The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

AFTER a pair of defeats to open tournament play in regional competition on the soccer pitch, the Bahamas finally scored its first victory at an inaugural CONCACAF event.

The Bahamas won 8-0 over Saint Martin Friday at the CONCACAF Boys Under-15 Championships, hosted in George Town, Cayman Islands.

The Bahamas got goals from Antonio Hanna (12’), Keegan Bischof (30’), Nicholas Plakaris (44’), Omri Williams (51’), Ethan Willie (62’, 66’), Terry Joseph Mosko (65’) and Keshawn Edwards (68’) Plakaris was named the man of the match.

After Hanna’s score, Bischof scored just five minutes before the half for a 2-0 lead at the interval.

The second half was all Bahamas as Plakaris opened the scoring in the period nine minutes in.

Willie’s scores came rapidly within a four minute span. It was a welcome response after the Bahamas failed to score in their first two games of the tournament, a 4-0 loss to Aruba and 1-0 loss to Bermuda.

The loss dropped Saint Martin out of contention for a berth in the semifinals following group stage play.

The inaugural CONCACAF Under-15 Championships features more than half of the 41-member confederations competing in the event in what is called “a strong effort to promote grassroots football at the youth level.”

“It is important for coaches and players to have competitions for development,” said CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb in a press release,

“This tournament was conceived to intensify our grassroots efforts while helping to identify and develop talent that will eventually create our future stars.”

The inaugural tournament is an initiative of Webb, recognising the need for a concentrated effort that would support and grow football at the youth level.

The Under-15 Championship, which will be held every two years, is expected to strengthen the love of the game among young players and foster a commitment to the sport that will grow along with them.

The tournament is bringing nearly 700 participants to the island during the low-season for tourism.

“This tournament is a great developmental experience for local football teams and we thank CONCACAF and President Jeffrey Webb for having the foresight to bring this level tournament to fruition and for also selecting the Cayman Islands as the host country for the inaugural event,” expressed Cayman Islands’ minister of sports, Osbourne Bodden during a press conference at the Government Information Office.

Countries competing in the tournament include Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, El Salvador, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Saint Martin, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the US Virgin Islands.

For first-round play, the squads have been drawn into four groups - three of six teams and one comprised of five teams. Each team will play the others in its group once and the group winners will advance to the semifinals on August 23.