Andrew Trace, Quarry Street cop double West Penn crowns

Andrew Trace Fourth Generation FC and Quarry Street FC have emerged double champions of the 2017 RBC Royal Bank West Penn Community Youth Football League after posting comfortable victories in the finals of the Boys Under-18 and Under-15 “Big 4” knock-out competition on Sunday.

Andrew Trace turned back a plucky Goodwood Eagles FC outfit by a 2-0 margin, while Quarry Street cantered to a 3-0 victory over St. Joseph FC in the “Big 4” finals. Ironically, both winners had edged out their opponents by a single point to capture the league championship titles in their respective divisions earlier last month.

In the Girls Under-18 division, Diego Central FC turned the tables on league champions, St. James Youth FC, romping to a 5-1 triumph to capture the “Big 4” knockout title. All three finals were played off before an appreciative crowd of supporters and residents at the Diego Martin North Secondary School.

RBC branch managers, Mark Sadoo (Diego Martin) and Nadya Maharaj (West Mall), were on hand to enjoy the action and present trophies to the “Big 4” champions.

“RBC is proud to partner with the West Penn Football League, especially as the initiative is in line with RBC’s own commitment in helping clients thrive and communities prosper. The work put out by West Penn is important not only for the development of our young footballers but also for the focus on providing a sense of purpose and direction to the young men and women. We fully support these objectives,” said Sadoo.

Officials of both double champions were elated about their teams’ stellar performances during the season which started in May with 21 teams in the three divisions. “We worked really hard before the start and during the season itself. Our efforts have paid off in the end. We have some very talented youths at Andrew Trace and our long-term goal is for them to secure sport scholarships and to take them to a professional level, both nationally and internationally. As a community, we are grateful to RBC and West Penn for giving them this opportunity to nurture their talent,” said Nigel Watson, manager, Andrew Trace Fourth Generation, which played unbeaten throughout the 2017 season.

His comments were echoed by coach of Quarry Street, Douglas McNeilly. “Our training from the outset was very intense and this double is wonderful reward for those efforts. I have a talented group of boys with me and they can go very far in football if they put their mind to it,” said a happy Mc Neilly.

The main objective of the RBC West Penn Community Youth Football League is to engage the youths of the western peninsula in positive activities. Both president of West Penn Sports & Culture, Selwyn Luces, and Vice President/Director of the League, Shurland Hartley, praised RBC Royal Bank Trinidad and Tobago for its foresight in partnering with West Penn to assist in the all-round development of the young men and women of the western peninsula. The presentation of team trophies and individual awards is scheduled for tomorrow.