Defence Force, Club Sando make early statements in Women Wellness Cup

Defence Force and 2023 TT Women's League Football (WoLF) champions Club Sando made massive statements with contrasting victories when the Women Warriors Wellness invitational football tournament kicked off at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on July 13.

Defence Force, who serve as hosts for the one-week tournament, got a tight 2-1 win over the visiting Grenada national team in the opening game of the six-team competition. Ronniella Bubb gave Grenada the lead in the 21st minute, but the skilful Aaliyah Prince equalised for Defence Force on the half-hour mark before Laurell Theodore got the game-winning goal in the 50th minute.

In the second game of the opening night double-header, Club Sando flexed their WoLF championship mettle when they got a handy 4-0 win against a TT Football Association (TTFA) High Performance team which consists of under-17 and under-20 players. Chelcy Ralph flattened the High Performance team with a hat-trick, with former TT women's team standout Khadidra Debesette scoring from the penalty spot to add the other goal in the rout.

On July 14, Grenada and the TTFA High Performance teams found their strides in the tourney when they recorded huge wins over Playfit Academy and QPCC respectively.

Bubb scored in a losing cause for Grenada in the first game of the tourney, but she led her team to a 7-0 thumping of Playfit with a double strike in the first 15 minutes in their second encounter. Melania Fullerton also grabbed a double for the girls from the "Spice Isle," with Johnella George, Shaniah Johnson and Malia Ramdhany scoring a goal each.

TTFA's High Performance team brushed off their heavy loss against Club Sando by getting a big 5-1 victory over QPCC, with Tyeisha Griffith leading the charge with a goal apiece in both halves. Daneelya Salandy also got on the scoresheet for the High Performance team, with 2023 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) girls' Player of the Year J’Eleisha Alexander completing the drubbing in second-half stoppage-time.

On July 16, Defence Force got their second win of the tourney when they hammered Playfit by an 8-0 margin, with Prince grabbing the Player of the Match award with a hat-trick. After press time on July 16, Club Sando tackled QPCC as they went in search of their second straight win.

The tournament will conclude on July 19. Admission for the games are free and members of the public are urged to make contributions towards Grenada's relief efforts following the passage of Hurricane Beryl earlier this month.