous years, Cayman Prep were the big winners of the day as three of their boys’ teams advanced to the finals of the Under 9 Consolation and Champions Cups and the Under 11 Champions Cups respectively.
Under 11 Girls League:
The girls kicked off the day’s proceedings as the2023 CUC Girls’ Primary Football League (GPFL) concluded with Cayman Prep defeating Red Bay Primary 4-0 (respect rule) to finish runners-up in the league. In other scores it was Sir John A. Cumber Primary securing third place with a 5-1 win over Cayman International School thanks to four goals from Mia Bush and a fifth from Zyniah Missick. Joanna Clarke Primary rounded off the day’s girl’s games with a 4-0 win over George Town Primary. St. Ignatius Catholic had secured the 2023 league championship last week.
Under 9 Boys Consolation Cup Semi-Finals:
Cayman Prep 9B claimed their spot in next week’s final with a hard-fought 3-2 extra time win over Joanna Clarke Primary. They will meet newcomers Island Primary in the final after Island Primary dispatched Small Schools 5-1 in the second semi-final.
Under 9 Boys Champions Cup Semi-Finals:
Defending champions Cayman Prep 9A defeated Footsteps School 4-0 (respect rule) in the first semi-final and Prospect Primary got past Cayman International School 2-1 in the second semi-final to set-up an always competitive public school/private school final.
Footsteps School and Cayman International School will play for third-place next Saturday.
Under 11 Boys Consolation Cup Semi-Finals:
Following on from their heart-breaking Under 9 Consolation Cup semi-final loss, Joanna Clarke Primary’s older boys redeemed themselves with a 2-1 extra time win over NorthEast Schools in the first semi-final. In the second semi-final, Sir John A. Cumber Primary downed Island Primary 4-0 (respect rule) to setup an all public school final next week.
Under 11 Boys Champions Cup Semi-Finals:
Defending Under 11 champions Cayman Prep 11A downed Cayman International School 6-2 (respect rule) to secure their tenth straight appearance in the Champions Cup final.
As expected and in what turned out to be the semi-final ‘thriller of the day’, St. Ignatius Catholic will meet Cayman Prep 11A in next week’s final after downing a plucky Prospect Primary 3-2 in a heart-stopping, somewhat physical second semi-final.
St. Ignatius got off to a dream start as they found themselves 2-0 up after only four minutes as Eli Conolly and Jayden Wambugu scored in the 3rd and 4th minutes respectively. Prospect’s Kailan Webb pulled a goal back for his school in the 18th minute from a corner but St. Ignatius substitute Jayden Mwangi restored the two-goal lead in the 39th minute with his first touch of the ball.
Prospect’s Zach Salaverri scored in the 43rd minute to make it 3-2 but St. Ignatius’ rear guard held up for the remaining 13 minutes to secure the memorable victory and a place in the final.
Prospect Primary will face Cayman International School in the Under 11 Champions Cup third-place game.
On to the finals and third-place games, which are scheduled for this Saturday, December 9 at the Annex Field. The CYFL thank Progressive Distributors and Gatorade for their ongoing support of the CUC PFL and GPFL.
Visit www.caymanyouthfootball.ky for the CUC PFL Playoff schedule and scores and the GPFL final scores and final standings.
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